R.M. Archer's Blog, page 25

Why Sequels Are Harder to Write – Guest Post by Hope Bolinger

Today we have a guest on the blog! Hope Bolinger is a YA author and literary agent, and this post is part of the blog tour to promote her upcoming book: Den. Stick around to the end of the post to read more about that. :)

Have you ever read a sequel and thought, “Meh. The original was better”?

Or have you ever felt that a book didn’t need a sequel, and that the author simply wrote a second book because their publisher said, “Stacey, you sold a million books. We need a second installment NOW!”?

Believe it or not, authors get intimidated by writing sequels. Even if we’d originally planned for a series, we worry that our second book will end up like so many other second installments to popular books: mediocre at best.

In this article, I’ll break down some of the trickiest obstacles to writing a sequel, and how to overcome them.

Reason One: You Have to Jump Over the Previous Bar You’ve Set

Obviously, if you wrote a terrible first book you only have up to go from here.

But let’s say you did, at the very least, so-so. Now you have expectations to meet. You have to present a book that’s equally compelling, surprising, enticing, and any other positive “ing.” That’s a lot of pressure.

How to overcome this?

First, accept that your first draft will not be as good as the final draft. Second, enroll the help of betas who have read the first book. Ask them if this one ups the ante.

Reason Two: You Have to Provide Plot Info without Confusing New Readers

Some readers read book two before book one. I’ve done it myself with certain series. So now you have the task of introducing them to the world you’ve previously set up without throwing so much information at them that they get lost, or worse, bored.

How to overcome this?

Just like you did with book one, sprinkle in details lightly. Have characters mention previous events in dialogue. Don’t overdo it. But make sure to give enough of a recap so they feel in the loop. Think about T.V. shows that do a “previously on blah blah blah” section. Try to evoke the same feeling.

Reason Three: You Have to Avoid Being Predictable

Readers know all your curveballs by now. How? Well, you pitched all of them in that first book.

Now you have the task of subverting expectations whilst still fulfilling them. You need to present the same character they know and love, but have different stakes, different nuances, and enough “different” to not be hackneyed or boring.

How to overcome this?

Don’t be afraid to experiment. You don’t have to match everything to a T in regard to that first book. Allow the characters and plot to surprise even you, the author. And allow yourself to take risks. Even if that means you end up with a sequel that doesn’t quite measure up, at least you tried your best and, most importantly, had fun.

About Hope

Hope Bolinger is a literary agent at C.Y.L.E. and a graduate of Taylor University’s professional writing program. More than 800 of her works have been featured in various publications ranging from Writer’s Digest to Keys for Kids to HOOKED to Crosswalk.com. She writes about 250-300 articles a year. Her modern-day Daniel, “Blaze,” (Illuminate YA) released in 2019, and they contracted the sequel “Den” for July 2020. Her superhero romance she co-wrote with Alyssa Roat releases from INtense Publications in September 2020. Find more about her at hopebolinger.com

 

About Den

Danny Belte barely survived his sophomore year at King’s Academy, having to deal with horrible initiation practices, stomach-churning cafeteria food, and the constant threat of arson.

His junior year doesn’t start off much better. Facing a series of mysterious suicide attempts that begin on day one–and a disturbing pattern that appears to connect them–Danny has a feeling something far more sinister is at play. He tries to narrow down a list of suspects as those closest to him disappear, one by one.

Can he protect his friends from a possible murderer on the loose? Or will he find himself trapped in a fate worse than a lions’ den?

Find the first book, Blaze, here.

Blog Updates

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you an update on the state of my blogging schedule, and also to set up for my upcoming blog anniversary.

First order of business: I’ve decided to retire character interviews. I haven’t written one in months, I wasn’t enjoying them much even before that and didn’t feel like they were really delivering anything special, so I’m setting them aside for now. They might pop up again now and then, but third Wednesdays are just normal writing posts now.

Next up: I’m in the process of figuring out a new direction for my content. I don’t anticipate that anything will change drastically, but my blogging started to get stale a while back (to me, anyway) and I’m still in the process of determining what sorts of topics I really want to talk about. The posts I’ve written in the past few weeks have been more in the direction I want to go, so hopefully I’ll just continue coming up with ideas like those that I’m interested in and find important and feel like I really have something notable to say on.

Among other things, I’m considering officially retiring my newsletter. I haven’t been able to use it to add a lot of value to my readers, and I think my energy would better serve you all elsewhere. I may bring it back later if I’m able to learn more about email lists and how to make them work, but for now I think it’s better for me to focus on my blog and social media accounts.

Should I go through with the retirement of my newsletter, I might open the resource library to the public but set it up as a store that operates on a donation system (the reader decides the price they want to pay for a download). That way I can still value my work but my downloads are readily available to those who want them.

But now on to the fun stuff! My blogiversary is coming up in just a couple of weeks, and I’ll be doing a Q&A! Drop your questions in the comments and I’ll answer them in my big blogiversary post. They can be on anything (within reason). I have some other cool stuff planned, too, but you’ll have to wait and see that on the actual anniversary. ;)

Thanks for sticking around to the end of this post! Here’s a dragon. 

How to Use Fantasy Culture to Explore Worldview

Something I’ve been exploring a lot lately in my Deseran worldbuilding is worldview. What cultures believe what? How do those beliefs differ from group to group and person to person? How do those beliefs clash with the beliefs of other cultures? I’ve found that I really enjoy exploring these different perspectives, and exploring how they do or don’t capture the real-world truth. So I wanted to write about some ways we can explore worldview effectively through our fantasy worlds, in hopes that some of you will also find it interesting or informative. This is something I’m still learning, so I don’t have it all figured out yet, but here are some of the things I’ve been able to identify from my own thought processes.

Why to Explore Worldview in Fantasy

I think there are three main reasons to use fantasy to explore worldview and real-world issues. First, in a casual context, it allows us to explore differing opinions in a non-threatening way. In the real world, important issues can be difficult to discuss because of the emotional charge inherent in them. In fiction, you can explore an issue, turn it at different angles, and explore it through the lenses of opposing characters without fear of hurting people (unless/until it’s published) or being hurt. Of course, this does have a drawback in that you’re then building from your own mind and your own biases, so this should be done with care to hear other people’s views and understand them first, particularly with more personal issues.

Secondly, fantasy is often a less threatening way of presenting worldview. While the previous point mostly applies to situations where you’re worldbuilding and exploring perspectives primarily for yourself, this one applies more to situations in which the goal is publication. Worldview is an important part of our lives–it’s the lens through which we see everything around us–and it will leak through in our writing whether we’re intentional about it or not, so why not be intentional with it? Since fantasy presents worldview in the context of fictional situations and groups rather than real-world situations, it generally makes those issues more approachable, making fantasy an excellent opportunity to thoughtfully present the worldview issues that are important to you. (Key word there being “thoughtfully,” but we’ll get to that.)

Thirdly, worldview is a core part of how we all think and operate, and even how our cultures as a whole teach and operate. The same should be true of your fantasy world. Every culture in your world is going to have values, every group in your world is going to have values, and every individual in your world is going to have beliefs and values. And those shouldn’t always match. Exploring complex worldview issues (when done well) makes your world feel more real.

So, if you’ve decided to explore worldview, how do you do it?

1. Decide an Issue to Focus On

Flesh out your culture’s worldview one piece at a time. Often these issues will lead to others (if you’re exploring a culture that values physical strength as the only strength, for instance, abortion and infanticide might spring out of that due to the culture’s disregard for children who aren’t guaranteed to be physically strong when they’re older), but you generally want to pick one to start with. Do you want to explore pacifism? Organic education as the norm? Racism? Abortion? Obviously some issues will be easier to write about than others, but you can explore any number of real-world issues within a fictional setting. I always recommend choosing something you’re passionate about, something that’s important to you, or something that interests you, not just something you think you should write about.

Once you’ve decided the issue, explore it. Explore what other details and issues might realistically arise from it, in your fictional context. Figure out how it’s likely to color the culture around it. Though you’ll want to flesh out its impacts as much as possible, you might want to choose just a couple of facets that you care about the most to really focus on in your writing.

2. Explore Both Sides of the Issue

There are two pieces to this: The sides of the real-world issue and the different perspectives within the story. First, explore the different sides of the real-world issue and make sure you’re not writing solely from an echo-chamber. Try to understand both the benefits (or perceived benefits) and the negatives of each issue. It’s extremely rare that an issue is handled in the best possible way, so don’t be afraid to make your culture’s views imperfect. And when focusing on a view that you disagree with, be careful to show the belief itself as flawed (or completely wrong, in what cases it’s called for) without demonizing everyone who believes it; there are people with good intentions and people with bad intentions on both sides in almost every case. That doesn’t make their actions right, and those actions shouldn’t be excused, but the people aren’t always evil or ill-intentioned.

Within the story, remember that not everyone in your world will believe the same thing, or even fall on one end of the spectrum. Worldview isn’t always as polarized and black-and-white as we think it is. Show people believing one end, show people believing the other, and show others falling at various points in the middle. And, where appropriate, show them all getting things right and getting things wrong.

3. Provide Contrast

Sort of in line with the previous point, a certain worldview is more clearly shown when there’s something to contrast it with. Now, some cases are better served without strong contrast (for instance, if you’ve chosen a worldview issue to include intentionally but it’s not the focal point of the story), but if showing worldview is a primary goal then you’ll likely want something to contrast it with. This doesn’t always have to be something opposite, either. Sometimes you can show contrast through two cultures that appear very different on the surface and don’t realize that their root motivations are very similar. Other times, you do want an opposite viewpoint to use as contrast. Whatever will best serve the story. This contrast can appear from a neighboring culture or from within the culture you’re focusing on. Sometimes the difference will even appear from within your main character’s close circle.

4. Remember Your Character’s Perspective

Your story should reflect your main character’s perspective (unless you’re writing in omniscient POV). This means that they will treat whatever worldview they’re used to as normal; they won’t make a big deal about it unless a situation calls for it (and few situations do) or they’re in the minority of those around them and they’re aware of that and want to stand up for their beliefs. Their perspective on differing beliefs can range anywhere from treating those views as also normal (for instance, if they have a long-time friend who believes differently) to being completely broadsided by them (if they’re introduced to a culture they’ve never experienced before, for example). Exploring worldview through the eyes of a character is generally the most effective method, when done well, since the reader will then feel as if they’re alongside the learning (and potentially struggling) protagonist and not being preached at. The worldview issue should be organically shown through the main character’s interactions with the world around them.

5. Don’t Preach

This is sort of repeating the previous point, but it bears repeating. Don’t. preach. The beauty of fantasy is that it allows us to explore other worlds and their issues, whether those issues run parallel to the real-world or not. We don’t read fantasy (or pretty much any fiction, for that matter) to hear a sermon on why pacifism does or doesn’t work, why slavery is bad, or how we could make the world more accommodating to disabled people. Show those things, absolutely! But do it through exploration and your characters learning about the world around them, not through an explanation of why your view is right or a scene of your main character “winning someone over” to their side (unless that scene has been well-earned and makes sense). And it’s okay if you don’t give a clear “answer” sometimes. Give your reader something to think about and let them come to a conclusion themselves. They’re smart enough to do that.

For similar content, check out this guest post by Kate Flournoy on writing imperfect (but hopeful) worlds

Let’s chat! Do you work worldview into your writing? Is it a focal point or just a background element? What books have you seen do worldview well?

5 Things I’d Like to See in YA Literature

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post on why I read YA even though it often stinks. Today I want to talk about a few ways I think it could stink less. ;) Obviously, considering my previous post, I read YA even though I personally find it less-than-ideal, but here are a few things I’d like to see more or less often in the YA category to sort of balance out the not-so-great YA books.

Display Healthy Relationships

There are two parts to this one. First off, romantic relationships. So many relationships in YA are either shallow or outright abusive, and these relationships are romanticized and shown to last. That’s… not how life works. It’s providing a poor example to teens and shaping their thinking in a negative direction. I would love to see more healthy relationships based on solid friendship and common values, relationships that face hurdles and overcome them in healthy ways, and relationships that could believably last.

But I’d also love to see more healthy friendships and family relationships. Friends who aren’t just there when the MC needs advice, and who don’t disappear in favor of a boyfriend or girlfriend. Parents who are present, supportive, and have strong relationships with their kids. Siblings who love each other, even when they do realistically bicker and fight, and who are always there for each other when it matters. So few YA novels have healthy family relationships, in particular, which makes me super sad. Not only do portrayals of healthy (and realistic) family relationships totally make my day, but I wish more YA gave hope that healthy families do exist, and I wish that they weren’t such a rarity.

If you’re looking for a YA novel with good, healthy relationships (romantic, familial, and friendly), you should check out 100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons.*

*I reviewed this book last year. You can read my thoughts here.
Cut Down on the Romance

I’m a sucker for a good love story. I’m totally a hopeless romantic. However, I wish YA authors didn’t feel the need to put romance in a story where it doesn’t make sense, and I wish that more YA authors would remind their readers that you don’t always meet “the one” in your teen years and you don’t have to. Harry Potter immediately comes to mind as an example of a series where I felt the romance was completely unnecessary (and even potentially unhealthy), but there are so many more examples, and it’s extremely rare to see a YA book without a romantic subplot (whether the romance included fits the story or not).

I’d love to see more YA without romance, or where the MC is attracted to someone they know isn’t right for them and doesn’t act on it because they know it would be unhealthy, or where the MC doesn’t meet the love interest until the end, or where an MC comes to terms with their singleness and learns to enjoy the time they have, or… I could go on. There are so many stories that could be told without romance (whether the MC’s singleness is a core feature or not), and I just would love to see those explored more.

And dear dystopian/fantasy/etc. authors: Please stop having your MC spend 60%+ of their attention on a love interest when they’re supposed to be saving the world. Let’s just see them be awesome and save the world, please?

Show Real-World Growth

A lot, though not all, of YA fiction features teen characters who… never really feel like they grow up. One of the great things about the YA category is that it allows for exploration of what it means to grow up and become an adult, but I don’t really see that explored much. Even if characters mature (and in too many books, I think, they don’t even seem to do that), their development into adulthood isn’t really shown? They don’t really learn what it is that they need to know to operate in the world at large, they don’t seem to shape their worldview or anything like that, they just… start out without responsibilities and finish without responsibilities. I’d love to see more stories where teens start to realize that they’re nearly adults, where they realize they’ll have to be responsible for themselves soon, where they’re intentional about shaping their worldview and start to take some agency to speak up about the world in which they live.

Now, to some degree this is dependent on genre. You see a lot more characters stand up and take responsibility in fantasy and dystopian, for instance, than in contemporary (as a general rule). But even in those cases… it’s not usually normal responsibilities; they’re usually thrust into unusual circumstances where they’re forced to take responsibility. So… it’s a little different, in my opinion.

A Time to Die by Nadine Brandes is a great example of a character really coming of age and stepping into adulthood and taking responsibility for herself.

Don’t Write Down to Teens

YA has a tendency to use fairly simple language and be kind of bland in its writing style. It’s very straightforward. While this isn’t always a bad thing, and I still definitely enjoy reading (good) YA, I do wish that there was a more of a mix in YA writing style and there were books with stronger prose. More description, more subtext, more advanced language, that kind of thing.

Include Conservative and Counter-Cultural Representation

I’m not one of those people who’s super upset about never being exactly represented in fiction. I enjoy reading books from viewpoints other than mine (though I don’t read from other viewpoints as often as I should), and I’m always at least somewhat represented because… I’m white and female. Which is extremely common in YA. But it does still make my day when I see a character who shares similar values or experiences to mine, because it happens so rarely. Homeschooled characters who are still normal? Few and far between (although perhaps growing more common?). Christian characters who 1) take their faith seriously and 2) don’t shove it down people’s throats? Ha. Characters with lots of siblings? More common than the others, but still not a huge thing at this point. I’d love to see more of these characters shown (realistically) in YA fiction.

I loved the homeschooled side character Iris in The Center of the Universe by Ria Voros.* While she’s almost on the idealized end of the homeschooled characters spectrum, she was still really fun to read about and it was encouraging to see homeschooling shown in a positive light and see a homeschooled character who was so self-motivated and entrepreneurial.

*Content Warning: There is one brief, fade-to-black love scene in this book, and I think there’s also mild language used
Bonus: Christian Writers, Please Write About What Teens Struggle With

Please write about romantic relationships. Write about sibling conflict. Write about secular culture and peer pressure from a Christian perspective. Write about friendships. Write about LGBTQ+ issues and about interacting graciously with members of that community while still standing firm in biblical truth. Write about taking a stand for important issues. Write about abortion. Write about struggling with faith. Write characters who are serious about their faith and want it to color their whole lives, but make them real people. Write about conflicts in worldview between characters who are both Christians.

We need to have more Christian perspectives on real-world issues. We can’t let secular culture be the only one talking. Even if we only reach already-Christian teens, those teens still need to hear that their worldview is acknowledged, that they’re not alone, that others are also fighting for those values, and they need to be encouraged to keep holding fast to the Word. Entertainment plays a bigger factor than we realize in the formation of worldview, and we need to acknowledge that and not neglect the youth of the Church, or the youth of the world.

Let’s do better.

Let’s chat. What are some things you’d like to see more (or less) in YA fiction? What are some of your favorite YA books? What would you love to see Christian authors, in particular, explore more in YA fiction? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

The Liebster Award #7 and Sunshine Blogger Award #4

Four months ago, I tagged Allie at Of Rainy Days and Stardust Veins for this pair of tags, and a few weeks ago she tagged me right back. I’m not sure if that’s in violation of the rules, but here we are. XD

Rules:

Thank the blogger who nominated you. (Thanks, Allie.)
Display your award.
Answer the questions you were asked.
Nominate 5 bloggers.
Ask 6 new questions.
Let your nominees know they were nominated.

Questions:
1. What is your favorite kind of tea?

Um… unsure. I had a really awesome black tea from a book box once. I think it was called Dragon’s Breath? But I have no idea what flavors it actually was, I just know it was really, really good. XD

2. If you had to get all dressed up (like, to the nines) to go to a fancy restaurant or event, would you?

Would I? Absolutely! I never have opportunities to get dressed up, so it would be super fun!

3. What is something you’re a secret fan of that you’re afraid to admit about?

Um… I don’t think I have anything I’m afraid to admit. I’m a little embarrassed to admit, though, that I like listening to boy bands (depending on the song). Including but not limited to The Jonas Brothers and OneDirection. ;P

4. Do you have a favorite music album? If so what and if not, why?

Favorite album? I guess probably Cinematic by Owl City. I don’t usually listen by album, but I was in my hyper-fixation stage with Owl City music when Cinematic came out and I listened to it straight through. And it has a lot of my favorite Owl City songs on it, so probably that one. :)

5. How do you take notes? Are they neat and tidy, colour coded by subject, or are the messy on-the-back-of-your-hand reminders, or perhaps you don’t take any?

None of the above? XD I do take notes, on occasion, but they’re… somewhere in between neat and tidy? They’re often in dark blue ink, because I saw something that said you remember things better if they’re written in blue ink. *shrugs* Don’t know if that’s true, but it doesn’t hurt. And they’re not super tidy, but they’re in order (to me). So… I don’t know. XD

6. If you were a book, what might the title be?

Dude, I can’t even put titles on stories I wrote. XD (Although, side note, I’m considering calling Calligraphy Guild Inkstained. Thoughts?)

Um…

…

I have no idea. XD

Rules:

Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link back to their blog so others can find them. Thanks again, Allie.
List the rules and display an award logo on your blog post. 
Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and notify them by commenting on any of their posts.
Ask the nominees 11 new questions.

Questions:
1. If you had to chose to go to either the distant past or distant future for one year, and when you came back no time had passed, which would you chose?

The past. Question, though: do I get to choose where? Geographically?

2. Who are your top three favourite YouTubers?

(In no particular order.)

Brian Hull
The Family Sowell
Peter Hollens

3. Where would you go if you had an all-expense paid trip for a three-day weekend and what would you do there?

TENNESSEE. I think. But since it’s all-expenses-paid I’m second-guessing myself. I do really want to spend a bit of time in Tennessee and go to a Family Sowell show. But that’s a relatively doable thing even if all expenses aren’t paid. So maybe I’d go back to Biltmore, instead. Biltmore was awesome, and I would love to go back and explore the grounds more and just spend more time being there and meeting some new people and stuff. I think that would be super cool.

(When I went last time, I went on a guided walk of the grounds and one of the other people on the walk had tattoos on his arms that looked like they were in Hebrew, and I still regret not taking the chance to ask about them. :P)

4. If you could have anything, real or mythological, as a pet, what would it be?

You’re going to make me choose between a kitten and a miniature dragon??? D:

They actually have kind of a lot in common, come to think of it. XD Mini dragons (and wyverns, which would probably be my choice) are quite cat-like with their independence and mostly taking care of themselves. (Now, if you get a drake then it’s more like a cross between a cat and a dog and if you get an aphithere then it’s more like a cross between a bird and a dog, as far as behavior is concerned.)

I don’t knowwwww. D: Kittens are more snuggly, but if you have an indoor cat then you have to deal with cat hair and potty training. Wyverns are less prone to making messes, but they’re (often) more snarky and you can’t snuggle them very easily.

I don’t know. I choose both. XD

5. What’s something (or someone) you couldn’t stop loving if you tried?

…I’m just gonna ignore the parenthetical on this one, ’cause we don’t need to go there… *pushes the parenthetical out of the way* Although, y’know, God and my family are easy (and honest) answers to that. And my choir (*cue sadness, because I graduated this year and didn’t get a full final semester*).

Um… Music. Music kind of keeps me sane. XD I rarely go a day without listening to music, and it amazes me that there are people who can go a week or more without listening to music, lol.

6. What is one moment in your life time just stopped?

I don’t know if I’ve really had a moment like this? *tilts head* I’ve had little moments, usually with my youngest sister, where I realize time is passing and I kind of… slow down time, mentally, to appreciate the moment? If that makes any sense? XD But I can’t think of a time it felt like time stopped.

7. What’s a food or drink (or combination) you like that most people you know think is gross?

Most of my family doesn’t like sour cream. I learned this through baked potatoes, tacos, and a cheeseburger casserole recipe that called for sour cream. XD

8. Stripes or polka dots?

It depends? XD But I think probably polka dots.

9. What book is a book (or series) that you wish was longer?

I know there’s been one. I am one hundred percent certain. And I am drawing a complete blank. (Not counting a couple that I thought needed to be longer for structural reasons.) Maybe the 100 Cupboards series by N.D. Wilson? I don’t remember. :P

10. Was there ever a movie you were waiting for for a long time that when it finally came out it was a disappointment? Why was it?

Alita: Battle Angel. The first… 2/3rds of it, I think, were pretty good, but then the last section of it felt kind of rushed through and I wasn’t a fan of how they set up for a sequel. It didn’t feel like it had a satisfying ending.

11. What is your least favorite Disney or Pixar movie?

I’m not a huge fan of the Toy Story movies. I don’t know if they’re necessarily my least favorite, but they were what immediately came to mind.

New Liebster Questions:

1. What’s your favorite ancient myth and why?

2. What are your thoughts on conspiracy theories (as a group)?

3. What are three things you would do if you knew you couldn’t fail?

4. What’s something you have an irrational dislike of?

5. If you could go on a 3-day, all-expenses-paid trip, where would you go?

6. Who’s your favorite musical artist?

New Sunshine Questions:

1. What’s your favorite type of flower?

2. Do you play video games? If so, which is your favorite?

3. Have you ever mistaken an oatmeal raisin cookie for chocolate chip?

4. Are you currently procrastinating on something?

5. If flying cars existed, would you buy one? Why or why not?

6. What’s your least favorite book genre?

7. What are the top three books on your TBR?

8. What’s the last book you rated 5 stars?

9. If you could take a class on anything at all, what subject would you take?

10. If your life had a soundtrack, what songs would have played in the background today? (It’s acceptable to answer with whatever’s been stuck in your head rather than what makes logical sense. ;) )

11. Would you rather have a bunch of friends you can hang out with often but don’t talk to very often, or a few friends you talk to all the time but rarely get to see?

Nominees:

1. Eden at The Happy Hedgehog

2. Syberyah at atTAGirl

3. Ruby at The Sea Calls Us Home

4. Felicity at The Wonderous World Around Us

5. Elyra at Wandering to Find My Way Home

6. Evelyn at The Rain-Drenched Writer

7. Keturah at Keturah’s Korner

8. NC at Weird As Usual

9. Acacia at Acacia’s Story Corner

 

10. Alabama at Alabama Rose

11. You! If you want to steal one or both of these tags, go for it! :)

Why I Read YA (even though it often stinks)

Keeping on the trend of reading habit posts inspired by conversations, I wanted to discuss the value of YA fiction. Mainstream YA can get a lot of flack in conservative Christian circles, and for good reason. It’s often shallow, riddled with unnecessarily mature content, and contains little moral value for a young reader looking toward literature for characters to look up to, or even to gain a greater appreciation for the craft of writing. However, I still read YA and I still think that mainstream young adult novels—even those less solid books—have value of a non-literary variety. Here’s why.

(Note that this post is mainly written with fellow young adult readers in mind, but I believe these points are good to think about regardless of age.)

YA Helps Us Connect with Fellow Teens

This point is really twofold. For one thing, books are a great relationship starter. Finding someone who likes the same books as you is always super fun, and it gives you something you can instantly bond over. Since YA fiction is fairly common among… young adults, it makes it easier to connect with other teens over books if you’ve read those same books. The flip side of this is that you might not want to connect over mainstream YA, depending on the book. While some YA fiction is worth connecting over—personally, I’d put The Hunger Games, The Fault In Our Stars (despite some mature content), and The Lunar Chronicles under this category—others are simply too shallow or too filled with unnecessary content (whether swearing, sex, violence, drug use, etc.) for a Christian to appreciate in good conscience. Where exactly that line falls will depend on the individual reader.

As a second point, mainstream YA reveals the heart and thought process of the bulk of the teenagers around us. This enables us to better understand and empathize with those around us, whether friends or acquaintances. Reading fiction, in general, has been shown to improve empathy (though it could be argued that the majority of YA fiction doesn’t have the literary depth that is linked to a large portion of this improvement, depending on the reader’s skill), and YA specifically provides a window into the mind of the average teenager.

YA Gives a Glimpse Into Current Youth Culture

Mainstream YA not only gives us a peek into the minds of other teenagers, but also the culture they live in. As a homeschooled teenager who grew up in the church and, due to family health issues, hasn’t had a lot of opportunity thus far to be around people who are not also homeschooled Christians, I’ve tried to use fiction (as much as it can be used) to gain a better understanding of the culture mainstream teenagers experience. Obviously, fiction isn’t going to provide a completely realistic picture of what life is like (whether it’s the life of an average teenager, or a 90-year-old grandmother, or a homeschool student), but it’s given me both a greater appreciation for my public schooled friends and a greater appreciation for my homeschooled, “sheltered” youth.

Particularly as someone who cares a lot about connecting with people and understanding their worldview and struggles, and as someone looking to go into youth ministry one day, I appreciate the insight that fiction provides, such as it is.

YA Provides Opportunities for Discernment and Discussion

I have a 13-year-old sister, and I would never be comfortable leaving her in the YA section on her own. While I’ve been blessed to mostly pick the good apples of the category, I’ve seen enough of the slightly-bad and heard enough about the really bad to be wary. I wish this wasn’t the case (and I’ll talk more about that, and what I wish we’d see in YA more often, in a post in a couple of weeks). However, these “bad apples” can still have value for practicing discernment and prompting discussions. I’ve had several discussions about the prevalence of mature relationships in YA, the reasons for YA’s frequent lack of substance, and the skewed worldviews in certain books; which have helped me better understand the culture we live in and also helped me solidify my own worldview, why I believe what I believe, and why I write what I write.

YA fiction is also generally a very different literary style from most other fiction, with usually a simpler and more straightforward voice than, say, adult fantasy. Exposure to this style can be a good way to expand your knowledge of prosaic varieties (and the pros and cons of various writing styles) and can also provide a greater appreciation for more complex literature due to the differences between the two tones of writing. Thus, through reading YA, you can also gain a greater understanding of the writing craft and how to use voice and tone to achieve the style you’re going for with your work.

Your turn! What are your thoughts on mainstream YA? Are these points you’d considered? Do you disagree on any points I raised? I’d love to discuss with you in the comments!

What to Read, As an Author

I’m guessing that everyone here is a reader. I’m also guessing that most of you authors began writing out of a love for reading. When you started, reading was a grand escape and a fun leisure activity, and you read whatever you wanted whenever you wanted, but now that you’re an author you hear people saying “Read these books to improve your craft! Don’t read those or you’ll take too much inspiration for your own books and write a copy!” and other dos and don’ts that could make reading less enjoyable. So here’s what I think authors should read (hint: it’s pretty much everything) and why each category is beneficial.

Read Inside Your Genre

And read widely. Most genres have multiple sub-genres, as well, and you shouldn’t be afraid to venture into new-to-you sub-genres and broaden your horizons.

Why?

Reading the genre you write gives you an opportunity to learn about the tropes, conventions, and expectations of the genre, which you can then leverage in your own writing. What do you want to keep that’s familiar? What do you want to change or subvert instead? By exploring different sub-genres, you can also observe the subtle shifts in these tropes and expectations from one sub-genre to the next and possibly figure out where your story fits best.

Plus, the genres we write in are usually the same genres we enjoy reading, so reading in your genre is often just a lot of fun.

If you’re writing in a genre you don’t usually read, try to find someone who’s read the genre and ask them for recommendations that might be suited to your tastes.

When Not to Read Inside Your Genre

There are people who will tell you that if you read the genre you write, you’ll pick up too many ideas from what’s already been done and end up with a cliche novel (or something along those lines). For some, this is a genuine concern. Personally, I don’t think that it’s something I struggle with. Know your reading and writing habits and determine this for yourself. If you might be tempted to pull a lot from your reading, it might be good to step back from your genre until you finish the project you’re working on and then go back to it later.

Read Outside Your Genre

Cheers for being well-read! While it’s often good to read inside your genre, it’s also highly beneficial to read outside of it.

Why?

In addition to the general benefits of expanding your reading repertoire, reading outside your genre can provide a glimpse into the differences in storytelling from genre to genre, different uses of prose, and individual storytelling elements such as stakes and worldbuilding. It can also be a welcome break if you’ve been reading in your own genre for too long, or a necessary one if you’re likely to pull too much inspiration from your primary genre.

You can also gain excellent inspiration from outside your primary genre for whatever project you’re working on. Maybe you’re writing a high fantasy, but a romance is a key component and the contemporary novel you just read provided an excellent blueprint. Or maybe the sci-fi novel you just read inspires you to consider the mechanics of technology in your fantasy world, or the fantasy you just read does an excellent job of conveying wonder through its prose and you want to do the same with your contemporary novel. Whatever the case may be, different elements and ways of looking at things can be highly beneficial.

When Not to Read Outside Your Genre

If you’re looking to fulfill readers’ genre expectations (in structure, prose, etc.), you’ll need to read inside your genre rather than outside. While it can be an excellent idea to blend genres and break out of your primary genre’s mold, when it comes to things you want (or need) to keep the same in order for your book to be comfortable to your audience, your own genre is the best teacher.

Read Fiction
Why?

Obviously, if you’re writing fiction you’ll need to read fiction. The structure of a novel is completely different from that of a non-fiction book, to say nothing of the different types of development involved in the content. In order to write effective fiction, it’s necessary to read effective fiction and study what makes it effective and how craft is used.

When Not to Read Fiction

I can’t think of a time you shouldn’t read fiction. It’s a learning tool, an escape, and inspiration (both for writing and for life, ideally) all at once.

Read Non-Fiction

Fun fact: I’ve read more non-fiction than fiction this year, which is very strange for me because I used to “hate” non-fiction and generally avoid it. I guess it just goes to show that all it takes is the right subject matter.

Why?

No one has exactly the same set of interests and values that you do. Growing knowledgeable in topics that interest you can spill over into your writing, whether you’re writing a story set in the real-world or in a galaxy far, far away. My recent interests have been education (specifically “unschooling”) and medieval history, which have each gotten me thinking about different aspects of my story worlds. Game of Queens by Sarah Gristwood got me thinking about the nobility in my worlds and how they would realistically interact, both within their own borders and internationally, while Unschooled by Kerry McDonald caused me to realize that the education system in Virilia doesn’t currently reflect the culture’s values or the structure of society outside of school (a problem I’m really excited to fix in my next draft of Calligraphy Guild, since the tone and feel of Virilen society is one of my favorite parts of the book).

Maybe your interests are in sewing and pottery, or in theology and psychology, or in whatever other numerous combinations. Whatever your interests, the manner in which they overlap and interact with each other is unique to you and will give your fiction a personal flair (a contribution to your “writer voice”).

When Not to Read Non-Fiction

Again, I can’t think of a reason not to. Whether you’re using it to directly impact your writing or not, reading non-fiction is an important experience and can actually be quite enjoyable when you find what interests you.

Which category do you find has the most positive impact on your writing, personally? (I’m finding non-fiction to be an unexpected favorite, lol.) Are there any categories you avoid? Do you disagree with any of my assessments? I’d love to discuss with you in the comments!

5 Reasons We Don’t Have Flying Cars (and the Worldbuilding Takeaways)

A couple of weeks ago, I had the strange idea to write a post about why we don’t have flying cars. “Well that’s random,” I thought. “Where in the world am I going to post that?” And then the idea rattled around in my head for a couple of days and I realized I could associate worldbuilding principles to my reasons for our current lack of flying cars. So… here we are. XD

Reason #1: We Already Have Cars (Purpose)

When considering an element of your world, it’s important to think about what purpose it serves and whether it’s the best option to serve that purpose. We already have cars, which allow us to travel quickly from place to place along well-maintained highways and travel to destinations that would otherwise take days, weeks, or even months to reach. We also have airplanes, which allow us to travel longer distances in shorter amounts of time and to cross oceans. (Also boats, to the latter point.)

What purpose would flying cars serve? I can think of a couple answers to this question:

They’d eliminate obstacles such as buildings, which one can’t simply drive through to take a straighter route somewhere.
They’d give personal access to travel routes that cross oceans.

But are those answers enough to justify an entire new product? That could be debated.

Similar principles apply to your own worldbuilding.

Questions to consider:

What is the purpose of this worldbuilding element?
Are there other elements already serving this purpose?
Are those elements simpler?
Does this new element add significant value over alternatives?

And don’t just consider these from an author’s standpoint, but also try to think about how the inhabitants of your world would approach and react to the worldbuilding element in question.

Reason #2: Flying Cars Would Take Forever to Produce (Process)

Before we could have mass-produced flying cars, we’d have to first determine how best to make a car fly, what materials would be necessary, what safety measures to put in place, and so on. After that, we’d have to create multiple prototypes, acquire sufficient funds to consistently acquire the necessary materials for this new product, figure out how to market it effectively, etc. This process would take years.

Likewise, the process and/or history of your worldbuilding element is an important thing to think about.

Questions to consider:

How old is this element?
How was it created/how did it originate?
How long did it take to create, if applicable?
What went into its creation (materials, personnel, ideas…)?

Reason #3: Flying Cars Would Take Forever to Test (Function)

Not only would we have to create a flying car, but we’d have to create a functional and safe flying car. To reach this point would take numerous prototypes and a long series of tests, which could take months or even years before a working model was reached. And even after that, is the working model the optimal model?

Questions to consider:

How does your worldbuilding element function, optimally?
Does your worldbuilding element need to be tested?
If so, how are tests run and who is involved in their execution?
Does your element have to function optimally or only functionally?

Reason #4: It Would Be Difficult to Keep Heavy Air Travel Safe (Regulation)

Cars are easy to regulate because we have roads. Airplanes are easy to regulate because there are fewer of them. With mainstream flying cars, we’d have no roads and a billion flying cars in the sky at a time. How would we keep drivers (pilots?) safe? What sort of regulations could we put in place to enforce order?

Regulation is important in worldbuilding, even if it’s only for safety reasons.

Questions to consider:

What are the potential hazards of your worldbuilding element?
How could such hazards be minimized?
What difficulties would your element pose when it comes to regulation?
Who is responsible for regulating this element?

Reason #5: Flying Cars Would Have a Steep Learning Curve (Practicality)

Cars are complicated. Flying cars would be even more complicated, as altitude would become an added consideration and yet another thing to keep track of. Not to mention the other potential additions you’d have to make in order to keep a flying car (relatively) safe and running smoothly.

An important thing to consider with your worldbuilding elements is whether or not they’re practical (which ties in, to a degree, with point #1 and the initial purpose of your element). Sometimes, simpler is better.

Questions to consider:

Is this element the simplest solution to the problem it addresses?
If not, is the complexity necessary?
Are ordinary people in your world going to be able to use this element (or at least the people who will ordinarily be using it)?
Is there any training required in relation to this element? And if so, how much and what does it look like?

Hopefully you both enjoyed and learned something from this rather quirky post. I’d love to hear your thoughts, whether it’s on the principles put forward or on whether or not you think flying cars are a good idea. Feel free to strike up a conversation in the comments!

Book Review: Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy

In the interest of full disclosure, I’m going to start off by saying that I’m a Christian and thus don’t agree with the lifestyle choices of the LGBTQ+ community. I won this book in a giveaway, and if I had read the reviews to see that Once & Future had heavy LGBTQ+ themes, I probably wouldn’t have entered the giveaway at the time. However, I respect the individuals who identify with the LGBTQ+ community and decided to read this book out of a desire to better understand those individuals. Unfortunately, this turned out not to be the best book for that as the writing didn’t do the community justice (in my opinion, as an outsider).

My biggest disappointment with this book was the characters. All of them, with the exception of Merlin, felt very one-dimensional at the outset. Their orientations and gender identities were pushed, which would have been uncomfortable for me but understandable except that it was at the expense of further character development. Each character seems to have very few traits beyond their orientation or preferred gender, and what traits do pop up are often told rather than shown. This is true throughout the book, as characters supposedly develop and/or backslide. Since character isn’t established from the beginning (or, really, at all), we don’t get to really see and appreciate any character’s development over the course of the book and everything is once again told instead of shown. I know (from experience) that individuals in the LGBTQ+ community are individuals with unique quirks and interests and traits, and I wanted to see that reflected in this book. Instead, I found cardboard cutouts slapped with LGBTQ+ labels.

I was also disappointed that I didn’t find most of the characters even particularly likable (in part, a side effect of their lack of development). Most felt self-absorbed and rather dysfunctional, and almost none of them had distinct voices. SPOILER WARNING: I was totally okay when Ari supposedly died and I was excited at the possibility of Merlin becoming the sole MC, to the degree that I was disappointed (though not surprised) when Ari was revealed to be alive. SPOILERS COMPLETE. The exceptions to this rule were Merlin, Val, Morgana, and Gwen (to varying degrees). Merlin is almost always my favorite character in Arthurian stories, and the Merlin in Once & Future seemed by far to be the most fleshed-out character. He had internal struggles, quirks beyond his sexuality (I loved his habit of talking in song references), and was just overall a more likeable character than any of the others. Unfortunately, I do think his character suffered some from the imbalance of show and tell and I would have liked to see his internal struggle fleshed out and explored through its impact on his actions more, earlier; it didn’t feel like it was fully realized until the third quarter of the book or so.

Val, Morgana, and Gwen were somewhere between Merlin and everyone else on the likability scale. Both felt like they were supposed to be well-done characters that I would have liked, but didn’t quite live up to their potential. Val seems to be a compassionate character, with skills and insights from his past and his current occupation that I would have loved to see come into play more to make him a better-rounded and more unique character. Gwen was one of those queens who will do anything for her people and is willing to sacrifice her own desires for them, which is a character type that I love, but I felt like the lack of stakes (which I’ll tackle later) didn’t allow that to really shine and we never got to see her willingly surrender anything significant for the good of her people. Morgana, like Merlin, stands out because of her longevity and the struggles and quirks wrapped up in that; but, like the others, I don’t feel like she really had a chance to shine and don’t feel like her character had as much of an impact on her actions as I might have liked.

And then there’s The Administrator, who has so little character that he barely even qualifies for the “character” section and I almost dumped him into “plot.” There’s no set-up for The Administrator. There’s no fear factor whatsoever. We know nothing about him as a character, only what he represents (and that’s not even much), and he feels like one of those “Evil just to be evil” villains even though his motivation is laid out (in “telling” fashion) and he’s supposed to be clever. Had he been written well and that cunning truly explored, I think he could have made an extremely effective villain. As it is, he did nothing to improve the plot or stakes.

Mercer, the corporation that The Administrator operates as the face of, isn’t even that scary. It’s only terror is in its nuggets of real life possibility, but even those are stretched thin with unlikely situations such as a planet with a quota of unnecessary things to buy per day in order to remain a citizen. I also take issue with the fact that Ari describes said planet as “unchecked capitalism,” when capitalism requires a free market and is notably not run entirely by the government as is the case in the world of Once & Future. What’s put forward is communism, not capitalism.

The world is also unrealistic (or perhaps idealistic, for the LGBTQ+ community) in its numbers of homosexual, trans, pansexual, etc., etc. characters. Even if every LGBTQ+ issue was completely resolved and everything was allowed, it would not be close to difficult to find a straight person. The LGBTQ+ community makes up only 4.5% of the American population; I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but LGBTQ+ is not close to the default, and there would still be way more straight people than LGBTQ+ even in a “perfect” world.

Even setting aside orientation, I thought all of the relationships focused too much on lust and not enough on… anything of substance, much less true love. Even when there was something more there (as in the case of Merlin and Val), it was undermined and overshadowed by the characters’ incessant thoughts of touching, kissing, sleeping together, etc. And in some cases (such as Gwen and Ari), we’re told there’s more there but it never really shines through (and it’s still overshadowed by incessant lusty thoughts). In addition, the “romantic” scenes were more descriptive than I would have liked and more descriptive than I’m personally comfortable with in YA. (But that’s a whole issue to itself that doesn’t need to be tackled in this review.)

I also found the normalization of promiscuity distasteful, but that much is unfortunately realistic.

As far as plot is concerned, I still wasn’t impressed. Sure, there’s a series of connected events that lead to an ultimate climax and triumph of good over evil and yada yada yada, but it all felt rather disjointed to me. And, again, Mercer wasn’t threatening. Like the characters, the world didn’t feel fleshed out enough for the stakes to be meaningful. Okay, so there’s an evil corporation threatening an entire planet with dehydration. So show me people dying of dehydration. Show them trying to get around their government to get water. Show that threat being a threat, not just to random bystanders we’ve never met but also to the main characters themselves.

One thing I will say is that the writing, while not phenomenal as prose is concerned, kept the book moving along. The pacing was extremely fast (to the detriment of any story element’s development, in my opinion), and while I wish we’d had more time to focus on the world’s or the characters’ development, it did at least grant the blessing of making this a quick read.

Ultimately, Merlin, his relationship with Morgana, the links to Arthurian legend, and what little nuggets of character and worldbuilding were there nudged this up to two stars for me, but only barely. Now I guess I’m in search of a better-written LGBTQ+ novel or an episode of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist so my hope of thoughtfulness in LGBTQ+-featuring media doesn’t die unfairly. ;P

How To Write About Converging Cultures

via GIPHY

It’s been wayyyy too long since I last posted, and even longer since I posted something other than a blog tag. I could blame the fact that the Coronavirus goings-on have turned my brain completely upside-down, but that’s really only part of it, so… Regardless of the reason, I apologize for totally disappearing. :P

Anyway, I got a writing question from one of my newsletter subscribers last month and it was on a topic that I find really fun: converging cultures. I had several tips on the topic, so I thought I’d adapt the advice I gave to the subscriber into a blog post and share it with y’all. :)

Let’s say you have two characters from different cultures who come together in some way or another. Or multiple characters from different cultures who all came to live amidst a culture that’s new to all of them. Or any other sort of situation that pushes multiple cultures together. This can be a super fun thing to explore, and it can provide some awesome insight into your characters and world. But how do you do that?

1. How does your character view their own culture?

What does your character like about their culture? What do they dislike? Which of the culture’s values do they agree with or disagree with? Is keeping tradition important to them, or do they like assimilating pieces of other cultures into their life, or some mix of the two? This will essentially create the foundation for your character and their interactions with the culture(s) that’s new to them.

2. How does your character view each new-to-them culture?

Similarly to your character’s thoughts on their original culture, what do they like or dislike about each new culture? Which of the cultures’ values do they agree or disagree with? What might totally clash with their original values and cause conflict? Do they envy some of the aspects of another culture? Do they look down on certain traditions or customs that are different from their own? And are any of these things that are legitimate “can’t just agree to disagree” issues, or do they just come down to strong personal preference?

How do these views affect your character’s interactions with people who are natives of the new culture? How do they handle disagreements on values? Are they things that strain the characters’ everyday interactions, or are they only points of tension when they come up specifically? Or is there some mix? (For instance, if they impact how open one character is with another, but they don’t cause any surface-level tension.)

3. How do they balance cultures?

Does your character cling to the traditions of their original culture? Do they seek to stay separate from the new culture(s) they’ve entered? If so, are there any pieces of the new culture that cause them to struggle with this decision? Maybe values of the new culture that make more sense to them than the values of their own, but that they don’t want to admit for fear of compromising who they are?

Or do they embrace the new culture, either in part or in whole? Does the new culture have any values that replace the values of your character’s original culture? (For instance, if a character has always felt stifled by the traditions of their own culture and they find the looseness of the new culture freeing.) Are there opposing values in the two cultures where the character appreciates both and has to choose between them or struggle to balance them? (Maybe they like the traditions of their own culture and the spontaneity of their new culture and they have to decide if they want to let go of some traditions and keep others, or cling to their traditions because it’s what they grew up with, or find some other solution.) Basically, how much do they accept the shared culture and how much do they try to stay separate from it?

4. How much freedom does your character have to balance cultures?

There are other, practical details to consider, as well. Can your character adhere to traditions from their original culture if they’ve moved locations to wherever this new culture is? Or is the difference in location such that they have to adapt or even let go of some traditions and customs? Maybe a certain food eaten on special holidays isn’t available where they are, or maybe they have a tradition of visiting a certain place on a certain day and they can no longer make the trip, or maybe a material used in a certain ceremonial dress is more rare wherever they are now. How do they feel about those possible restrictions? Do they adapt the tradition with what they have? Do they go to the extra work of getting the food or going to the place or getting the material because it’s so important to them? Do they resign themselves to letting go of the tradition/custom?

5. Consider ettiquette

Another thing you could work in to make inter-personal dynamics even more interesting could be to explore some of the everyday etiquette of each culture and see if any of them clash. For instance, in the real world there are places it’s rude to completely clear your plate and there are other places it’s rude not to. Or traditional greetings in one culture could be offensive gestures in another.

Bonus: Have characters strive for different balances

Not everyone views a culture (even their own) the same way. Even within families, views can be very different. What if your main character is willing to accept a lot of the new culture but her mother is bent on remaining separate and keeping as much of their original culture as possible*? Or what if your character’s best friend embraces a facet of the new culture that the main character finds repulsive?

*This example is pulled from my story Caithan in Short Story Collection vol. 1

Hopefully this post gives you some ideas for places cultures might clash in your stories. What are some of your favorite things to see in stories where cultures clash or blend? I’d love to hear your thoughts down in the comments. :)

 

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