Writing Wrongs

March 06, 2004

I recently rediscovered YA fiction. Authors like Paula Danziger and Ellen Conford got me through junior high and high school. Even though I moved on to the adult section in the library early on, I kept coming back to my favorites. The girls in these books were like friends to me.

But it�s been a while since I�ve been in high school ~ I won�t say how long. Long enough, at any rate, that I�m not sure I could capture the teen voice of today.

Still, I have this idea, almost fully-formed at this point (it�s weird how some books are like that). It�s based, remotely, on something that happened to me in high school. I mentioned it to a friend who�s working on her second YA novel, and she said:

I will either kick your scrawny butt -- or steal your idea -- if you don't at least attempt to write this.

So with that bit of encouragement, I decided to give it a serious try.

Of course, I need to finish the book I�m working on now. But what�s been great is diving back into YA fiction. Sometimes it�s good to read something radically different than what you�re writing, so you don�t unconsciously mimic style. But I�ve been enjoying myself immensely and I think once I internalize language and style of the genre, I�ll be able to write mine.

Writing Progress: I need to make some this weekend, progress, that is. I want to add to the word count, work on revising the second segment of the story, plus do up a handful of entries for contests. Can I do it? We�ll see.

What I�m reading: Halfway through Royally Jacked.

Charity Tahmaseb wrote at 7:08 a.m.

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