Face Off Friday: YA Lit and Sex*

As most of you know, young adult books are all the rage right now. Many are calling it a YA renaissance. I know that many of you who read this blog both write (and read) YA, as I do. So hopefully this is a relevant topic for you guys.

When I was writing my YA, I had the constant worry about where to draw the line on the controversial things, particularly sex and cursing. In my teen years, YA lit was very different. Most of the books were pretty clean. There were the exceptions that many of the libraries banned (Judy Blume's Forever and the book Go Ask Alice come to mind), but for the most part books were "wholesome". So, in theory, when reading YA we were protected from the "adult" things. Right?

Well, this theory didn't hold true for me because by fourteen, I was bored with YA and had moved on to adult novels. As I mentioned in a previous post, I started V.C. Andrews' Flowers in the Attic series my freshman year of high school. Looking back, these books would probably be considered YA now. The protagonist was a teen. However, the books had sex, so at that time, they were marketed as adult fiction. And as for cursing, well I had a thing for Stephen King books in high school too, so...

In today's YA market, the books run the gamut--from the squeaky clean to the shocking. So when writing, I had to make the decision of where I would fall on this issue. People on each side of this debate feel very strongly about their opinions. I'll give you the argument, then I'll tell you what I ultimately decided worked for me.

Wholesome vs. Edgy

For love of the wholesome:

• Books with cursing, sex, and drugs normalize these behaviors and encourage teens to participate in them
• These books are pornographic and are selling sex to kids
• They teach teens (girls especially) that their worth is tied into their ability to please a boy
• The situations in these books expose children to adult situations that they aren't prepared to handle or interpret correctly

In defense of edgy:

• These books, although it is unfortunate, reflect reality: many teens are in fact having sex, some are exposed to drugs, and the majority are cursing.
• Teens are programmed to think about sex so we're not giving them any ideas with the books
• There is safety in fantasy. Perhaps teens can explore the topic through a book instead of in real life. For instance, in Forever, the sex is there but so are the emotional consequences that can happen in a sexual relationship.
• Most YA authors, although I'm sure there are exceptions, do not put sex in for gratuitous purposes, but for plot purposes.
• Has anyone watched TV lately or seen a movie or listened to the radio? Teens see a lot more sex outside of books than they see inside them.
• Teens can connect with a character who is struggling with the difficult issues and not feel as alone.
• Teen readers won't believe you if all your characters are squeaky clean
• If it's kept out of YA, the kids (like me) will just move to adult books, which may paint sex in a much more gratuitous and tempting light (sans consequences).

Both arguments have good points. So what did I do? I ended up trusting my characters. If in real life, I felt the character would curse, then I let him (where it would have the most impact.) I also put in some sexual situations and dialogue, but nothing beyond making out actually happens (although my beta reader has told me I need to dial the loving back a bit, lol, so I still struggle with this line).

Why? Because of plot reasons. If I had felt my character was ready to have sex, then I probably would have let her. But the story didn't lead me that way. So I guess I fall on the liberal side in this debate. Perhaps I'm jaded from working with troubled teens in my past. They always trusted me more in therapy when I didn't balk at or preach about the things they were experiencing. I just let them talk through their feelings and offered some insight to try to lead them in a better direction.

So where do you fall in the debate? How did you make the decisions in your own YA? If you're a parent of a teen, how do you feel about what your child reads?

**This is a REPOST from 8/28/09. Hope you guys have enjoyed the "reruns", all new posts next week! Have a great weekend!**

**Today's Theme Song**

"Don't Tell Me" - Avril Lavigne

(player in sidebar if you'd like a listen)

No! No! Bad Writer*

Photo by Michael Stout (click pic for link)

Growing up, I was a girl who (except for the occasional rebellious moment) followed the rules. I wanted my parents, family, and teachers to be proud of me. I did what I was supposed to, got the As, and developed a bit of a perfectionistic personality. In many ways, this was a good thing. On the other hand, worrying about perfection is a bit maddening because of course it can never be achieved.

When I started to get serious about my writing, I jumped in and just started typing. I didn't pick up a writing book, read an agent blog, or do a lick of research. Very unlike me. But the creative juices were churning and I needed to get the words on the page before I did anything else. Once I finished my first draft, I took a breath and started to read more about writing. And boy, oh boy, there was enough out there to send me into a near panic attack.

There was so much I didn't know, so many rules I had never heard of. I thought with a firm grasp on grammer, an idea about story structure, and the show don't tell rule, I was good to go. I had no idea there was a written (and unwritten) code of the do's and don'ts of writing. This, of course, sent my anal-retentiveness into overdrive. I jumped into editing and tried to fix the things I had no idea were wrong the first time around. Then, draft after draft, I would discover a new rule I wasn't aware of and would have to go back through again. It was liking trying to break the code into a secret society.

And it hasn't stopped yet. I'm still learning new things every day. At times, it's overwhelming, but I want my manuscripts to be as good as they can be, so I'll keep reading and going to workshops and absorbing all I can.

2015 Update: However, I've also learned that rules are not rules. They're guidelines. Writing shouldn't be "perfect" according to some list. That's boring. You have to find your own style, your own voice, your comfort zone with the so-called "rules." But these do exist for a reason. So it's important to know these things and why they exist. Then you're informed and can break them wisely. Because if you're going to break them, you need to know why you're doing that and then do it well. 

What I Done Learnt So Far:

1. Adverbs are the devil incarnate. They will steal the soul of your verbs.
2. Excessive adjectives are like white shoes after Labor Day.
3. Prologues can be a crutch (though, can also be done well.)
4. Non-said dialogue tags (he growled, she shouted, he bellowed) are like big, fat "I'm a new writer" billboards in your manuscript
5. The being verbs are the ugly stepchildren of the verb family
6. You want verbs that go to the gym--nice and strong.
7. Rhetorical questions in query letters make agents burn your letter in a weekly bonfire.
8. Backstory should be slipped in like roofies into a drink--your reader didn't even notice it happened.
9. Present Participial phrases are generally bad. (This one is a new discovery for me. Editortorent has a whole series on PPPs alone.)
10. Hidden/Buried Dialogue is not preferred and slows down your pacing. (This one is also new to me. My handy dandy critique group gave me a lesson on this one recently. Apparently, dialogue passages need to be in one of the following structures:

• dialogue -->narrative-->dialogue
• narrative-->dialogue
• dialogue-->narrative

NOT narrative-->dialogue-->narrative OR (my personal favorite) Dialogue-->narrative-->dialogue-->narrative. Don't bury dialogue in the middle of narrative. I did this all over the place, including the submissions I currently have with agents--sigh).

There are hundreds of more "rules" out there, but these are the ones you'll hear most often.

What writing rules have you discovered that you never knew existed? Which rule do you disagree with? Which one is your biggest enemy--the one who sneaks in your writing all the time?

**Today's Theme Song**

"Know Your Enemy"-- Green Day

(player in sidebar, take a listen)

This Magic Moment*

What separates a novel from being just good to being great? We can talk about plot points and characterizations and originality. All of those things, of course, count for a lot. However, what seems to really define the difference for me is if I remember parts of the book (or movie) for years to come. I could enjoy a book, feel drawn in, feel satisfied when I'm done, but if you ask me in a year or two and I can't remember much about it, then maybe the book wasn't great (or maybe I'm my long term memory is just getting worse--always a possibility.)

So that got me to thinking about what makes a novel particularly memorable. In Ann Rittenberg and Laura Whitcomb's Your First Novel (a great resource, btw), they argue that a novel is memorable because of the moments an author creates. They define five main types of moments that make a story stick with us for long after we've closed the book.

1. Opening Hearts

These are the moments that are either filled with joy or sorrow. These are often the heartbreaking moments that make us cry.

ex.) In Titanic when Rose has to let go of Jack's hand in the water. In Romeo and Juliet, when Juliet awakes to find Romeo dead.

2. Instilling Fear

These are the moments that scare the bejesus out of us. These scenes are the ones that make us get up to check and make sure that we've locked the front door.

ex.) In the movie The Ring when the little girl steps out of the tv. In Stephen King's (who is the master at this type of moment) The Shining when the wife finds the stacks of typed pages that say "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

3. Raising the Temperature

These moments, for lack of a more delicate way of putting it, turn us on. This doesn't necessarily mean sex; it could be a simple kiss, but it hits a hot button.

Ex.) In the Mortal Instruments series, the scene with Jace and Clary in the fairy court. In Charlaine Harris' Sookie books, (hmm, there are so many, where to start), I'll say in the fourth one Dead to the World, the shower scene with Sookie and Eric.

4. Getting a Laugh

These are the moments that make us laugh out loud while we're reading, even though we're in the middle of the airport and everyone turns to look at us. My husband gets particularly annoyed with me when I hit these in a book because he feels left out on the joke.

ex.) In Knocked Up when the friend walks into the delivery room and she screams in her most demonic voice for him to get out.

5. Winning Victories

This is the part of the book that we're all waiting for. The hero gets the girl/guy, the murder is solved, the bad guy is caught/killed, the war is won, etc.

Ex.) The examples are all over the place. Every book and movie has one of these, it's the climax. But the key is to make the reader really care about getting there. We have to feel personally invested in the outcome. If not, we're left cold.

So what do you think? Do you have these in your own book? Are these types of moments what make you remember a story? Also, what are some of your favorite moments that stayed with you long after the end of the book or movie?

**REPOSTED from 8/17/09**

**Today's Theme Song**

"This Magic Moment"-- The Drifters

(player in sidebar, take a listen)

For Love of the Bad Boy*

I just recently finished reading Motley Crue: The Dirt - Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band . Even though I usually stick to fiction, I picked up the book for a few reasons. One, I'm a big fan of the band. Two, my current WIP's male protagonist is a lead singer in a rock band, so this was helpful research. I'm not going to go into a detailed review. But I'll say that I really enjoyed the book. It was an unapologetic look into the proverbial world of "sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll." So, if you like rock music, don't mind an r-rated (nc-17?) book, and can handle the overuse of the word "dude" in the Tommy Lee chapters, then I would say go for it.

But in addition to being a fun read, this book also got me to thinking about bad boys. They show up all the time in fiction, especially in romance and YA. It's one of our favorite alpha male types both in books (and for some of us, real life). After reading this true life account of four seriously bad boys, I started to wonder why we're so drawn to them and why certain bad boys are appealing and others appalling.

The Motley members were drug addicts, womanizers, and, at times, criminals. Yet women flocked to them even before they were famous or rich. Therefore, something about them was inherently appealing.

Then there are guys like Wes on the past season of The Bachelorette. He's considered the bad boy of the show. And based on the reunion show, he was wildly unpopular with the female viewing audience (including me.)

So what's the difference? Where is the line between uber hot and uber jerk? What traits make a bad boy sexy instead of scary? When writing, how do we create that delicious bad boy that will make our reader not just swoon but fall in love in with the character?

I think the key probably lies in the character's motivation. Your bad boy can't just be bad for the hell of it, just because he thinks it's cool. (Yes, Wes, I'm looking at you.) You have to explore the reasons why he is the way he is with your back story. He also has to have some crack in the armor that the heroine can pry into and heal. Because, otherwise, why are we reading?

Since the Motley Crue guys maintained their appeal (in my mind) even after wildly egregious acts, I'll use them as an example of some appealing types of bad boys. (I'm leaving Mick out because he is not an alpha male.)

The "I've always been pretty" bad boy (Vince Neil, lead singer): This is the bad boy who knows he's hot. Girls have always liked him. Attention has come easily. He can get whomever he wants, which can make things boring for him. It can also lead to going through girls like they're disposable. He's not used to being told no.

Crack: He ain't that confident. Sure, he knows he looks good, but he's not convinced the person underneath the looks is all that great.

Other Examples: Eric in the Sookie Stackhouse books (a personal fave of mine), Keenan inWicked Lovely, Jordan Catalano on My So-Called Life (to pull out an old 90s reference)

What he needs: A heroine that isn't afraid to knock him down off that pedestal and challenge him.

 

The "Up for anything" wild child (Tommy Lee): This guy appears to have no fear or impulse control. Seeks thrills and fun at all times. He's ruled by the Id. Doesn't take anything seriously including silly things like rules, laws, or social mores. Sees relationships as something that would hold him back from thrill-seeking.

Examples: Jules in Erica Orloff's Freudian Slip (who is basically a good-looking version of Howard Stern), Barney on How I Met Your Mother (although his thrill seeking is limited to women)

Crack: He's actually a sucker for long-term relationships. He's so passionate about everything in his life, that when he finds the right girl, he will give himself over completely to love. Tommy Lee turned lovesick both with Heather Locklear and Pamela Anderson.

What he needs: Someone that can keep up with him, but is also a calming force. A heroine who incites enough passion in him that he seeks thrills with her instead of separate from her.

 

The Wounded Soul (Nikki Sixx): This is my favorite to write and read about. This guy's motto is "get them before they get me". He's been hurt deeply somewhere along the way, and now has locked away all true feelings from others. He's easily angered and shuts down when anyone gets close. He can be the most formidable of bad boys because he doesn't care enough about himself to avoid danger.

Examples: Julian in Sherrilyn Kenyon's Fantasy Lover, Edward in Twilight, Jace in City of Bones, Wrath in J.R. Ward's Dark Lover, Johnny Castle in Dirty Dancing

 

Crack: He feels unworthy of genuine love. Nikki Sixx was abandoned by both his parents early on. So later, when people in his life showed him love, he didn't believe them. He'd push them away before he had a chance to care.

What he needs: A super tough girl that can push through that seemingly impenetrable wall. A woman that will call him out on his crap and not be intimidated by his flashes of anger. A woman that will love him fiercely.

So there's my theory. The only bad boys worth writing are the ones that offer a challenge, but that can ultimately evolve. We don't just want to read about the bad boy being bad, we want to see his character heal and reform so that he can keep the good parts (fun, attitude, touch of danger, daring) while taming the undesirable parts (lying, cheating, illegal behavior, etc.).

So, what's your opinion? Do you like a bad boy character or do you think they're overused? What makes you like one better over the other? Who's your favorite bad boy?

**This is a REPOST from 7/21/09**

**Today's Theme Song**

"Kickstart My Heart"-- Motley Crue

(player in sidebar, take a listen)

Why do you read what you read?*

Since it is Thanksgiving week, I am rerunning some posts I did before I had many followers. I will still be responding to your comments. Here is my very first post, hope you enjoy. I look forward to hearing about your own reading journey

**REPOSTED from 7/15/09**

As I start this blog, I found myself wondering how I became such a book-obsessed dork and why I prefer certain types of stories to others. Looking back, I've decided that reading development is kind of like that Plinko game from the Price is Right--certain people and book experiences bump you in one direction or the other. Some of us land in the $5000 slot and become lifelong readers of every type of book, others land in zero and miss out completely, and many of us fall somewhere in between finding a particular reading niche. Here's how my Plinko game went:

4th grade: Inspired by my mother's love of mystery novels, I start reading James Howe's Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery series and Betty Ren Wright'sThe Dollhouse Murders .

Result: A love of stories that scare me and make me laugh. This also leads to me being convinced that my room is haunted by an evil stuffed monkey that has sat on my shelf since toddlerhood. Monkey gets evicted to the attic, I sleep on the couch for six months (seriously.)

5th grade: My teacher, Mrs. Hymel, starts reading a chapter a day of Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time to the class. I'm hooked. I go to the library to get the book because I can't tolerate waiting for her to finish. I proceed to read the rest of the series in rapid succession. When I'm finished with those, I move on to The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

Result: My love for both fantasy and series books is planted.

6th grade: We're assigned to read Where the Red Fern Grows

and Bridge to Terabithia . Amazing literary books. But both tore me to shreds. I had just lost my grandmother who I was extremely close to and books involving deaths just shattered me.

Result: I develop a respect but also a wariness for literary fiction. In addition, I acquire a lifelong aversion to novels that kill off the dog. I go on a binge of R.L. Stinehorror books (such as The Baby-Sitter (Point Horror Series)

)and Roald Dahl instead. I also began to indulge my budding interest in the paranormal. My science fair projects for this year: ESP and Poltergeists.

9th grade: I dig through my mom's book collection and pull out V.C. Andrews' Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind . These books were depressing, full of drama, gothic, darkly romantic, and totally addictive. But why do I remember these? Because in the second book there was (wait for it) sex. Gasp. I was a very naive at fourteen and found this to be so scandalous. This is the first time I remember hiding the spine of the book while I was reading in public just in case. Of course, I went on to read like twenty more books by Ms. Andrews.

Result: Discover that romance + sexy + darkness = awesomeness

10th grade: I realize that most of my favorite horror movies started as books. I go through a Stephen King and Anne Rice phase. I also read a "based on true events" book called The Black Hope Horror: The True Story of a Haunting that scares the bejesus out of me. I have to remove the book from my room at night so I can sleep.

Result: Decide psychics, monsters, vampires, and ghosts are by far way cooler than normal humans.

9th grade-12th grade: My teachers beat us over the head with the classics because that's their job. I know now these books are works of art, masterpieces, etc. But as a teenager, I thought all of them (outside of Shakespeare and Poe) were big giant suckfests.

Result: I raise the stock of the Cliff Notes company (allowing me to ace all English tests and papers) and am further turned off by the term "literary."

And what do I do with the time I should be using to read my assigned books? I write my own romance novel because clearly there is no chance of actual romantic interludes in my own angsty life. A hundred and fifty typed pages of sappy teenage indulgence is born and titled Kismet. My male protagonist bears a strikingresemblance to Joe McIntyre of New Kids on the Block.

College: I start off with a double major: Psyc and English, but feel overwhelmed. I drop English because it's not as "practical", but still sneak in a few classes. LSU offers a Vampires in Literature class. How frigging cool is that? Not only do I get the chance to read stacks of vamp novels, I get the chance to write short stories about them, too.

Result: Regret dropping the English major. Promise myself that once I get settled in my psychology career, I will try to write in my free time.

So now, years later, where does that leave me?

Reading and writing the same things I grew to love as a child. My Plinko chip landed in the voracious reader of genre fiction slot. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not closed off to the literary side, but honestly its not the first thing I pick up. So, be warned that most of my reviews on here will fall under genre fiction.

So, I'm curious. What books from your past guided your tastes? Can you remember that first moment or first book that really hooked you on reading? Or something that turned you away from a certain genre? Leave a comment and let me know.

**Today's Theme Song**

"Thnks Fr Th Mmrs"-- Fall Out Boy

(player in sidebar, take a listen)