Taylor Hohulin's Blog, page 7

The Hard Stuff Is Good

I’m probably less than 10,000 words away from finishing a��rough draft for the sequel to��The Marian. I have only a chapter or two to go, and then I can start editing and polishing and formulating a release strategy.��The end is in sight.

When I’m going strong, I can pump out at least 5,000 words in a week, and I usually manage more if I’m in a particularly exciting part of the story.��In theory, I should be two weeks away from a completed rough draft.

In theory.

The problem is I’ve been “two we...

2014 Christian Music Faves

Hey look! Another year-end top ten list! You know you’re pumped to read it.

I have a blast putting these things together, both because I love writing about Christian music, and also because writing a list like this means I have to listen to a ton of music. I feel like I’ve listened to hundreds of albums this year, and that’s probably not an exaggeration. Some of the albums got turned off after only a few seconds, while I’ve listened to others from start to finish dozens of times. There was so...

Why I Don’t Write Christian Fiction (And Why I Also Sort of Do)

I’m a Christian, and I write fiction. But I don’t write Christian fiction.

It’s not that Ihave a problem with Christian fiction. Alot of people have issues with art or entertainment made exclusively by Christians and for Christians, but I’m not one of them.My day job is at a Christian rockstation, for crying out loud.I’ve seen how powerful this stuffcan be.

I just don’t write Christian fiction because I’m bad at it.

Believe me, I’ve tried. Iused toread CS Lewis and GK Chesterton and even Ted Dek...

Buy My Poor Decision

I made a poor marketing decision today.

One of the most consistent pieces of marketing advice you hear, especially as an author just getting started, is to pick one genre and stick with it. Build yourself an audience that knows what they can expect from you, and that way each book stacks success instead of alienating people who were just starting to get into your stuff. If I was going to follow that advice, I’d be focusing all my attention on the sequel toThe Marian.

Instead, I’ve published a C...

Why Snow is Like Faith. Or Something Like That.

I have a devotional called Old Truthscoming out very soon. It will be available as an ebook and paperback at most online retailers, but more on that later. First, I wanted to share an excerpt with you. This is the preface, which talks a little bit about how this book came together.

Enjoy:

I was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, which means, among other things, that I’m kind of weird about snow.

If we’re lucky, we get snow once a year down here. Because of this, we go crazy on Snow Day. Schools a...

I Don’t Have a Clue What I’m Doing

I’m a little lost right now.

I’m almost done with a new project. I haven’t said a lot about it – mostly because I didn’t know how long it would take to get it done with most of my attention focused on the sequel to The Marian – but now it’s looking like I might actually release a book of devotions by the end of the year.

And I don’t have a clue what I’m doing.

I have no problem writing about my faith. That’s been the easy part. The hard part has been the nitty-gritty details that go into self-pu...

The Best Marketing Plan. Ever.

I wish I knew this story better. I think if I had the specifics down, it would probably have more punch, but sadly,I’m going to have to resort to a lot of generalities. So here goes:

Bill Murray was on one of the manylate night talk shows that have been on over the past ten or so years, promoting one of the many movies he’s made over the past forty years. One of the many people who’ve had a late night talk show in the time that I’ve been alivecommented on themovie’s marketing campaign, which w...

Be Awful at Stuff

Roughly half of the reviews for my new book The Marian have included what I would say is one of the biggest compliments you can pay an author – they’re asking about the status of the next book.

I say “roughly half” because “two of four” doesn’t sound nearly as impressive.

Anyway, to answer the clamoring horde of two people who asked and stroked my ego, I am indeedworking on the sequel to The Marian, and I’m having the time of my life. The story is going to go some really cool places in this one...

On Violence in Young Adult Fiction

There’s a scene in the movie Small Soldiers where a bunch of marketing execs and big-time decision makers have gathered to discuss a new line of toys. As the conversation progresses, they agree that if they want to get little boys interested in these toys, they need to play up how violent they are, though violence isn’t quite the right word. One of the suits offers this bit of sage advice:

“Don’t call it violence. Call it action. Kids love action. It sells.”

It’s a telling line. Action does sell. It’s thrilling. It makes great theater. But action as an entertainment genre often comes with glamorized violence.

Please don’t stop reading now. I know exactly how I sound, and I want to assure you that I’m not about to start ranting on how we should stop watching action movies and reading action novels and playing action video games.

In fact, I love the action genre. I love the human confrontation, the completely improbable stunts, and the potential to show selflessness and courage in a crazy, over-the-top caricature. One of my all-time favorite movie moments is still the scene in RED when John Malkovich uses a grenade launcher like a baseball bat to send a grenade back to the guy who threw it at him.

I also happen to write novels with a fair amount of action in them.

So no, I don’t think entertainment needs to be violence-free. I think it’s an effective tool for raising the stakes, adding tension, and showcasing some very primal elements of a character’s personality.

But lately, I’ve really been wondering about the use of violence in young adult fiction.

A lot of young adult novels tell stories that could easily be about adults, but then there’s some sort of plot device that puts teenagers at the center of the story. Again, that’s not inherently a bad thing. It’s just a trope of the genre, the same way it’s a trope of the action genre that there isn’t a problem that can’t be solved with a car chase and lots of explosions.

The problem comes when we take these adult stories and put kids in them without considering that maybe, possibly, teenagers are going to respond to the things they go through differently from the way adults would. We have kids joining armies, becoming assassins, and facing the apocalypse.

And it’s so stinkin’ glamorous.

Not all young adult fiction falls into this trap. In Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card puts children and teenagers in the military to pose some really interesting questions and moral dilemmas. The Hunger Games trilogy shows teenagers slaughtering each other on national television to underscore its commentary on the way our culture glamorizes violence. The Harry Potter series uses the death of several key figures around Harry to help change his character from an arrogant brat into a selfless hero.

But these are the best examples.

I don’t want to specifically name bad examples – mostly because I don’t want to debate the merits of individual books –  but too often, we authors give absolutely no weight to what these kids go through. They fight, they fall in love, they come to some sort of resolution, and that’s that. They may react briefly to the tragedies that happen around them and the things they have to do to survive or to save the world, but not in a way that lends much seriousness to the circumstances.

Again, I’m not saying violence and action need to be purged from young adult entertainment. I’m just saying that maybe we, as young adult authors, need to start thinking more deeply about how our characters will respond to what we put them through. Maybe we, as young adult readers, need to start thinking more deeply about what we’re applauding our favorite characters for enduring.

Teenagers aren’t small adults (sorry to break it to you, teenagers). They’re going to process things differently. The things some young adult protagonists go through would be enough to leave a mark on a well-adjusted adult. I know it’s impractical to dig into the psychological ramifications of every punch thrown and every shot fired, but maybe – just maybe – it’s time these young adult tropes were used for something a little more than audience positioning.

Tons and tons and tons of news!

The day has finally come - I've done the cover reveal for my upcoming book, The Marian. This is the first book in a planned trilogy, and I'm so excited for where this story can go. It's going to be a fun ride.

In addition to the cover reveal, I'm doing a first reads giveaway here on Goodreads, and you can also download the first chapter for free in exchange for your email address at Noisetrade Books. There are a few other things going on in terms of preorders and release day deals, but you can find all those details on the book page of my blog, here.