Sunday, November 16, 2008

Go, Courtney!

A great post by Courtney Summers about Four Myths of Writing YA.

Glad someone said it aloud. :)

6 comments:

Bowman said...

Jennifer,

Thanks for the link. Courtney did address some important questions.

My wife and other family members told me to cut profanity out of my book, but I'm guessing an agent or editor will tell me to put it back in. Sometimes it isn't realistic for a villain to scream "dang, you!" as they die.

Justus

Jennifer Hendren said...

Justus,

LOL -- Agreed. (g) I like her "method" which is fairly close to mine. I'm not afraid to use profanity but it has to be used with care--and it muse be true to my characters. Not many teens are going to use "drat!" instead of "Oh shit!" (g)

And sex, drugs, and alcohol...well, heck. It seems weird when those things aren't included on some level. That's all kids think about at that age. LOL. Okay, not ALL they think about...and not every teen is the same, but you get my meaning. :)

Thanks!

Jen

Bowman said...

Jen,

While I understand "keeping it real" when it comes to writing dialogue, my background also allows me to feel honest when I create extremely prudish characters.

I was the type of teen who said "darn" rather than "damn," who refused to attend parties, etc. One of my friends won't even say "screw" when he is referring to a screw!

Justus

Jennifer Hendren said...

Justus,

The world needs all types. :) I think a healthy balance is always the best bet.

Jen

courtney summers said...

:) Thanks for the shout out, Jennifer!

Jennifer Hendren said...

Courtney,

You're most welcome!