It's been a long time since the last update. Let's pretend it hasn't. Let's pretend that the last post was yesterday and even now you are rolling your eyes at this next post, such a clear test of your indulgence, yet you will indulge me, purely for curiosity's sake. Thank you. I appreciate it.
I have a LOT of Works-in-Progress. A LOT. More than I care to confess to (mostly because it's disconcerting for people to learn that I have a symphony of voices chattering at me at any given time). Three of these WIPs have been the focus of my attention for the past few months, ideas for them popping up at the most inconvenient and most unexpected times, like when take out arrives and I have one arm extended offering money to the delivery person and the other arm laden with boxes filled with hot liquid items threatening to spill with any sudden movement. These WIPs are persistent in commanding my attention and I, helpless to resist the call, capitulate to their terms.
A brief conversation (on Facebook of all places) yesterday caused one of my stray ideas to resurface. Now, I write stories that are mostly considered fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, alternate history, and then some hybrids of two or more of the aforementioned genres. I have never taken on Young Adult stories though and consequently I had been toying with the idea of turning one of these three projects into a YA. The idea put aside at some point during the past few months, my conversation yesterday brought up the possibility of attempting it again.
I thought of the YA section itself. Once upon a time ago, there was variety. I remember having to go to the YA section to find new books by my favourite authors, authors like Tanith Lee and Robin McKinley. Now the body of their work, YA and adult, is mostly counted among adult science fiction and fantasy. YA staples (e.g. Robin McKinley's Beauty, Hero and the Crown, and The Blue Sword) are no longer found in YA. And why?
I wish I knew "why" exactly. There just doesn't seem to be anymore room in YA for diversity. I called the YA section "contemporary paranormal romance with jailbait protagonists" during this conversation. It was an accidental description, but I had a great many people who went, more or less, "right on," up to and including a YA-author (who writes contemporary paranormal romance with jailbait protagonists). Every stroll down the YA aisles makes me furrow a brow and mourn for the
days when I could find sword-toting royalty and interstellar cultures
there. It seems as if I am not alone in feeling that YA books have become homogenous and that, if you want anything different, you should go to the adult sections.
The best candidate WIP of mine to make the
protagonists teen-aged happens to be a fantasy. A few creative nips and tucks should
successfully handle the timeline to make thirty-year-olds no more than
the age of seventeen. The basic storyline is as accessible to teen
audiences as it is to adults. I could make it happen. But why would I? The YA market has shown that it wants vampires and werewolves and teens trying to take each other out and then hooking up for the prom. I do not think I will be attempting to write YA any time soon. I would rather stick to an adult audience that accepts and welcomes stories of all shapes and sizes.
Sorry, YA, I'm already going steady with someone a bit more mature than you.
