A gorgeous morning out there this morning and I never said a word about it.
Yesterday’s Word Count: 4642
Today’s Starting Count: 50,494
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The problem, I think, with a 13 year old writing YA is that although she would certainly have an authentic point of view, she naturally lacks the perspective that you only get from living. In other words,she could describe WHAT happens but not see WHY it happens or what consequences would flow out of what happens. Even a very talented child will still write fiction that is, well, childish. QS, if it is taken as a stand-alone work, has many of the characteristics of good YA: A young protagonist in a very difficult situation who makes his own way and even better, behaves decently, honorably, while doing it.
Normally, I’d agree, Joyce, but my younger daughter is writing some incredibly nuanced stuff and I’d love to see her take this unicorn by the horn and give it a good honk.
Congrats on busting the 50K word count! You are inspirational sar.
Also, I would love to see you write YA.
I think part of the disjoint going on here in the YA conversation definitely comes down to just what YA means.
Based on what you said today QS is not YA, I’m guessing that is the publisher’s definition.
As a reader until recently and I started to see this disjoint, YA was a coverall for stories written with a younger, not yet adult (and probably not older teen) audience in mind. Saying that to do that the story must revolve around a young protagonist seems a bit disingenuous to me.
On a fairly unrelated note, the ‘Children’s Table’ and ‘Of a certain age’… Nate with statements like that you make me feel old. I was for many years at the children’s table and I too recall the promotion to sit with the adults. But I have been at large family gatherings more recently including with the in-laws where the childrens table made an appearence.
So I think it may be more of a cultural grouping thing than a generational grouping.
Yeah, the Children’s Table thing is definitely cultural, but there are fewer and fewer families that have the extended grouping anymore and that’s changing over time so also generational.
The YA definition question is a good one. And you’re right, I’m thinking of a kind of ‘standard definition of YA’ that includes “written for and about adolescents” with stories that focus on plot, character, and setting but give short shrift to theme and style. Looking at that definition real hard, I’ve got to think about that again.
I guess part of my thoughts on the YA thing is the Jupiter collection of novels issued by Baen, with stories by James P. Hogan, Jerry Pournelle, and Charles Sheffield ( http://www.webscription.net/p-956-the-jupiter-novelels.aspx ). I’m also remembering that Heinlein considered Starship Troopers as one of his juveniles. Compared with those, Quarter Share through Full Share are right there in the zone, although today’s kids may well consider them lacking in big explosions. I also can’t see a kid who’s started Quarter Share, and hung in through Full Share, then quitting just because Ishmael is now older.
Perhaps we should look at what the YA market is defined as by the Big Publishers, and then look at what we *want* the YA books to be – the first hits of ideas that suggest to kids that there *ARE* great things out there to do and see!
I’ll admit, having read Quarter Share, that I really wish when I was younger that I’d heard of the Merchant Marine, because I really think I missed a life there I would have enjoyed.
My vote would be to continue the Ravenwood series. I’m looking forward to finding out what happens next. I know I’ll still feel the same way once I hit the end of Ravenwood 2. Also, if you have a good flow going with Tanyth it might be good to not block that off by changing tracks.
Having the full series out should help sales as well… Just say’n.
I’m not so sure that YA is the way forward. Your work at the moment has universal appeal and even with the more adult content of Half Share I don’t think it would be inappropriate for a teen.
I think you should look to continue with one of the two series you have going. You have many possibilities for advancing these worlds and you may dilute your brand by writing in other genres.
As far as having Tanyth’s son as a focus for a novel I did think earlier in the week that a Trooper’s tale would be a good progression once you have finished with Tanyth but I was thinking more along the lines of another female protagonist. This lead me into thinking about what makes a fantasy a fantasy and could you call it such if there were no fantastic happenings other than the fact that it is an alternate world. (my thinking is yes of course).
Forgive me this ramble but it’s probably appropriate for #tommw.
I kind of have to agree with Diwlyn that specifically focusing on YA may not be necessary. Though I think “South Coast” would also be suitible as a YA book.
Powerlessness, (and dealing with the emotional slings and arrows of an immature peer group,) seem like the major themes of being a teenager. I think this applies to both Otto and Ishmal, though Ishmal might be a bit unrealistic in his ability to not getting caught up in emotional hurts.
I guess I expected that we might hear more about Tanyth’s son in the course of her stories, though it’s completely realistic that she’d never see him again. So a separate book(or series) about him would be interesting.
He was going to be deported to Siren (at least in the audio version).
I think it would be great to see what a non-corporation planet is like, in YA or not. How do those people view corporate worlds? Do they have the same drive to leave their world that people on corporate worlds? Are they naturally exposed to more “worldly” views? There are a lot of questions about the setting I’d definitely love to have answered. 🙂
OK, I guess I have opinions about everything. QS is not a YA book, per se, but it could be read by YA’s. In fact, it is the story of an 18 y/o man who is capable of working in an enclosed two sex environment and controlling his sexual urges because he respects the folks he works with and it is the rules of the Lois McKendrick. Seems like a positive role model to me for men, women of all ages. What do you think?
I would love to see the next Solar Clipper series with Ishmael Wang’s adventures after Owner’s Share or even a single book about Ishmael’s academy years. You also have a lot of possibilities for doing another single or double book story in the Solar Clipper universe like South Coast/Cape Grace (which I’m also eager to read and listen too as well!).
First, I think a great story is a great story no matter how young the characters are. People love Dorothy Gale (OZ), and Charlie Bucket (Wonka), and Alice ? (Wonderland). Heck, Romeo and Juliet were 13 or 14, and we still tell and retell that tale. And think of what Pixar does so well, write for a young audience and an older audience simultaneously.
Second, YA doesn’t mean unsophisticated or dealing with tough issues. The characters have even more of a struggle when they are put in extraordinary circumstances than an adult in the same situation would have like: Lack of access to money, lack of a driver’s license or passport, missing school, parents worrying about them (or not), etc.
Third, there is a hole in the market. Personally, I’d like to see some strong technologically brilliant girls in Sci-Fi. I’d also like to see some great action packed boy stories in Fantasy that don’t revolve around being a wizard.
@Nate: Have you thought about co-authoring with younger daughter? When Stephen King and Peter Straub did The Talisman, they did such a great job of melding styles that at the end I couldn’t tell who had written which portion and often forgot that it was a joint endeavor. I think I remember reading that they wrote every other chapter and made an effort to write in the other one’s style.