Researching Song of the Day: "Into the Light" by Papa RoachGood Morning, peeps! It's the start of a new week (we have 5 weeks left in this school year- woo hoo!) and we want to start this week off with some light information.
In the recent issue of The Writer magazine (June 2011) there was an article that caught my eye. There are never many articles on YA in The Writer mag, so when I came across the article "9 Inside Tips On Writing for YA" written by Joyce Doyle, a freelance writer, and young adult writer and librarian, I KNEW some of this info needed to be shared with you all.
As mentioned there are 9 tips, but let's focus on one shall we?
This tip is something we've been hearing a lot from teens and adult readers of YA. The tip is: Have fun with it! Yes teens are emotional and full of anger, sorrow, and dismay--but they also have some good times in those 6 or so years of teenage angst. Therefore, we need to focus on lighter issues and "themes" in novels for teens.
Reference this interview from me and Pam's oh-so angsty and emo niece, Tee Tee (courtesy of Paper Hangover). Now consider this--this girl can often be found with her head buried in a book and a black hood hanging over her eyes. That tells you something, right?
And reference this post from Pam. She talks about how she's stepping away from the darker, heavier, dramatic plots for her new WIP. Yes, she has some heavy issues in the novel, but she is focusing on the lighter side of drama. We know that with being a teen comes great dramatics, but even so we as writers can make those dramatics seem a little lighter, don't ya think?
Moral of the story? Let's get some light in here people!
Here are a few light books that you can read to get those juices flowing for your own light and fun new WIP idea :)
Can you think of a book we left off the list? How do you feel about lighter books for teens?
6 comments:
I love lighter books! It's funny because I always gravitate toward lighter fare, whether it be in movies, music, books, whatever, but I do love the darker stuff, too! Of course, I LOVED ANNA, but these other two look great, too! I would also have to add Maureen Johnson's 13 LITTLE BLUE ENVELOPES and SUITE SCARLETT.
OMG, You Wish was fantastic at the funny. So, so awesome.
It's fun to think about the sunny and funny books. I loved Dairy Queen by Catherine Murdock- not as funny as You Wish, but a fun book.
Prada and Prejudice was also great!
I think it's good to have a combination of both dark and light. Just as in life, there are good times and bad. I tend to read darker works, and someone who recently read my work told me that I had a dark mind. Who knew? BTW I'm dying to read Anna and the French Kiss. LOL. :)
I enjoy reading light books. ANNA is one of my faves!
Glad you enjoyed the article - keep having fun with it! That's what it's all about.
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