Why Scott Passes on So Many YA's

I love YA.

I love the energy and the voice these stories have. And, as a literacy specialist, I love anything that gets the youth of today to pick up a book. So if that is the case, why do I pass on so many of these stories?

When it comes down to it, I simply find that more often than not, writers simply don't understand the voice of a YA. The stories have great premises, the plots are unique and exciting, but the voice is just not there. In most of the cases, I am reading stories that sound too much like the writer is "trying to be a teen" instead of letting this voice come across naturally.

To write successful YA's writers have to really understand the youth. This is not simply the things we read about in magazines or see on the surface in movies or on the TV, I am talking a real understanding. Writers have to be around youth on a very regular basis and be in situations that allow them access to the real youth voice. What I mean here is that too often, the voice that we as adults hear when we are around youth is not the real voice. This is the "edited" version.

The things youth really talk about and feel are not always that accessible to adults. This is especially true if your only connection to youth is through your children. I was working with a group of writers once and we were talking about the things early teens often talk about. I brought up that it is very common to hear girls talk about the physical traits of guys and be very graphic about it. They might not follow through with these ideas, but the comments are very telling. This author's answer was that "her daughter would never talk like that." Really?

If you are now jumping on the YA bandwagon right now, I would strongly caution you to stop and consider what you "really know" about this group. I would also recommend really getting out there and dissecting these stories. Figure out what make these stories tick. Again, like any story out there, it isn't the plot, but the voice.

Have fun!

Scott