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How Far is Too Far?
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From: Alixwrites_at_aol.com <Alixwrites>
Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2005 14:31:18 EDT
As a YA author, I am always surprised to hear the accusation that we are doing things for "shock value." YA authors, like other authors, write about the things that capture their attention enough that they will be able to devote a year or so to writing a book about it. We write what we *can* write, whether that is bunny books or books about sexual abuse. Things like AIDS and hate crimes and abusive relationships happen, and that's what captures my attention because I really like to write a novel to try and figure out *why* those things happen -- because it just seems wrong to me that they do. I agree with the poster who said that some teens may prefer not to read about that subject matter, and I think that those teens can go to Borders and select any one of a number of light books -- which seem to be the majority of books at my Borders. But there are teens who want to read about darker subject matter, and I think it should be available to them if they wish to explore the world around them, as I have. They are already well aware that this stuff exists, from the news.
As for other stuff, such as profanity or sex, it has not been my experience
(or that of other authors I know) that books with profanity are better sellers, so that can't possibly be why authors include it. For myself, I try to include everything that is necessary and nothing that isn't. This is a personal choice and will vary from author to author and reader to reader. I have learned from experience that no matter what you do in YA literature, you are going to offend someone, so that can't be your guiding principle. The characters in my novels have sex if I feel that a teenager like my characters in the same situation as my characters would have sex (For example, in one of my books, a desperately unhappy high school guy falls in love and runs away with a free-spirited girl who operates the Whack-a-Mole game at the local carnival. I felt that *no way* would this couple not have sex. So they do. One must be true to one's characters and situation). But I am personally not comfortable with explicit sex in literature (YA or adult), so I always leave my characters at the bedroom door, so to speak. As with all things, Your Mileage
May Vary.
Same with profanity. I really, really try not to use a lot of profanity because I don't personally use it. But there are some situations where my characters absolutely need to use profanity because it would be unrealistic and untrue to the characters not to. If I write a book in which a character is involved in an abusive relationship, I know that there are certain things that abusive guys call their girlfriends, and he can't very well call her a "tart" or some other cleaned-up version while he's beating her. I have kept myself down to one f**k in four novels, and I still get some flak for that one . .
. but that one word was really *really* necessary in the context of the novel, and if someone told me I could have sold twice as many copies without it
(which is probably a true statement), I still would have been hard-pressed to remove it.
I don't know any authors who write sex, profanity, or difficult subject matter for shock value or to sell books. On the contrary -- most authors I know agonize about whether to include these things in their novels. We hate being yelled at as much as the next person. But it is important to be true to one's characters and the story that is in one's own heart.
Having said that, I would be extremely interested in hearing what M.E. Kerr has to say on the subject. She has broken down many a boundary, and I know that her books have inspired many newer authors -- myself included -- to be brave in the face of the disapproval that is always part of a young?ult writer's lot in life and to tell the story that needs to be told.
Best, Alexandra
_www.alexflinn.com_ (http://www.alexflinn.com/)
"Fans of legal thrillers might check out Alex Flinn's intriguing Fade to Black." Washington Post 5/8/05
Received on Wed 22 Jun 2005 01:31:18 PM CDT
Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2005 14:31:18 EDT
As a YA author, I am always surprised to hear the accusation that we are doing things for "shock value." YA authors, like other authors, write about the things that capture their attention enough that they will be able to devote a year or so to writing a book about it. We write what we *can* write, whether that is bunny books or books about sexual abuse. Things like AIDS and hate crimes and abusive relationships happen, and that's what captures my attention because I really like to write a novel to try and figure out *why* those things happen -- because it just seems wrong to me that they do. I agree with the poster who said that some teens may prefer not to read about that subject matter, and I think that those teens can go to Borders and select any one of a number of light books -- which seem to be the majority of books at my Borders. But there are teens who want to read about darker subject matter, and I think it should be available to them if they wish to explore the world around them, as I have. They are already well aware that this stuff exists, from the news.
As for other stuff, such as profanity or sex, it has not been my experience
(or that of other authors I know) that books with profanity are better sellers, so that can't possibly be why authors include it. For myself, I try to include everything that is necessary and nothing that isn't. This is a personal choice and will vary from author to author and reader to reader. I have learned from experience that no matter what you do in YA literature, you are going to offend someone, so that can't be your guiding principle. The characters in my novels have sex if I feel that a teenager like my characters in the same situation as my characters would have sex (For example, in one of my books, a desperately unhappy high school guy falls in love and runs away with a free-spirited girl who operates the Whack-a-Mole game at the local carnival. I felt that *no way* would this couple not have sex. So they do. One must be true to one's characters and situation). But I am personally not comfortable with explicit sex in literature (YA or adult), so I always leave my characters at the bedroom door, so to speak. As with all things, Your Mileage
May Vary.
Same with profanity. I really, really try not to use a lot of profanity because I don't personally use it. But there are some situations where my characters absolutely need to use profanity because it would be unrealistic and untrue to the characters not to. If I write a book in which a character is involved in an abusive relationship, I know that there are certain things that abusive guys call their girlfriends, and he can't very well call her a "tart" or some other cleaned-up version while he's beating her. I have kept myself down to one f**k in four novels, and I still get some flak for that one . .
. but that one word was really *really* necessary in the context of the novel, and if someone told me I could have sold twice as many copies without it
(which is probably a true statement), I still would have been hard-pressed to remove it.
I don't know any authors who write sex, profanity, or difficult subject matter for shock value or to sell books. On the contrary -- most authors I know agonize about whether to include these things in their novels. We hate being yelled at as much as the next person. But it is important to be true to one's characters and the story that is in one's own heart.
Having said that, I would be extremely interested in hearing what M.E. Kerr has to say on the subject. She has broken down many a boundary, and I know that her books have inspired many newer authors -- myself included -- to be brave in the face of the disapproval that is always part of a young?ult writer's lot in life and to tell the story that needs to be told.
Best, Alexandra
_www.alexflinn.com_ (http://www.alexflinn.com/)
"Fans of legal thrillers might check out Alex Flinn's intriguing Fade to Black." Washington Post 5/8/05
Received on Wed 22 Jun 2005 01:31:18 PM CDT
