WACKY WEDNESDAY - Why I'm a "Twihard"

Currently listening to:  "What I've Done" courtesy of Linkin Park

When this song starts, I picture the scene in the movie where Bella walks up the grassy slope behind the high school to the edge of the forest with Edward following close behind. She crosses the moss covered logs, stopping in a clearing where a shaft of light filters through the pines and rests on the forest floor. Edward moves behind her and we are aware that he's fighting his urges, struggling with the fear that he and his coven will be exposed...afraid he'll have to kill the one person he's cared about in over a century.

Talk about conflict! Take out the "sparkling vampire," the play-by-play instructions on meal preparation, and page long descriptions, and you have to admit, Twilight is an awesome story. Goal, motivation and conflict are clearly presented, the characters three dimensional, a setting that fits the dark premise of the story and the drama building (in fact, in the movie when they drive into Arizona, you have shield your eyes because the sunlight is so out of place), and touches of humorous real life antics, which put the reader inside the story with relatable characters. Then there's the sweet romance that pulls in the female gender at all ages. We remember our first love so vividly, and Stephenie Meyer did a great job of recreating all those feelings within Bella, but added a hunky immortal to our fantasy.

Tomorrow BREAKING DAWN- Part I opens and this author can't wait! I have tickets to the midnight premiere, My critique partner, who's also a close friend, and I will be there hours early, extra-large Starbucks coffee in one hand and Kindles in the other to pass the time while we wait. If you've never done a movie premiere, you need to. The excitement and energy make the experience as much fun as the movie. Yes, midnight is an ungodly hour to watch a film that in all likelihood will end close to 3 AM, and my eyelids will have to be taped open for work the next day, but it is so worth it! You're treated like a VIP (which I am "very important") and when you emerge from the theatre, you and the select few (OK hundreds) in attendance were treated to a glimpse of greatness others haven't seen yet. Even if the movie sucks, the experience is a blast.

Personally, of all the books in the Twilight saga, the fourth book, Breaking Dawn, was my least favorite. I know, possible bad karma for an author to criticize another colleague's creative work, but touting myself as a dedicated "Twihard" and viewing the final segment of the story from a reader's, not author's perspective, I came away disappointed. The characters who supported the hero and heroine all the way through their drama, adding color to the story along the way, were, in my personal opinion, "flat lined." In fact, most of them were barely given honorable mention and conveniently absent from what I felt, were crucial scenes.

Aside from the whole (**spoiler alert**) daddy chewing the baby from momma, while the boy who's had a crush on her and lost out, watches (and I do believe he sees her "body" for the first time as well, which was awkward to read [I'm not swearing by naked, because its been so long since I read it, but if a baby is being born you can bet there's more skin exposed than not] ) then have the boy whose painfully pined for the heroine "imprint" on her newborn daughter, cementing him in the heroine and hero's intimate life forever....well (taking large breath) just seems twisted! Okay personal rant over. For now.

So why am I going to watch this story (mind you I shut the book after that scene and didn't crack it for at least two weeks - I wasn't even sure I wanted to finish it, to be honest) on the mega screen if it bothered me so much in print? Because I have to! I'm a "Twihard." I have to see this through to the gruesome end. Like passing a bad car wreck, you don't want to, but you have to... look. Human nature? And again...for the experience!

No matter what my personal feelings as a reader were on the last book, as an author, I have to applaud Stephenie Meyers for her gift of being able to write such a wild, imaginative story. From this side of the fence, I view her as absolutely amazing. And, yes, I will proudly say I'm jealous as hell (professionally speaking, of course) of her imagination (and....the fact she sleeps on piles of money).

I also owe the Twilight saga for my writing career. Granted, I've always had the talent (I believe we're born with our gifts) but until I became passionate about reading, which this series definitely did for me, I didn't realize that deep down, I wanted to write the stories wandering in my imagination. I'm a hopeless romantic, believing love will survive against all odds, which is what I write. That's why Twilight worked for me. Isn't that the premise of the entire story....that love survived the odds?

Twilight fan or not, tomorrow marks the beginning of an ending. Like Harry Potter, Edward and Bella's story has come to an end, closing another chapter of literary genius. True, we still have Part II to look forward to, but when its over, there'll be a void, much the same as Harry Potter. Another fantasy will be popped by reality's needle and we'll be clamoring for the next one. Hello, Suzanne Collins. The Hunger Games....I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it!

Thanks for stopping by and taking a moment from your NaNoWrimo frenzy to support me...or just rest your eyes. As always, I love your opinions, thoughts, and comments.  Oh hell, I'm just like that you're here! 

Thought for today: Today will be tomorrow's memory, so make it one you'll cherish...not regret.

YOUNG ADULT AUTHORS - STORYTELLERS OR GATEKEEPERS?

Current listen:  "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall" courtesy of Coldplay

ong from one of my favorite groups.

My blog today is on a serious note and comes from a personal level. In other words, my opinion only. I'm certainly not railing against any of my fellow authors, because if one of us gets ensnared in censorship, we all do.  I also want to credit my thought wave to a blogpost I read today written by Alethea Kontis [AltheaKontis.com], another young adult author who alerted our writing group to an article in the Wall Street Journal, attacking young adult authors. Below is the link, if you're interested. When I read it, I found myself wearing two hats. One, as a parent, and another, as an author in the young adult genre. Interesting twist in that the article borders on suggesting censorship which would take away my freedom to write what I want, but a journalist can write what they want? Hmm. We're both authors, are we not?

http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=viewThis&etMailToID=1617237800

of try  WSJ.com - Darkness Too Visible

If it doesn't connect, try Control + clicking or go to website www.wsj.com and do a search.

In March, I posted a blog about story characters' morals not always matching the author's. The article above talks about the "subject material" of today's young adult literature. This loosely links with my earlier post in that some may find my stories to be inappropriate. I will admit, my books will not be on the shelves of religious bookstores. My characters aren't sugar-coated nor are the conflicts they face and how they handle their lives. But dark? Not really, but conservative critics may say otherwise. I write romance...the happy ending...and although there is a "dark moment" (necessary to any story), I write "hope" or light at the end of the dark tunnel. But I do not soften the dark moment.

Here's the dilemma that plaques young adult authors. When is too much detail "too much?" The article lists several books dealing with dark subjects, surprisingly adding a few fantasy based novels into the mix. According to the Wall Street Journal, Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games trilogy is rated as one of the top ten most violent books for young readers. I've read all three books and recommend them to any young readers. Violent is not a word I'd use to describe her writing. Yes, there are attacking mutants, and the protagonist is thrust into the middle of a game of survival played out in real life instead of on reality TV, and the stories show how she survives and wins. It also shows what happens to her on a psychological level. Something very real in the fantasy. But, it is a fantasy. Now, who knows what will happen in the future, especially after an apocalyptic event, but to say that Suzanne Collins is responsible for planting violent thoughts inside young minds isn't fair. She simply created an imaginary world with imaginary characters doing imaginary things, but feeling very real, acting real, and the emotional aftermath real.

That's what readers, in particular young adult readers, identify with. The feelings and emotions of the characters. They find a piece of the character that relates to them, what they're feeling or whatever hell they may be going through (and with teens "hell" has many connotations depending on the day) and how that character made it through, showing the reader how to trudge through their own real life situation.

But, is it fair to put the responsibility solely on an author as to what thoughts are inside a young mind? The article sides with parents blaming young adult authors for planting dark or inappropriate thoughts inside impressionable minds. Are we authors the "gatekeepers?" If our characters drop the "f-bomb" does that mean sweet Jimmy will now use it in his dialogue? Or if a character has sex with a boy before marriage, or at least before college age, and innocent Sally reads about their forbidden love, will she suddenly decide to surrender her virginity? No. If Jimmy swears or Sally has sex, it's their choice. Believe it or not, our youth have minds of their own (although a few times I questioned if my teens' heads were actually empty).

I will not deny that there are some dark stories in the young adult genre, nor will I deny I enjoyed reading some of them. I tend to like edgier stuff. It's more realistic to me, and I assume, the same holds true for a teen reader.

This world is different from even ten years ago, and bad things happen to good kids. Dark crap surrounds them. Again, their choices are their own to make as are the consequences they suffer, but sadly, they can become the innocent victim for someone else's bad choice. That's what these stories deal with. Reality. The reason they sell isn't because a teenager is looking for a "how-to" book on rape, hazing, or using drugs. They know other teens, friends, or they themselves have been the victims of some type of abuse, and they want to identify with someone else, even a fictional character, who has experienced the same thing. How did that character handle it? Did their thoughts mirror the ones running through the reader's mind? And, what happened after? What coping skills were used, what choices were made that brought the character's story to an end...good or bad?

The dark moment in Riley's Pond deals with "date rape." Not a comfortable subject to write, but a very real happening in our teen's world. My story deals more with the characters coming to terms with what happened and working through it, than the act itself, but that's the level I write from. Designer Genes is all about the sexual tension between the teenage characters, set in a futuristic time when the government decides everything, including with whom and when they are allowed intimate relations, in order to keep the gene pool pure. 

A book about a girl who cuts herself to alleviate the emotional pain she suffers from the real pain of being abused, or the gay high school boy who suffers a horrendous hazing at his classmates hands, almost taking his life, are extremely dark, but real. Fake characters, but characters that are relatable to young readers, with lives mirroring theirs or someone they know.

Should parents just let their kids read anything and everything then? Certainly not, but don't blame the authors who write reality. What's not right for your child, may be exactly what another one needs. If your teen is reading something you are uncomfortable with, talk. Don't just "forbid." Maybe you'll both learn something.

Before I close my rant, I want to recommend three"dark" books I found invaluable and wished were printed when my daughter was in her teens. Sarah Dessen's Dreamland is unforgettable and an eye opener into abusive boyfriends. Parents should read as well. Teens are famous for hiding things from parents, especially if "love" plays a factor.  Sarah Dessen's Just Listen and Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak deal with the importance of "telling" about abuse. One character does, the other doesn't, and although the consequence of choices is polar opposite, the emotional hell both characters go through is the same, as well as the final outcome. The difference, without telling, someone innocent gets hurt. Great books.

Like I said earlier, I like the edgier reads in young adult and most adult genre, too. Again, thanks to author Alethia Kontis for my inspiration. Oh...and a personal thank-you goes out to author Judy Blume!

Here's to life! Make it your own, but make it your best. Thanks for dropping by.