so i've decided. i'm going to write in all lowercase for a little while, just to see if i like it. it's how i write when i'm talking to my friends on instant messenger, or texting, and there's something very satisfying about defying the rules of capitalization. :) so...we'll see how this goes.
in other news, i'm making progress! i started outlining my wip recently, since i realized that i needed a map of all this new uncharted territory, and i've made lots of really great discoveries. my characters are clamoring to be heard, and it's all i can do to take notes fast enough. i can't wait for this part of the process to be done so that i can actually get to the good part...writing!
I was having a discussion with my friend Julie last week. We were discussing YA, and some of the problems we have with the genre (it's a thing we do). One of the things that came up was this: the idea that every teenager is going to have some great, sweep-you-off-your-feet romance at the age of 16. Don't get me wrong...teenagers are smart, and they're not going to assume that the things that happen in books are going to happen to them. But seriously, you guys, almost every teenager (the majority of the girls anyway) think that these life-changing romances are going to happen to them. I was one of those girls.
I pride myself on being a level-headed, logical person. I think with my brain more often than my heart. That's not to say that I'm not a romantic, or that I don't have emotions, but I like to weigh all my options before making decisions. That being said, I was crushed when my Prince Charming failed to show up while I was 16. I had been fed a steady diet of Disney movies as a little girl, and all the princesses in those movies? They find their princes at 16. I then moved on to YA novels, the majority of which were fantasy, but still YA novels nonetheless. All the girls in those books? They find the loves of their lives at 16 (sometimes 17, but usually 16). 16 was this magical age, and for me (a painfully shy bookworm who had read lots of ugly duckling stories), reaching the end of that year with nothing extraordinary happening was devastating.
Why are YA stories written this way? It's something I've never understood, and I still don't. The romances in a lot of popular YA novels are unhealthy representations of love, and whether the readers realize it or not, they ARE being influenced (even if it's only a tiny bit). Books like Twilight and Fallen and Hush, Hush show girls chasing after boys who are clearly no good for them, to the point of becoming obsessed with said boys, and this isn't how love should feel. I understand that for teenagers, everything feels about a billion times more intense than it actually is, but why can't there be a story that shows a normal relationship?
If I could say one thing to the teenage girls gobbling up the paranormal romance, it's this: You don't have to find your soulmate at 16. You don't have to find them at 18, or 20, or even 25. You just have to be yourself, and love will sneak up on you. It'll happen when you least expect it. You'll turn to look at someone, and they'll seem so different, and you'll wonder why you never truly saw them before. And it will be magical, just like in the stories. But it doesn't have to happen in high school. :)
I know I don't blog on Mondays anymore, but...I have to do a quick post so that I can sign up for Rachael Harrie's Fourth Platform-Building Campaign. If you haven't already, I encourage you to go check it out. I participated last fall in the Third Campaign, and I learned SO MUCH about blogging. Also, I met lots of really great friends, and my follower count went from 18 to 162 in a matter of months. It's incredible!
Being a writer is an interesting job. It's something that I don't feel particularly confident about, even though I love it. Even though other people tell me I'm pretty good at it. I'm constantly trying to learn more about this craft I'm so passionate about. I'm sure I'm not alone in these feelings. In fact, I can bet that at least 74 other people experience these same emotions, because we were all at the same writing conference this past Saturday.
I'm not saying that there aren't confident writers. I'm sure there probably are. But I think, in general, that writers (and artists of any kind) are always skeptical about their talent. We never really trust that we're good enough, and so spend all of our time learning how to be better. For those of us who write, conferences can do that, and I highly recommend attending one in your area if you can.
I spent Saturday with my friend Skye (who runs a blog here). We arrived at 8:30 in the morning to get our schedules for the day. Luckily, we were able to get coordinating schedules and attended all of our workshops together. There were 4 workshops offered, and each attendee was able to choose 3. Skye and I began our morning in the Heroes and Villains workshop, taught by Aprilynne Pike (the Wings series), Kiersten White (Paranormalcy and Supernaturally), and Anna Carey (Eve).
We learned that often, when writers sit down to develop their heroes and villains, their villain ends up more well-rounded. We think about our heroes, and plot out basic characteristics and traits. Then we move on to our villain. We put more thought into the villain, giving them qualities that will challenge our hero, while still giving them a backstory that will make them relatable to readers. At this point, most writers (myself included) need to remember to go back and flesh out the heroes, giving them characteristics that create good tension between them and the villain. For a hero/villain relationship to work, to give the story excellent tension and conflict, the hero and the villain need to be a matched pair (not necessarily like Harry and Voldemort, but they need to complement each other, challenge each other).
Highlights of the Heroes/Villains workshop: being assigned Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog for homework, Anna Carey's fresh twist on the Hero's Journey outline, building a hero and villain with Aprilynne Pike
Our second workshop was on Unforgettable Characters, taught by James Owen (Chronicles of the Imaginarium series), Adam Rex (Fat Vampire), and Bree Despain (Dark Divine series). I have to say I was a little bored in this workshop, but it was probably because it was their second one of the day, and they didn't want to rehash everything they'd already discussed in the first session. I did learn a few things though, like even secondary characters are main characters in their own story (and can become unforgettable). James Owen stressed that you never really know what's going to cause a character to become unforgettable, so pour all your best ideas into each one (you'll always have good ideas, so don't worry about saving them for later).
The best part of this workshop was...
Adam Rex's steamship-goggle-fish! He drew it on the whiteboard while James Owen listed off the stereotypes of steampunk. I wanted to get a picture of it, but Adam erased it before I could. When I made it to his signing table and he asked me what he could draw for me, I immediately asked for it, and he was happy to oblige. :)
Once our second workshop was over, we headed to lunch. Five of the authors were unfortunate enough to be on a panel about the differences between YA and middle grade (which meant they had to eat between questions, and on a stage in front of everyone). Adam Rex was on the panel, and he opened with, "Last night, I had a dream that an audience watched me eat a sandwich..." And then everyone laughed. :P
The highlight of lunch was: eating with Kiersten White! That's right people, I got to sit and eat lunch with Kiersten White (and Anna Carey, who is equally awesome but not as famous). She was super friendly, and was willing to answer any questions we had about writing and publishing. Once lunch was over, she signed my books and Skye and I headed off to our last workshop of the day, Edgy Fiction.
Edgy Fiction was taught by Tom Leveen (Party) and Cecil Castellucci (First Day on Earth). I can't remember if I mentioned this in a previous post, but I took a dialogue workshop with Tom a couple weeks ago. He's hysterical, and Edgy Fiction didn't disappoint. He and Cecil taught us that every character should have the same things Superman has (a superpower, a thing they love, a weakness, an enemy, and a secret place). Try it with your favorite character...I guarantee it works on all of them! We did writing exercises in this workshop, which frighten me a little, but even those were fun and taught me things. Cecil and Tom together brought a lot of energy and fun to a sometimes serious topic, and I loved it. :D
I encourage everyone who's able to attend a writing conference at some point in their life. It will change you for the better. :) If any of you have questions about my experience, feel free to ask in the comments and I'll do my best to answer them!
J
PS For your listening pleasure, a song that never fails to make me wiggle where I'm standing/sitting/lying down. Enjoy!
