Friday, August 17, 2012
Recently at Joseph Beth's YA Author Panel, I asked seven authors: What can you get away with in fantasy that you can't in Contemporary (and vice versa)?
At first there wasn't an obvious answer because, as Christine Johnson pointed out, as long as you write consistently, there's not much difference in what you can get away with. There are rules you have to follow no matter what genre.
So I prompted with "death" being a much deeper issue in Contemporary books. For instance, in Kristina McBride's ONE MOMENT the entire book pivots on the death of one character (not a spoiler, it's on the jacket copy). But in fantasy, like Rae Carson's THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS there are deaths in battle, deaths on the journey, death from injury and illness, etc. You can't harp forever on these things or the books would be even longer!
I personally think that "body count" is something you can't "get away with" in Contemporary. Everything pivots so much on the emotional arc of characters that death is too big to be brushed over (as in a fantasy battle scene).
Julia Karr seemed to agree. She said that in Contemporary, the "emotional reaction, it must fit, go with what the real world is." It's a limitation of sorts.
Similarly, Rae Carson said that fantasy "takes real world concepts" and "puts them in a fun atmosphere" to examine issues such as government, environment, economics, politics, etc. In doing so, fantasy oftentimes gets away with things that just wouldn't fly in real life. And isn't that why we love it so much? It allows a space for escape so that serious issues--even death--can be examined.
But sometimes real life is depicted so well--even the horrors--that Contemporary informs us of those simple and basic themes of human nature. For me, personally, this is an advantage rather than a limitation. And a way in which both Contemporary and Fantasy inform each other as genres.
Of course there are exceptions. And you might not agree with me. So what do you think? Do fantasy writers get away with murder? Do Contemporary authors harp on too much over issues?
To Be Clear: This is not pitting one genre against another, but rather a comparison that, I think, highlights the strengths of both genres. xx
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
ChelleyReads...you won the copy of Elissa Janine Hoole's Kiss the Morning Star!! Make sure to email us your address for posting. weheartya(at)gmail(dot)com. This week's giveaway is A Want So Wicked by Suzanne Young. Just comment to enter.This week's hashtag is what everyone is (and will) be talking about #WriteOnCon. It's a free online conference for writers full of great insights into the publishing industry and into the writing process itself. Some of your favorite authors will be there. Agents, Editors, and lots and lots of great up and coming writers in the community. It's pretty epic and in its third year (we've been there for all of them!)
An interesting discussion ensued after @novarensuma tweeted this:
More Writing Schtuff:
The Funnies (you know it's the part you skip to):
The Business:
NPR released a list of 100 books as voted by YOU...but these things are so subjective:
Getting Serious:
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| True...but chin up...It's Shark Week!!!! |
Hope to see you around The Con...and if you're missing twitter because you're busy in the forums (it is a vortex that sucks you in) check back here next week to see what you missed! xx
Thursday, August 9, 2012
We hate to start off
with an inside joke, but when you go to an author event and these words are
uttered...you know a good time was had by all. So, what are we
going on about?
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| The turn-out this year was fantastic! |
Well...these awesome YA
authors showed up at Joseph-Beth in Cincinnati, Ohio (sometimes it pays to live
in the Midwest, yo) and they offered some swag (bribes) in exchange for
questions from the audience. One audience member half-joked to another about a throwdown over swag: "No, I'm an actual trained professional wrestler." Yikes! Another girl screamed, "I NEED IT!" when Rae Carson offered an ARC of CROWN OF EMBERS. It got a bit crazy up in there.
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| Christine Johnson and her books (bribes) |
Starting off, there was
a fantastic question about including more non-white characters in books.
Obviously us readers want more diversity. Here's what
the authors said:
Saundra Mitchell: chose Baltimore as a setting in her
Victorian era trilogy to subvert the tropes of the historical genre. She
found it exciting to write about history that people don't talk about--for
instance African-American as well as Asian-American characters who helped found
cities and fought in the wilds of the west.
Sarah Rees Brennan: spoke about book covers being changed
after reader outcry, such as LIAR by Justine Larbalestier (where the cover
depicted a black MC as white).
Julie Kagawa: seconded that issue and announced Harlequin
Teen is changing her IMMORTAL RULES cover when it's printed in paperback to
correctly depict the Asian MC (rather than the white one used on the
hardcover).
Rae Carson: thirded (is that a word?) the issue by
pointing out her original mock-up cover had a thin, white girl in a flowy dress when
her MC is a fat Latina girl (and "that polyester dress would really chafe in the
desert"). Consequently her cover was changed.
Christine Johnson: said that YA is in a unique position to
change things in publishing because all genres are shelved next to each other.
There is no separate section for African-American or
"multi-cultural" stories. Unlike the adult section where genres
are shelved separately. YA has a chance to make diversity normative. *high fives*
The entire panel pointed
out that the only people who can change the way publishers market is for us
readers to initiate that change and to voice our need and want for diverse
covers (and even diverse characters).
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| Julie Kagawa (signing), Christine Johnson, Saundra Mitchell |
They spoke about
their inspirations:
Julia Karr: "whatever" "nowhere"
For instance, her latest story idea came to her when she was in the massage
parlor (a big clue as to the title of this post).
Kristina McBride: said her ideas come to her "all the
time," but when she can't sleep because her characters are speaking to her
or she can't stop thinking about an idea, she knows this is "the
one." The book to work on.
Rae Carson: "life" "asking how
you get your ideas is like asking how do you get your oxygen" However,
she did mention that her trilogy arose from "the worst idea ever"
when she was in a different kind of parlor (tattoo) getting her belly button
pierced. At the time she was thinking about fantasy and how to subvert
the trope of the "amulet of power." She thought wouldn't it be
crazy to write the amulet of power being "belly bling." For the
record: WE ARE SO GLAD THAT SHE DID!!
Saundra Mitchell: summed it up, "people talk in my head,
people annoy me, I write books." Hilariously she explained how she likes
to take on a challenge (Irish Fog Fairies) and sometimes writes just to be
contrary. But most often the characters come to her first. <3
<3 "The Irish give good fairy"--Sarah Rees Brennan
Julie Kagawa: admitted all of her ideas (and she means ALL)
come from video games and anime. She spilled that the ending of THE IRON
QUEEN was completely inspired from the ending in FINAL FANTASY 10. She
summed it up well: "Your tears feed my muse." (And
between her and Christine Johnson is mostly responsible for the title of this post).
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| Julia Karr, Kristina McBride, Rae Carson, Sarah Rees Brennan |
During the lightning round
of questions they spoke about feminism and retelling folklore:
Saundra Mitchell: "Always let the girls drive."
Sarah Rees Brennan: did an entire monologue that we completely
wish we had a video recording to show. It ended with making fun of Superman
for wearing his pants on the outside. :)
Rae Carson: There's a "different wave of
feminism in YA" that used to be simply having the female characters
"just like guys" but have moved on to "women get to be whoever
they want to be" without having to have big muscles, etc.
Julie Kagawa: "Treats retellings with
respect" so that "you can tweak them, but not completely change
them." (She quite cheekily mentioned that her vampires
"sparkle...right before they burst into flames").
They spoke about
influential authors and most memorable lines from their books. Basically,
the entire two hours was filled with smart questions and clever and hilarious
authors. It was absolutely superb and we can't wait for next year!!
If you had a chance, what would YOU ask these authors??
If you had a chance, what would YOU ask these authors??
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Karen (from Teen Librarians Toolbox), Congrats! You won the ARC of UNTIL I DIE! And the summer giveaways continue this week with KISS THE MORNING STAR by Elissa Janine Hoole. Simply comment to enter.
Two excellent twitter discussions last week tied for Best Hastag: #YALitChat and #YAWritersAAT
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| YALitChat is consistently good, often with a range of authors chiming in. |
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| Great discussion about What's authentic in YA? Fresh from the mouths of teens. Hopefully a regular occuring chat. |
Books we're excited about:
YES. THIS.
Over the weekend, WeHeartYA attended an awesome 8-author YA Panel at Joseph-Beth Booksellers:
Just one reason to catch a Sarah Rees Brennan signing (she's hilarious):
I mean, this was all before she even arrived in the US. She and Saundra Mitchell went for a whirlwind weekend of events before finally stopping in Cincinnati along with Rae Carson, Julie Kagawa, Julia Karr, Christine Johnson, and Kristina McBride. Stop back on Thursday for a full recap and photos!!
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Stephanie, Ingrid, Sarah & Kristan — we read, write, discuss and celebrate Young Adult lit.
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