Christa Talks To The Teen--The September Edition

Okay, lovelies, it is time once again for me to ask questions of my teen beta Aliya so that old(er) people can gain insight into the inner workings of a reading YA's mind. 

1. Jeggings, bootleg, skinny jeans, or those flowy numbers I've seen people wearing? What kind of pants are the teens wearing?

 

I wear bootleg, but there are only a few of us left.  EVERYONE is wearing skinny jeans. 

 

2. Have you ever read a YA book that you thought a character might be better if s/he were gay in? (#yesgayYA)

 

I have never thought about changing a character before.  A character is just like a person in the sense that I have no say in whether or not they're gay, so I never thought about their potentials to be.  Unless, of course, the author purposefully has you wondering whether they're gay or not.

 

3. How old do you think my daughter needs to be to read Twilight? To Kill A Mocking Bird? Hex Hall? 

 

11 or 12.  That's when I started reading them.

 

4. Would you ever pick up a YA book with characters who were all a different race or ethnicity than you?

 

Definitely!  When I was younger I probably just wouldn't have picked them out from other books, but recently I've been reading a lot more about people who are different from me. 

 

5. Do fictional vampires need to worry about STDs?

 

Psh, no!  They are otherwordly and don't have to deal with the complications of STDs.  Unless we're talking about Peeps, in which case vampirism IS an STD.  Although, that would make an interesting twist... But no one would want a vampire with STDs.

 

6. How do you like your iPad? Are you reading exclusively on it yet? Pros/cons vs. regular books?

 

I LOVE it!  I use it for them than just reading (iPad games are the best!).  I still read physical books most of the time, but I'm slowly reading more and more on the iPad.  I'm afraid of neglecting physical books.  I will not give up my goal of owning 800 books!  I'm so glad I have it, when I get ebooks I'm not killing my eyes by reading on my computer or tiny iPhones screen anymore.

7. What do you think about the lack of parental involvement in YA books? Unrealistic? And if parents are more involved, does it taint a book for you?

I think it's a good character conflict and that's why it's in so many books.  Kids, teenagers, we need our parents, and it's a big deal when a person doesn't really have them there.  I don't mind parents being there in the books, but it does give teenagers a feeling of maturity to read about an independant teenage character.

Thanks Aliya. As usual, you are made of AWESOME. 

Working on craft...sadly, not Kraft

Yes, it would be nice if I were eating Mac N Cheese, but no. I am fixing GESTAPO. I imagine all of you are as tired of hearing about this book as I am of revising it. But it has some craft "problems" as it were. It's funny when you've done some editing, when you've read books for critique partners, and when you've made your way through a giant slush pile, you start to realize what your bad habits are.

I'm not talking about the obvious ones like overuse of "just" and "that." I'm talking about things like when you're writing in first person and get in another character's head. I evidently do this quite a bit. Sadly, this is usually signaled by an inappropriate use of an adverb.

So if you've seen my website or you've been following me for awhile, you have a general idea about what GESTAPO is about. And perhaps you even know that I changed the whole thing from 3rd person to 1st person. Well, in doing all this revision, I've managed to forget that my MC doesn't know exactly what everyone is thinking.

For example, "Andrew swallowed uncomfortably."

This seems fairly innocuous until you start to ask yourself, "Can our MC see him swallow? And how does she know he's uncomfortable?"

Ack. Double ack. So I'm trying to fix those. I'm also guilty of failing to contract enough.

This morning, I used the FIND button to discover every "am" in my manuscript and see if I needed to change it to an "I'm" instead of "I am." I love the FIND button sometimes, but today, not only did it FIND all the "I am" cases, but also, "family" "game" and "team"---super fun weeding through that!

So what about you, my writing duckies? What are the bad habits you need to use the FIND button for?

Christa Talks To The Teen---The August Edition

Okay duckies, first of all, for those of you following yesterday's 3 truths and 1 lie, the lie was #4. And I am glad you all love my NYC bestie as much as I do. 


Now, it is time once again for this month's "Christa Talks To The Teen" featuring the lovely Aliya. Don't forget that this is a monthly feature done on the last Friday of every month, so if you have questions for Aliya, drop them in the comments and she will tackle them next month.

Christa: What's your favorite kind of YA to read?

Aliya: I go through phases in which I read a whole bunch of one kind of book at a time. I ALWAYS like romance in my books. I'll switch between heart wrenching drama, light humored comedy, suspenseful mystery, paranormal (don't even get me started in the individual creatures). I enjoy a lot of books so long as they're fiction (and usually have a romance).

Christa: I grew up in the 80's and 90's, which of these words still work in YA:

Awesome, Sweet, Excellent, Badass, Cool, Nice, Lame, Douchebag, Baller, PHAT

Aliya: Awesome always works! Sweet is good. Excellent is a huge yes! Badass is constantly being used in my house. Cool works all the time. Nice is good. Lame is okay, but only sometimes. Douchebag is used, but not by me. I have never even heard of Baller of PHAT actually being used.

Christa: Sex, drinking, and alcohol---too much in YA books? too little? Appropriate for what's out there?

Aliya: I'm finding an appropriate amount. There is a good amount with and without those, and they're all realistic. Over half of teenagers seem to drink, have sex, and do drugs, and I think they want to read about it, too. The teens who don't do any of it generally want to read about it, sometimes just to understand the other people without joining them. But everyone wants a break from it at times, and there are books for that as well.

Christa: What TV shows do you think gets it right with teens? 

Aliya: I've been discussing this with my sisters, and my sister finally said "I don't know! Shows aren't for us to relate to, they're to entertain us!" Come on, most shows are outlandish and the others give us a few topics to connect with and then go overboard with the rest. There are emotions and circumstances from Degrassi, Glee, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager that are realistic, but it's TV, they exaggerate everything.

Thanks Aliya! As usual, you are made of AWESOME.