What Inspires You About YA?

[Nicōle Olea]

I just picked up a ton of YA novels today, and it made me wonder...And so I thought it would be a great conversation to have right here on YALITCHAT!

 

What inspires you about young adult literature?

 

 

[Eliza Tilton]

It's raw.

[Elizabeth Reyes]

I think the newness of everything. First kiss, first love, first time,  Everything is so like Eiza said raw, and emotional. A broken heart at 17 so different than at say 28. I don't remember every kiss I ever had but I'll never forget my first. *sigh*

 

[Michelle Clark]

I also think it tends to be more about the story and the characters than trying to impress the reader with the language or how smart or crass or deep the author is. I go to writing conventions, and I've met a lot of authors who write to be famous, and not to tell a good story, and unfortunately, many of them still seem to get published. For me, the author should be irrelevant in terms of the story and how the story is told. Meet more than a few with a strong contempt for YA. One commented haughtily, "Well, I write for real publishing houses."  I knew I'd probably find his work boring and pretentious, and likely missing a plot.

[Jo Ramsey]

I agree with Michelle. I think YA is more character and plot oriented than some novels for adults that I've read. And I think in some ways there's more room for the author to use their imagination in YA.

[Angie Fisher]

That it's a tool.  A tool to inspire, a tool to educate, and a tool to help adolescents feel a little less alone in a very big world.

[Ruth Frances Long]

That anything can happen, any sort of crossover is possible. There's a raw potential in every YA story that bursts off the page. Characters and plot are the driving force, as mentioned by Michelle and Jo above. I love that the defining factor--the thing that makes them YA--is related to the characters and their age, the themes of growth, responsibility and learning. I love that you'll find a crime thriller next to a contemporary comedy and a fairytale fantasy. I almost imagine them whispering to each other to create new cross-genre stories while we're not looking. ;)