My Answer to: "In EVERNEATH, why did you decide to to THIS??!!"
I have to get something off my chest.
So I've been getting a lot of emails lately from readers who connected with EVERNEATH, and by far this is the best part of being an author so far.
Some of these readers have questions about the story. The questions are about everything and anything, but they usually start out with, "Why did you decide to do --------- and not ----------?"
It's a difficult thing to answer, because the answer is usually the same, and therefore, it's kind of boring. But here it is:
"Because I felt the story called for it."
I can tell by reading some of the emails that some readers think there is a deeper agenda going on. A "deeper agenda" like:
It's a YA book, and I, as the author, think that YA books need to have certain standards, and so that's why I made the decision.
or
Because, as the author, I have a deeper responsibility to spread a message to teenagers about x, y, or z.
or
As the author, my own personal beliefs are x, y, and z, and therefore my characters' beliefs are the same
But I'm telling you if I tried to write a book based on any of these "deeper agendas", I would fail miserably, for several reasons.
1. It would feel more like work and less like a passion2. I would never presume to set myself up as the voice of morality for teenagers3. It would be a really boring book
This doesn't mean that when I write, I can shut off all the aspects of my life that make me me. First, that's impossible, and second, that would be a boring book as well. But it does mean that when I'm facing a turning point in the book, the question in my mind is:
"What would the character do?"
not
"What do I want the reader to learn?"
That way, any themes that do emerge come organically from the story, and not from a "to-do checklist" I made up before I wrote the book. Does this make sense? I'd love your thoughts too.
I'm off to LTUE for the day. Hope to see some of you there! If not, have a great weekend!!
So I've been getting a lot of emails lately from readers who connected with EVERNEATH, and by far this is the best part of being an author so far.
Some of these readers have questions about the story. The questions are about everything and anything, but they usually start out with, "Why did you decide to do --------- and not ----------?"
It's a difficult thing to answer, because the answer is usually the same, and therefore, it's kind of boring. But here it is:
"Because I felt the story called for it."
I can tell by reading some of the emails that some readers think there is a deeper agenda going on. A "deeper agenda" like:
It's a YA book, and I, as the author, think that YA books need to have certain standards, and so that's why I made the decision.
or
Because, as the author, I have a deeper responsibility to spread a message to teenagers about x, y, or z.
or
As the author, my own personal beliefs are x, y, and z, and therefore my characters' beliefs are the same
But I'm telling you if I tried to write a book based on any of these "deeper agendas", I would fail miserably, for several reasons.
1. It would feel more like work and less like a passion2. I would never presume to set myself up as the voice of morality for teenagers3. It would be a really boring book
This doesn't mean that when I write, I can shut off all the aspects of my life that make me me. First, that's impossible, and second, that would be a boring book as well. But it does mean that when I'm facing a turning point in the book, the question in my mind is:
"What would the character do?"
not
"What do I want the reader to learn?"
That way, any themes that do emerge come organically from the story, and not from a "to-do checklist" I made up before I wrote the book. Does this make sense? I'd love your thoughts too.
I'm off to LTUE for the day. Hope to see some of you there! If not, have a great weekend!!
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Gloria
(new)
Feb 10, 2012 03:39PM
I really enjoyed the book. Thank you for writing a story not a lesson. Whatever your doing to write is working for me. Can't wait for the next book.
reply
|
flag
I just want to say Thank You and I LOVED THIS BOOK. I was hesitant to read it because some books just remind me of other and I was getting bored with that so I thought yours may to since she was being taken to the Everneath and lately some books had the same theme or subject of Hades and Persophone so I was expecting it to be that way but your was amazing how the Everlivings had to survive on emotions or well the whole entire book I really enjoyed so Thank You for bringing a whole entire new series to me.
I really wanted something original. Something new. This was IT!
When I went into this story, I wasn't quite sure what I was going to think about it. It's not the norm when it comes to what I normally read and like {it started off with vampires and gone into angels}...I'm generally not into mythology..So once I started reading it...I was quite surprised that I enjoyed the book a LOT!....It was kind of hard for me to get into the mythology part of it..But overall, the book was really, really good...Can't wait for the next one! :o)
