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Posted By: manji May 18, 2004 - 07:07 am

What makes YA fantasy different from general fantasy? Does it have to be dumbed down? Include themes to be overcome that relates to the childs experiences? Can it not be violent?
Just wandering. Yesterday i decided that the current story i'm writing i'm aiming at adolescents because, well, it is just a fun story and that is all i wanted was to write a fun story to entertain. However, i'm beginning to think it is too violent.

Posted By: ~Duckie~ May 18, 2004 - 11:41 am

It does NOT need to be dumbed down. Many young adults are nearly, or AS intelligent as adults. My friends and I DO NOT look for childrens experiences, but things that are exciting and fast-paced. It DEFINITELY doesn't NEED to be violent, but it CAN be, if the violence is pertinent to the story.

Posted By: chowder May 19, 2004 - 02:47 am

manji

Duckie is absolutely right--no dumbing down allowed in YA.

YA is aimed at 12-17 year-olds, but many adults read it as well.

The MC in a YA should be a teenager who solves their own problems.

Grab some YAs from the library and read. This will give you an idea of what's out there.

Posted By: Aldan May 19, 2004 - 07:06 am

Also, violence is fine, as said above, IF it is pertinent and necessary to the story, but GRAPHIC violence is not either, and the publishers would either reject the story or have the offending material removed (the removal usually only if you are already a well-known author).

Posted By: LightBrigade May 19, 2004 - 01:59 pm

manji, violent is too general for the question you are asking.

My sentence above could be more violent.

Less violent would look like this: manji, I wonder whether you have violent action in mind or verbal violence, violent descritpions of acts or threats of violence. Even less violent could be: dear member, I wonder how far an adolescent could be drawn into your story by a fiery urge of expression uttered in some hurry.

Is your question about Graphic Description Of Violence, then? Before you read any answer here, it may be a good idea to wonder yourself:

Do you need _that_ violence? Do you need to express that?

I am asking because writing is a good mirror for many writers. With authors, violence is different matter altogether *s*

Posted By: manji May 20, 2004 - 10:15 pm

Aldan, thank you for answering my question. 'Duckie', i appreciate you putting all the major points of your post in caps. I'm sure i would have missed them if you hadn't. I'm not a big bad grown up who thinks all little boys and girls are idiots now. I cannot admit my age here, but rest assured, I am closer to the YA age range than you probably think.
I never read YA as a child because i liked reading westerns and Tom Clancy novels. When i was a freshman, i picked up Hammer's Slammers. In that book, the violence is graphic. very graphic. However, they were making a statement about society so the violence was excused.
Which leads me to the last post. LB, in my story i am making a comment on the effect of the mass media on violence. So, yes, graphic violence (And BTW, i did mean GRAPHIC) in my story does pertain to the story.
and on a related note, i guess i'll never write YA because i like making burnt out characters. A seventeen year old is not burnt out. However, i hoped to make a statement to the 'young adults' of how the media actually hypes violence to the point that the offenders are legends (Jesse James) and that violence is not something to take lightly because it does destroy lives. I thought these would be some nice points for kids to learn while being entertained. However, i guess not.
I guess the next generation of YA readers, being fed up with the sholastic book crap being fed to them with a spoon (I do find it funny that scholastic releases a good book, fallen angels, about the vietnam war and it does not sell) and turns instead to Tom Clancy where the bad guys are cliched and the violence is alright because, hey, they were middle eastern. And everyone knows middle eastern people are ALL terrorists, right? Clancy says so, and he's an AUTHOR.

Posted By: Aldan May 21, 2004 - 11:04 am

*chuckles wryly*

Posted By: LightBrigade May 22, 2004 - 02:01 pm

*Figuring out why the Viet Nam war does not sell.*

*Figuring out irony and negation in the generalisation about middle easterners in a public forum like this*

Just thinking...

Posted By: manji Sep 07, 2004 - 05:14 pm

*Figuring out irony and negation in the generalisation about middle easterners in a public forum like this*

Well, just to try and explain what the hell i was talking about, i was not making a generalization. A majority of Tom Clancy's books include middle eastern terrorists of some sort, whether it be in a starring role or a vaguely mentioned faction. That is the point i was making. I was making a statement that the majority of best selling 'political thrillers' contain nothing but cliches and mindless, meaningless violence.

Posted By: Magus Sep 07, 2004 - 05:35 pm

Not The DaVinci Code or Deception Point, though. Those were highly original and well made. I loved them both. #2 and #3 on my list, after TLOTR, of course. Some do, but others don't. Just pick and chose what you read and you should be fine.