How Y.A. Works

[quiarahb]

Found this site on Twitter and thought I'd post it. It talks about popular YA books, the writing and such. It could be useful to YA writers out there.


Here's the link: http://howyafictionworks.com/2014/06/28/cress-word-choice-in-ya-lit/

Check it out and see what you think, guys. 

[Pandean]

That's very interesting!

[quiarahb]

Yeah. I like a lot of the comments made about our beloved popular books. Makes you think. The comment made about the book, Cress, and word choice got me thinking.

[MookyMcD]

I basically agree with the statement that the fingers "being" doesn't convey much in itself. I haven't read the article, and don't see this issue as having anything to do with YA, but why waste a verb to describe? You end up with a sentence that does nothing but say the fingers "were" that?

"His shriveled and blue fingers still gripped the amulet, even in death" or "The old man's fingers, shriveled and blue, were cold against her cheek" or whatever. That does two things, one of which, I think is what the author was talking about, the other is moving description to action, which I think makes both the description and action better.

[BlackRabbit]

Thanks, Mooky! I was reading it too literally, when I really should have just used my imagination. :•)

[tianaluthien]

That's really interesting, thanks for posting.

This is something I seem to notice more in YA, though I don't think any genre is immune to it. It usually makes me think about how I want to rewrite whatever sentence/paragraph I've just read... 

Word choice is also something I've been paying more attention to lately. It doesn't always filter through when I'm writing the first (very rough) draft, but when I go back and revise, I've got a clearer image of everything in my head and can rewrite accordingly.

[Doggy Teng]

That's a pretty good article -- thanks for posting the link.  And of course the topic isn't specific to Y.A. at all!

I especially like the James Wood quote at the beginning.  In many ways this is just what I meant when I joked about some of the Write Club commenters reminding me of people who give the impression that they need to 'get out more' because they're effusive about something fairly ordinary.  In most cases the writing is certainly functional, but has only begun to scratch the surface when it comes to showing the finesse needed to create something really special.  Things like word choice and, especially, the sound and rhythm of the language are a big part of reaching that skill level.

[sara_ash]

Thanks for this, quiarahb!

[OtterDaughter]

Interesting article! Karma for you, my dear.   

[benjj]

I prefer the minimalist approach to prose. It keeps my writing clean and pacey. It helps to use concrete verbs, which buy mine at WalMart.

[quiarahb]

Sorry for the late replies. Glad that you guys liked the article. I think this site is really cool, but again this article made me think. I'm very particular about the words I use in my MS. And I agree. This article isn't just for YA writers.