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Discussion: #YANeedsMore…

If any of you were on Twitter a few days ago you were probably annoyed at me for tweeting so many things under the YANeedsMore hashtag.  I apologize for that but it got me so excited about the chance to share my thoughts on what my favourite genre needs more of.  I don’t expect it to change anything because hashtags rarely do but it was nice to get things out there.  Some of my suggestions for #YANeedsMore were:

  • Main characters who try, fail and then learn from their mistakes. Just like real teenagers do!
  • Main characters who struggle with mental illness as teens: clinical depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, OCD, etc.
  • Characters with parents who care when their teenager suddenly starts behaving completely differently!
  • Characters who live in poverty and struggle with it daily. Not everyone lives in the suburbs.
  • Teen characters with chronic illnesses. Yes, even teenagers can be sick! And sometimes it isn’t always obvious.
  • Female protagonists who are okay with not currently being in a relationship. Seriously, not everyone wants to date constantly.
  • Disabled characters as main characters, not as cheesy inspiration for the able-bodied protagonist.
  • Clumsy non-athletes who don’t become butt-kicking machines after only a few weeks of training. Not realistic!

Those are just the highlights of my time on that particular hashtag but there were so many other tweets highlighting the need for actual racial diversity, interracial relationships, LGBT representation and so much more.

Now, this is absolutely not to say that books with these characteristics don’t exist because they do.  And that’s awesome!  But it would be nice to see a few more with some of these traits, to see them in the mainstream.  I love that so many indie authors are working on bringing some of these books to life but I would really love to see big publishers with the guts to publish YA books like that.

So what I want to know now is this: What do you think YA as a genre needs more of?

Lazy Sundays: Moving Preparation

As I’ve been hinting at for almost a year, at the end of August I will be moving to the city about four hours away.  It will be my first time ever living in a city so it’s going to be a huge culture shock.  However, the culture shock factor isn’t really troubling me right now.  It’s the actual moving preparations.

I’ve been having to downsize and give away quite a few of my items that I’ve hoarded over the years because I simply won’t have the room in my new apartment.  As you can probably guess, I have what normal people would describe as a huge book problem.  I own well over 300 books in my personal collection and it’s just not feasible to take them all with me at this time.  So, thankfully, my parents are storing them in the family library until I can actually purchase a house in (likely) several years’ time.  It’s kind of depressing to leave the bulk of my ever-present book collection behind but I think I’ll live.

Basically, preparing to move is kind of stressful and in a way I’m a little scared of the big lifestyle change but I’m also very excited.  Like I said last October, I am very, very happy to be getting out of my small town and see a little bit of the world.  Even if I’m still living in the province with the highest crime rates in Canada.  You can’t have everything, after all.

Update: I’m Fully Recovered

Since so many of you wished me well when I announced my surgery, I just wanted to update you on my condition.  Basically: I’m fine.  I’m actually great.  I no longer look like a shadow of my former self as I’ve gained back my weight at a healthy rate so that my ribs don’t poke into my skin every single time I turn.  I’m up and walking again and have even gone shopping in the city an hour away.  Essentially, I’m doing everything I did before the surgery and I’m not restricted in my diet anymore.

The only thing I can complain about is that the left side of my tongue is still numb.  It’s not totally devoid of feeling but as the feeling comes back it’s really tingly, like it fell asleep (just like your leg or your arm would).  The tingling is a good sign that feeling is coming back but it’s rather annoying.  And considering the possible side effects and risks from an adult tonsillectomy, I really can’t complain at all.

So thank you all for your well wishes and I’m hopefully going to be around here a lot more.

Poll: Character Interviews

One of the things we’re all familiar with is of course, author interviews.  Who doesn’t love learning a little more about their favourite author and/or series?  But one of the funny things I discovered shortly after beginning book blogging was that sometimes there are things called character interviews.  They’re basically interviews with a character or characters from the novel in question.  I’ve read a few from some of my favourite authors and series but decided they definitely aren’t for me.  Some bloggers, however, absolutely adore them.

So what I want to know is this: do you like character interviews?

Blast From the Past: Part Two

Well, I think it’s time for another little round-up from my archives.  Here are some of the articles I did a couple of years ago that I’m still quite proud of:

1.  3 Pieces of Advice Authors (Should) Ignore  (August 2012)

In this article I round up the 3 most idiotic pieces of advice that authors frequently receive and generally (but not always) ignore.  I then explain the reasons why authors should ignore these pieces of advice, with only a few caveats.

2.  My Interview with Matt Myklush  (August 2012)

My interview with Matt Myklush was one of the very first interviews I did with an author but it’s also one of the ones I’m very proud of because we had a good rapport.  It’s really hard to interview authors who give short, non-committal answers but Myklush was amazingly frank and I learned a lot more about his awesome trilogy from the interview.

3.  Writers: Beware the False Editor  (November 2012)

Early in my blogging career/hobby (?) I was shocked to discover that self-published books were often very poorly edited and often pointed this out to authors.  They usually responded with some vague, meaningless excuse but when one author said he had actually hired a professional editor, this revelation spurred me to write this post as a bit of a warning.

4.  What I Hate About YA  (February 2013)

Spurred on by a spate of bad books, I wrote this rant in which I cataloged all of my grievances with my favourite genre and then had a lively discussion in the comments where other people were able to vent.

5.  A Legend Should Never Be Dimmed (January 2013)

This post is especially relevant given some of the current controversies in the news: how does one reconcile a legend with the person that they really were, especially when that person turned out to be horrible in their personal life?  I don’t have a clear answer by the end of the post but I think it’s important to ask those questions and examine your own views.