So why do we write?
Is there some driving force in our minds that just snaps on at a specific time in our lives and makes us fall in love with the written word? Why do you write for your particular genre?
I know why I write for the YA and MG genres. Usually, you write what you love to read. I love reading YA books and MG as well. Why? Because there is something different about them, something secretive. Innocent perhaps? Children are more willing to take in the story. Writing about tweens and teenagers and their struggles just feels most comfortable. When we were young these books (YA MG etc) created a whole other world for us to be a part of. I loved reading the Baby Sitters Club, Animal Ark, The Shadow Children Series, Harry Potter, and the Lioness Quartet.
Somewhere, buried beneath these intricate, funny, sad, dangerous, and loving stories was always a lesson. But these were never told in a preachy way. They were underlying themes within the book. You either got them or you didn't, but if you did, it felt as though the novel had opened your eyes just a bit more to the world.
Parents and adults complain about how violent shows, movies, and video games can be and believe children will grow up without regard for most values and human life.
Books teach us values; love, ideals, courage. As children our minds are impressionable, but when we read about characters who we can identify with and learn to understand their struggles, faults and beliefs-we learn.
You ask why I write for the the YA and MG genres. Well, its because books can save children. That's it. Simple as that.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
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3 comments:
I LOVED the Lioness Quartet! I wanted to be like Alanna so badly. In fact I'm doing a future post on Lady Knights featuring Alanna and Aerin in The Hero and the Crown. They are great MG & YA female role models.
I've never read The Hero and the Crown, but The Lioness Quartet is my absolute favorite! Hands down! I'll be sure to check out your future post :]
Amen, sistah! Adult books can be jolly good fun, but I think good YA and MG books are about the most important things that can be written these days, for exactly the reasons you said. They give tweens and teens an avenue away from the mindless and violent alternatives, teach them values, and I think in large ways give them hope... that their lives and this world can still be influenced in positive ways.
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