Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Treat Your Writer Like A Parent: DON'T LISTEN

Psst...

Yeah, you. Look here.

No, not literally at the word here. (I know a lot of bloggers do that, but I'm no blogger.) It's me: Ebony, lurking closer to the laptop screen, whispering in a raspy tone. Shhh...Sher~ told me no more talking to you guys, at least not yet. And no, she hasn't drawn me a set of sexy legs yet, or a smack-worthy butt either.

Relax. Don't be too hard on her. (Really, it's my fault.)

If you tell her I said that I will SO deny it! I've been messing with her.

What? * ogling my undecided teenage eyes*  It's all about HEAD GAMES in junior high and high school, don't you know. Young Adult and Middle Grade literature, isn't that what you folks write? If you're not one of those, no worries. This wisdom will apply to you too. And hey, on behalf of Sher, tanks fo dah vee-sit. (She is going to put me in some awkward, embarrassing scene for that one. *sigh*)


Did you like the opening of my story found HERE. Yeah, you can click that one. Well, there's more where that comes from only I won't let her write it. I've decided I'm regressing back to junior high. Ninth grade will not cut it for me.


Batting my overly-large emerald eyes--if you forgot those, check them out HERE. Again, Yeah. It's my life. Sure, she's writing me, but it's my story. I don't think going back one year is going to kill her. What is the big deal? She has to come up with my back story, right? Well, I'm giving her more to use, more books to write about me and my coming-of-age experiences. Granted, it's not your average coming of age. 


Did you really expect her to write something normal? She can't help herself, and for that I'm thankful. Without her quirky slant of the 'Unseen' and 'What Lies Beneath', I would not exist. 


You think I'm being too hard on her? Okay. Not really. The Powers That Be say MG is roughly from age 8-12. But YA beings around 14 or 15 through 18ish. Where does that leave my favorite and most eerie number, peeps???


For all you YA writers out there, how do you decide what age to give birth to your characters? 


And for those who write YA and MG, where do you draw the line? How do you begin with a character of MG age, let's say bordering 13and age that character through the YA years?


Don't forget to head over to Oasis for YA. They've got a great contest going on!!

11 comments:

  1. Ages and YA and Middle Grade. *Beats head on desk* Seriously ... this is weird territory. Confusing. I started to write MG stuff and was dumbfounded at all the stuff I found online about the ages. I wanted to make my MG character 14 (because of the type of relationship he has with his brother), but everything I read told me "no ... no, 12 and under." Grrr...

    I don't understand it, I don't think I ever will. LoL

    ~JD

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  2. It's tough. In my current WIP my MC starts out at 15, but there are several flashbacks to earlier times and the novel follows over a year of his life so he is nearly 17 by the end.

    Technically I guess that makes it YA but I like to think of the whole thing as a little more mature than that. I recently heard of a new genre called New Adult, but that doesn't really apply either. I hate Genre!

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  3. I try and always make them 15/16 just because it's a general, relatable age that goes all the teenage things we'd expect.
    Did that make sense? My 3yo is talking to me as I write and I've typed it 3 times already:/

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  4. yeah tough one. if they are younger than driving age, how do they get around etc. ya know?

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  5. Mine have started out at around ages 16 or seventeen. I have no set reason other than that's what fit with my story at the time. Great post!

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  6. I like to start about 16, 17- Depending on the story. =)

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  7. I'm pretty much stuck on 16 or 17 (just like Caroline). So I can't say I've had this particular problem (clearly variety is something to worry about, though...)

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  8. Seems that 17 is my magic number lately. I've also found that you can't have the characters age too much in one book. Lovely blog. :)

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  9. I want to write a book about a college senior (which is literally a ya) but if I do it won't be YA!

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  10. It can be a really tough choice sometimes. But usually, the premise and what I want to accomplish with it sort of forces my hand in some way. And like with yours, the voice that comes through naturally will also affect the age.

    Love the voice of your mc, too!

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  11. My characters are 17. Beautiful and strange young people let me tell you!!

    Love your blog, following ASAP!

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