Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
MG vs. YA
Tip of the Day: Don't forget to wake up early to watch Will and Kate get married! Or, you know, sleep in like me.
I love writing for both middle grade and young adults so I can't really pick one over the other. I do think I have more of an audience at the middle grade level since I write more light hearted, humorous novels and right now, like Deena said, YA is a lot of dark stuff currently. Sure you can find some light stuff but when you walk into a bookstore most of the stuff faced out is dark. I miss the pink cover days! The middle grade kids are still open to the lighter, fun books (Yay!) and I love the fan mail I get from the middle grade readers too! So yeah, I can't really decide between them, both are fun for me to write. I just finished writing a new YA and I'm about to revise it but once I'm finished with it it's back to middle grade for my next one.
Kristina, Miss Author in Action
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Oh Those Angsty Teens! (or Oh Those Funny Kids!)!
Tip of the Day: Want to laugh out loud? Click on this link to watch author Jack Ferraiolo's book trailer for his upcoming middle-grade novel, SIDEKICKS.
Lately I've been reading a lot of great teen novels, but, uh, in case you haven't noticed, there's a lot of serious/dark/murderous/evil/monsterly elements going on in YA fiction today. That is why I am loving me some MG right now. Besides Jack's book mentioned above, some other authors are doing readers of all ages a favor with their upbeat, humorous MG novels. We need something to balance out the demonic faerie vampires!
So that's how I've been dividing my MG and YA reading right now: when I want something more upbeat, I pick up an MG; and when I can handle a dark premise, I go for the YAs. Age of the characters really has less of a factor on my reading habits right now than the mood the novels convey.
What trends have you noticed in MG v. YA fiction lately?
Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing
Lately I've been reading a lot of great teen novels, but, uh, in case you haven't noticed, there's a lot of serious/dark/murderous/evil/monsterly elements going on in YA fiction today. That is why I am loving me some MG right now. Besides Jack's book mentioned above, some other authors are doing readers of all ages a favor with their upbeat, humorous MG novels. We need something to balance out the demonic faerie vampires!
So that's how I've been dividing my MG and YA reading right now: when I want something more upbeat, I pick up an MG; and when I can handle a dark premise, I go for the YAs. Age of the characters really has less of a factor on my reading habits right now than the mood the novels convey.
What trends have you noticed in MG v. YA fiction lately?
Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Age is just a number
Tip of the Day: sometimes saying "no" is the best choice. Even if it doesn't feel like it.
No matter how much older I get, I never seem to loose my teen spirit and mind set. Always having that eternal optimism or the feeling you can conquer the world, but having no idea where to start. Most YA writers are probably the same.
It's much easier to write from a teen perspective if you are easily in touch with your teenage self!
In the Great YA vs. MG debate, I'll Forever be a Teen. There's no getting around that. Maybe it's because of my love of romance and kissing.
Even though I know I'll never jump the fence fully and become Team MG, I'm still having fun dabbling in the Middle Grade World.
What's not to love?
So which team are you on MG or YA?
--Emily
No matter how much older I get, I never seem to loose my teen spirit and mind set. Always having that eternal optimism or the feeling you can conquer the world, but having no idea where to start. Most YA writers are probably the same.
It's much easier to write from a teen perspective if you are easily in touch with your teenage self!
In the Great YA vs. MG debate, I'll Forever be a Teen. There's no getting around that. Maybe it's because of my love of romance and kissing.
Even though I know I'll never jump the fence fully and become Team MG, I'm still having fun dabbling in the Middle Grade World.
What's not to love?
- You get to be even more odd with your characters and throw weird challenges at them. If you want to have a talking bird named Cat, it's not a stretch.
- In middle grade fiction, you can have action that's faster paced and stories that move quickly along and get to the point. (And having read a lot of literary fiction lately, it's a nice change of pace :)
- Your characters are truly just discovering boys and there's so many fun awkward moments you can write in for them because of it.
- And life is so much fun at the that age!
So which team are you on MG or YA?
--Emily
Monday, April 25, 2011
Ah Yes, the Old MG vs. YA Debate
Tip of the Day: It's my semi-annual reminder to back up your files to thumb drives. Think of it as writer's Spring cleaning.
What is a middle grade voice? What is a young adult voice?
Some people would advise writers to stick to the voice they are best at. Others would say it's better to write both--then you can have two books in the market at the same time that don't compete with each other.
Is it possible to be equally adept at both voices?
I find that my young adult characters are smarter and I get to use bigger words, which is fun. Also, they're less inclined to react to situations with sarcasm and frustration. As the mother of a 12-year-old, it seems like 12-year-olds react to EVERYTHING with "This stinks! It's so not fair!" My older teenage characters already know that life isn't fair. They worry more about if they are being fair to others rather than if others are being fair to them.
But I think it is possible to learn to write both points of view well. In fact, as I drag into X number of years of writing, I'm less convinced that we have a natural "writing age." We've all been 17 and we've all been 12, and we can all tap into those feelings.
Although I'm not finding field research to be very helpful. My older teen nieces and nephews don't want to reveal their private lives, and being around groups of 12-year-olds gives me migraines. (God bless those middle school teachers. I don't know how they stay sane.)
Do you think you have a natural "writing age"? How often do you try to write for another age group, including adults? Could you develop your writing for any aged audience, or do you think it's true that most writers have a specific voice?
-- Kate, Miss Perfecting the Pages
What is a middle grade voice? What is a young adult voice?
Some people would advise writers to stick to the voice they are best at. Others would say it's better to write both--then you can have two books in the market at the same time that don't compete with each other.
Is it possible to be equally adept at both voices?
I find that my young adult characters are smarter and I get to use bigger words, which is fun. Also, they're less inclined to react to situations with sarcasm and frustration. As the mother of a 12-year-old, it seems like 12-year-olds react to EVERYTHING with "This stinks! It's so not fair!" My older teenage characters already know that life isn't fair. They worry more about if they are being fair to others rather than if others are being fair to them.
But I think it is possible to learn to write both points of view well. In fact, as I drag into X number of years of writing, I'm less convinced that we have a natural "writing age." We've all been 17 and we've all been 12, and we can all tap into those feelings.
Although I'm not finding field research to be very helpful. My older teen nieces and nephews don't want to reveal their private lives, and being around groups of 12-year-olds gives me migraines. (God bless those middle school teachers. I don't know how they stay sane.)
Do you think you have a natural "writing age"? How often do you try to write for another age group, including adults? Could you develop your writing for any aged audience, or do you think it's true that most writers have a specific voice?
-- Kate, Miss Perfecting the Pages
Friday, April 22, 2011
Fun Friday: Book Reviews
My first VOYA review will be appearing in the June 2011 issue of the journal!
Want to know what else I'm reading and what I've enjoyed? Check out my LiveJournal blog for a running list. Here's a taste:
I WILL SAVE YOU by Matt de la Pena
Kidd runs away from his group home to Cardiff by the Sea and starts on a better path with a father figure boss and a girl friend, but his old friend Devon finds him living in the campgrounds and threatens to tear down everything good he has built up. The way the author wove together the present, past, journal entries, and other memories flowed perfectly; and the ending was worth every word from page one. This YA tale of mental illness and the desire to heal was brilliantly written.
Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing
Want to know what else I'm reading and what I've enjoyed? Check out my LiveJournal blog for a running list. Here's a taste:
I WILL SAVE YOU by Matt de la Pena
Kidd runs away from his group home to Cardiff by the Sea and starts on a better path with a father figure boss and a girl friend, but his old friend Devon finds him living in the campgrounds and threatens to tear down everything good he has built up. The way the author wove together the present, past, journal entries, and other memories flowed perfectly; and the ending was worth every word from page one. This YA tale of mental illness and the desire to heal was brilliantly written.
Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing
Thursday, April 21, 2011
A2A Teen Years: When I Grow Up...
Tip of the Day: Check out the Macmillan Fall 2011 Catalog. Just Your Average Princess is in there too. :-)
When I was little I was positive I would be a rock star, stage name TINA ROCKAFINA. In my 5th grade year book I answered the question: "Where will you be in 20 years?" ON STAGE. Oh yeah. As I got into high school things changed and I decided I'd become a nurse. I even got accepted into a nursing program after high school But that lasted just a semester and I switched majors to English.
So what did my friends think I would be? Thanks to facebook and still keeping in touch there, I asked. Here were some of their responses:
Teri: Something in the medical field.
Alyssa: Investigative Journalist
Eileen: Journalist
Annette: Veterinarian
Laurie: Something in the medical field.
Interesting! Journalist comes pretty close!
Kristina, Miss Author in Action
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