This week’s “So You Want to Read YA?” series comes from editor and author Brian Farrey.
TO WRITE YA, YOU MUST READ YA
Check your watches. We’re almost due.
See, it happens every few years.
Someone shops JANE EYRE (or some other classic masterpiece of
literature) to publishing houses, collects a slurry of rejections,
then promptly denounces editors as being “out of touch” because
they clearly couldn’t recognize good writing when they saw it.
Someone shops JANE EYRE (or some other classic masterpiece of
literature) to publishing houses, collects a slurry of rejections,
then promptly denounces editors as being “out of touch” because
they clearly couldn’t recognize good writing when they saw it.
Or maybe the editors did recognize
it because, you know, we really weren’t born yesterday. But I
digress.
it because, you know, we really weren’t born yesterday. But I
digress.
The point this person is trying to make
is that if a beloved book which is still in print and selling today
can’t pass muster with editors, then these editors obviously
don’t know what they’re doing or what appeals to audiences.
is that if a beloved book which is still in print and selling today
can’t pass muster with editors, then these editors obviously
don’t know what they’re doing or what appeals to audiences.
Ah. But we do. We know what appealed to
19th century audiences, when JANE EYRE was all the rage.
And we know what appeals to 21st century readers (the ones
we’re trying to reach), which more often than not isn’t
Jane Eyre. (Clarification: Obviously, yes, many people still read and
enjoy Bronte but work with me…)
19th century audiences, when JANE EYRE was all the rage.
And we know what appeals to 21st century readers (the ones
we’re trying to reach), which more often than not isn’t
Jane Eyre. (Clarification: Obviously, yes, many people still read and
enjoy Bronte but work with me…)
Recently, Dystel and Goderich agent
Michael Bourret and HarperCollins editor Molly O’Neill posted
a joint blog discussion on what middle grade is. In
that post, Michael said:
Michael Bourret and HarperCollins editor Molly O’Neill posted
a joint blog discussion on what middle grade is. In
that post, Michael said:
What worked years ago
probably doesn’t work now–trends and
tastes change. ..
Classic books sell because they are classics, and I
would argue
that many of them would not find an audience today.
probably doesn’t work now–trends and
tastes change. ..
Classic books sell because they are classics, and I
would argue
that many of them would not find an audience today.
Now, granted, I’m here to talk about
young adult books BUT what Michael says applies across the board.
(Please read the aforementioned blog post. Chock full of great info
for writers in general.) Any time I speak at a conference, I convey
one very important point: if you want to write YA, you need to read
YA. Plain and simple. You need to understand the market. To do
that, you need to read books that were written in the last five
years.
young adult books BUT what Michael says applies across the board.
(Please read the aforementioned blog post. Chock full of great info
for writers in general.) Any time I speak at a conference, I convey
one very important point: if you want to write YA, you need to read
YA. Plain and simple. You need to understand the market. To do
that, you need to read books that were written in the last five
years.
I can spot someone who hasn’t done
their homework. It’s like a beacon. Their query will include one of
two red flag phrases: they will invoke “Nancy Drew” or they’ll
talk about wanting to “write books like the ones I fell in love
with when I was a kid.” Now, to be clear, there is nothing wrong
with letting your favorite childhood books inspire you. I dare you to
find a single successful writer who wasn’t called to the cause by a
book that made them want to be a writer. But, there’s a difference
between being inspired to write by certain books and attempting to
replicate the cadence and themes of dated material. Depending on when
you were a child, tastes have more than likely changed quite a bit.
their homework. It’s like a beacon. Their query will include one of
two red flag phrases: they will invoke “Nancy Drew” or they’ll
talk about wanting to “write books like the ones I fell in love
with when I was a kid.” Now, to be clear, there is nothing wrong
with letting your favorite childhood books inspire you. I dare you to
find a single successful writer who wasn’t called to the cause by a
book that made them want to be a writer. But, there’s a difference
between being inspired to write by certain books and attempting to
replicate the cadence and themes of dated material. Depending on when
you were a child, tastes have more than likely changed quite a bit.
Nancy Drew, like JANE EYRE, wouldn’t
work today. You know how I know that? Because even Nancy has gotten
with the times. Compare a Nancy Drew book that has come out in the
past couple years with one that was written in the ‘30s. Nancy had
to up her game. She doesn’t sound the same, she doesn’t get into
the same kind of scrapes.
work today. You know how I know that? Because even Nancy has gotten
with the times. Compare a Nancy Drew book that has come out in the
past couple years with one that was written in the ‘30s. Nancy had
to up her game. She doesn’t sound the same, she doesn’t get into
the same kind of scrapes.
With all this in mind, I’m here to
talk about what makes contemporary YA contemporary and how it differs
from the books we see through the tinted lens of nostalgia. I’d
like to recommend three titles to read that I think show not only
where YA is today but also where it’s going. If you’re interested
in writing publishable YA, give these books a looksee to get a feel
for what’s possible.
talk about what makes contemporary YA contemporary and how it differs
from the books we see through the tinted lens of nostalgia. I’d
like to recommend three titles to read that I think show not only
where YA is today but also where it’s going. If you’re interested
in writing publishable YA, give these books a looksee to get a feel
for what’s possible.
-
THE MARBURY LENS—Andrew Smith is one of my very favorite authors writing today. I should add the disclaimer that, by nature, I like a little darkness in my books, especially my YA. Give me an unhappy or ambiguous conclusion over a nice, tidy, all-is-well ending any day. I want what I read to leave me with questions. Andrew does that. THE MARBURY LENS left me unsettled for weeks. OK, maybe dark and twisted isn’t your thang. That’s fine. The important thing (well, one of the important things) to get from reading this book isn’t the darkness but the innovative narrative structure and technique. Andrew’s storytelling isn’t linear, and that’s one of the things that makes it unique. When I read this, I thought, “I can’t point to another book and say ‘This is just like this person.’” The style and voice were unique and fresh.
Another writer who plays with narrative technique is A.S. King (in her Printz honor book, PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ, you get the point of view of a pagoda). The result of this sort of narrative experimentation is something wholly original. (WARNING: This is one of those “you have to know the rules before you can break them” kind of things. Don’t throw in a weird narrative structure just to be different. It needs its own set of rules and they need to make sense.) That’s the danger of wanting to write Nancy Drew or nostalgia books. It’s not your voice and there’s nothing new about it. You’ve probably heard that, to pitch your book, it’s a good idea to say, “It’s just like Author X!” But, in all sincerity, I say: to stand out, you can’t write like anyone else.3. SPLIT—When you compare YA written
in the past five years with something that was written, say, forty or
fifty years ago, one of the biggest differences you’ll notice is
voice. (To clarify: technically, YA as we know it didn’t
exist forty or fifty years ago. But that’s a different story. For
now, work with me.) Voice is so, so important to YA and it’s so, so
hard to nail. It’s the summation of many factors: syntax, cadence,
intelligence, point of view, time period, and vocabulary, just to
name a few. It’s so elusive—and approached so subjectively by
each writer—that many people acknowledge that you just know
when you’re reading a good voice. Voice in contemporary YA often
feels more intimate, more visceral.
In SPLIT, Swati Avasthi ‘s voice for
Jace is pitch perfect. He is at once simple and complex. He is at
ease and deeply troubled. He has his head screwed on straight and yet
he’s ready to implode at any given moment. For me, the best
contemporary YA is about conveying depth with everything.
Characters work on different levels, as do the environments/world
they inhabit. And a strong voice becomes a paintbrush capable of
painting wide strokes when necessary, fine points that counter the
wide strokes, and providing almost imperceptible color gradients that
add nuance on both the macro and micro level. You should also check
out Blythe Woolston’s THE FREAK OBSERVER. Loa’s voice is in many
ways the antithesis of Jace but just as layered: fragile but
resilient, honest but guarded. If I could assign homework for this
blog post, it would be to read these two books and write a
dissertation comparing/contrasting the voices used. (Have it on my
desk by Monday.)Of course, I need to close with a few
CYA comments. First of all, none of this should be read as YOU MUST
DO THIS OR YOU WILL NEVER BE PUBLISHED AND SMALL CHILDREN WILL
TRAVEL FOR MILES MERELY TO STAND ON YOUR DOORSTEP AND CHANT INSULTS
AT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. Do your own thing but forewarned is forearmed
so know where you stand in the market.Similarly, I’m not saying These
are the kind of books you should write if you want to get published.
Far from it. My message here is These books give you a really
good idea of what’s possible with modern YA fiction—and what
works in modern YA fiction—and convey the feel you should be
shooting for.I could go on and recommend other books
but these three are a good place to start. Yes, there are plenty
of current books that are nothing like the ones I’ve mentioned
here. But, I promise, they all latch on to key elements of what makes
a successful contemporary book. Look, it’s not 1850 anymore. It’s
not 1950 anymore. Nostalgia is one thing but why repeat the past when
you can be totally original?So, check your watches. We’re also
due for another hatchet job on YA in some major newspaper. You know,
claiming that YA is “too dark and depressing.” Whatever. That’s
a rant for a whole other blog post.
Great picks! Split is such a wonderful book, and you're absolutely right about it being spot on in voice. I read The Marbury Lens, and like you, it stuck with me for a long time after reading it. Very unsettling.
I think that period drama light is a good way to describe WHAT I SAW AND HOW I LIED, though I have to say I didn't enjoy that one. None of the characters were even a little bit likable. Regardless, thanks for sharing!