Should we be aware of the message

[Nakhlasmoke]

Should there even be a message?

I was in another thread, and a poster made the comment that YA is there to teach. That there should be consequences for actions because children and young adults learn from these books that for whatever you choose to do (sex, drugs, rock n roll) there will be repercussions.

I don't think I agree with this. To me, it veers awfully close to moralising.

Am I just getting all bothered by something everyone else takes for granted?

It's this part I specifically disagreed with:

Because you are writing to young and late teenagers who need to know that having sex, doing drugs and criminal acts can lead to consequences that may or may not change their lives. To let them think otherwise is to treat them like they are stupid and incapable of looking at the world they live in with an open mind.

It may be that I'm getting the complete wrong end of the stick here, so what are your thoughts on the matter.

[Shweta]

Ha! I found your thread.

Your response took me aback, partly because given the words here you could as easily have quoted some of what I said in that other thread. But I'm probably as vigorously anti-message as you are.

I do think context matters; the position you're arguing against was stated as an opposition to someone else, who (I paraphrase) wanted the nasty stuff taken out of YA (for some definition of nasty stuff). Now, perhaps I didn't see the messagey bit you did because of the context (I read "to let them think otherwise" as "to censor sex from their reading") , but... in general I don't think having consequences follow from actions is the same as moralizing. However, I'm having a lot of trouble enunciating why. Partly because there are books that will moralize in the name of Consequences, and there are people who think there must be a Message unless it's an adult book.

Now I'm vigorously against leaving topics out of YA just because adults are uncomfortable with younger people reading about them, but I think we agree on that one, and believe your issue is with the handling of content and, the presuppositions inherent in that, rather than the presence/absence of specific content.

So partly I'm wondering how one argues with the idea that we must shade the poor dears' precious innocent eyes without accidentally sounding messagey :)

[Nakhlasmoke]

Ha yeah, I think I freaked out about the idea of using YA literature as some kind of message centre for the anti-everything propaganda people.

I'm also against the idea that certain things should be left out of YA because the poor dears can't deal with the reality. *grin*

There are YA books that don't feature drugs, sex, anhd whatever else people feel teens shouldn't know about, and that's fine because not everyone wants to read the same thing, or is at the same level of maturity, but I think the kids (ie: the READERS) should make that call for themselves.

And I don't think the writer has a duty to preach consequences. The writer's duty is to tell the best damn story they can, consequences be buggered.

But then again, I'm not a YA writer, and my one YA book may very well have to be rewritten for an adult market *shrug*

[C.bronco]

My YA novel has a definite message: Beware people who want to over-legislate your lives because good intentions cause a lot of havoc and the end doesn't justify the means; watch our for censorship; and we can't create a utopia by removing individuals' rights to make their own decisions.

But that's my book. I don't want you to write my book, and I don't want to write yours. I want to hear what you have to say in your book, and if we all wrote only from a pc perspective, there would be no point in reading- we could just allow Big Brother to format our brains.

[czjaba]

I'm also against the idea that certain things should be left out of YA because the poor dears can't deal with the reality. *grin*


And I don't think the writer has a duty to preach consequences. The writer's duty is to tell the best damn story they can, consequences be buggered.



I agree with this. There is another thread on this board asking what we were reading at age 12. My first Stephen King book was "The Shining." I was 12 when I read that. Then "Pet Cemetary." I highly doubt there were YA messages in those books. Other than beware of twins on tricycles and don't dig up your dead cat. And then again, I was 14 when I read George Orwell's "1984."

[Nakhlasmoke]

I agree with this. There is another thread on this board asking what we were reading at age 12. My first Stephen King book was "The Shining." I was 12 when I read that. Then "Pet Cemetary." I highly doubt there were YA messages in those books. Other than beware of twins on tricycles and don't dig up your dead cat. And then again, I was 14 when I read George Orwell's "1984."


I wonder if this is why I don't like YA moralising - because I didn't read YA as a teen, only later on. I was the pseudo (read: pathetic loser with no life and an ego to compensate) intellectual type hauling around my Hesse collection *headdesk*

So going on to read YA where the underlying message seemed to be Don't do drugs 'cause you'll DIE! Or don't have sex because then you'll DIE!! I mean fall pregnant!!! just annoyed me, I felt like I was being talked down to. Perhaps if I'd read YA when I was supposed to I wouldn't have felt that way.

[Shweta]

Perhaps if I'd read YA when I was supposed to I wouldn't have felt that way.

Yes, but it would have invaded your brain and warped you.
I mean, ahem.

Not all YA does that! The good stuff doesn't. But I think actions having consequences is ... uh, fundamental to fiction. I just think the actions and consequences should be specific to the character and the character's situation, rather than Determined By The PreacherAuthor.

One reason I love YA, often more than so-called adult books, is that the "I'm jaded and so are you" cop-out doesn't come up nearly as much. The characters who are jumping into bed (or any other action) are doing so for their reasons, not just because readers expect sex (/death/mutilation/divorce/carnivorous alien tourists) by chapter 3, so it can actually be real to the characters rather than ho-hum. But then in general I find jaded really boring. If the characters don't care, neither do I, and I tend to suspect the author of not caring either.

Wandering back to topic, I do love this piece by Le Guin: A message about messages. (http://www.cbcbooks.org/cbcmagazine/meet/leguin_ursula_k.html)

As a fiction writer, I don't speak message. I speak story. Sure, my story means something, but if you want to know what it means, you have to ask the question in terms appropriate to storytelling. Terms such as message are appropriate to expository writing, didactic writing, and sermons—different languages from fiction.

(That's just one paragraph. The whole thing is delightful).

[Nakhlasmoke]

True, all things have consequences. :D In my rambling incoherent way I was referring to preachy consequences that fit with the author's world view.

Ta for the link. I love me some Le Guinisms

[Perks]

I don't write YA (at least, not yet) but I don't think it's possible to write any fiction without delivering a message. Some stories will reveal consequences, but there will also be stories that relate the truth that, in fiction as in life, sometimes people walk between the raindrops and don't even realize it.

I think people should only fear moralizing if they've not got the chops to pull it off. Being preached to can be bliss or torture. It all depends on who is behind the pulpit.

For readability, it's probably safer not to calculate for effect.

[Nakhlasmoke]

But Perks, just out of interest - do you write with a message in mind?

I'm not attacking you, I just find it a hard concept to wrap my brain around so i'd be interested to see how and why you do it.

[Perks]

Oh no, I don't do it! Lol! Haven't got the chops.

[Perks]

I think I'm agreeing with you. Writing message first, story second is dangerous business. It can be done well, but most of us are better off avoiding it.

[WittyandorIronic]

Your response took me aback, partly because given the words here you could as easily have quoted some of what I said in that other thread. But I'm probably as vigorously anti-message as you are.
I do think context matters; the position you're arguing against was stated as an opposition to someone else, who (I paraphrase) wanted the nasty stuff taken out of YA (for some definition of nasty stuff). Now, perhaps I didn't see the messagey bit you did because of the context (I read "to let them think otherwise" as "to censor sex from their reading") , but... in general I don't think having consequences follow from actions is the same as moralizing. However, I'm having a lot of trouble enunciating why. Partly because there are books that will moralize in the name of Consequences, and there are people who think there must be a Message unless it's an adult book.
Now I'm vigorously against leaving topics out of YA just because adults are uncomfortable with younger people reading about them, but I think we agree on that one, and believe your issue is with the handling of content and, the presuppositions inherent in that, rather than the presence/absence of specific content.
So partly I'm wondering how one argues with the idea that we must shade the poor dears' precious innocent eyes without accidentally sounding messagey :)

So... after writing a long (and confusing) response I realized I really just agree with this. lol.

[ClaudiaGray]

I think preaching or talking down to YA readers is a very bad idea. But I think most of us have messages in our books, albeit not the kind of simple lessons you're worried about -- messages about self-determination, or the demands of friendship, or what constitutes a good romantic partner. I think that comes out in the stories without our having to underline it three times in red, if you get what I mean.

[heatheringemar]

So going on to read YA where the underlying message seemed to be Don't do drugs 'cause you'll DIE! Or don't have sex because then you'll DIE!! I mean fall pregnant!!! just annoyed me, I felt like I was being talked down to. Perhaps if I'd read YA when I was supposed to I wouldn't have felt that way.

And we wonder why teens don't like to read???? :-P

I don't think reading it as a teen versus reading YA as an adult makes any difference. A preachy book is a preachy book, no matter how you slice it.

And they just aren't fun to read. Give the kids a story that's fun, that's a real romp, and they'll read it. Try and preach at them, and you've lost your chance.

[C.bronco]

Ditto.
When I read Atlas Shrugged, I skipped over the 20 page speech at the end (blah blah blah!) because she already made her point with the story.
I like books with good plots, spectacle and interesting characters, and always have. That's what captures my attention and imagination.

[Chicken Warrior]

I can't honestly think of any published YA fiction (or adult literary) that doesn't have a message. I don't think it's because people don't write it, but because publishers don't publish it, for better or for worse.

I don't start writing with a message, but if I'm getting close to the end and I can't discern what my book is actually telling people, it definitely feels like cause to worry. I definitely like to think that most YA fiction is beyond the stage of hammering out the 'don't do drugs' messages, etc.

[Metaphor]

I think, especially in YA, while a message is important, it is more important that the message is not patronising. A teenager will spot that a mile away - it is awful being preached at not to do drugs when you never intended to do drugs, but merely happened to read a book about it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that as long as the "message" is no more "message-y" than in adult books, and it isn't rammed down the readers throat, then it's fine.

[Shweta]

I think there are two senses of message being used here.

1) the message of a story is its "point", what the characters (and/or readers) learn or discover over the course of the story. This might be something we can state explicitly (like, for example, better to stick with your true friends than ditching them to toady the cool kids) or something that you can only point at vaguely (like, actually people are pretty savage without enculturation). In this view, the message grows out of the story and it's not a bad thing.

2) A message is a didactic, simple rule, one that can be stated in a sentence. (like, don't do drugs, sex will get you pregnant). It's a prescriptive rule, not a descriptive rule. It tells you how to think and how to behave. A messagey story enacts that rule; it's just a vehicle for the rule. In this view, the story is built around the message. In this view, messages are not in every story, and they are bad things.

In the essay I linked earlier, Le Guin holds to (2) for the word message and calls (1) the story's meaning. I rather like this distinction. Because I'm guessing most stories have some of each, and that the line between them is complex and blurry, and would be fun to talk about. Which is hard if we're all using the same word to mean two different things :)

[ishtar'sgate]

Should there even be a message?

I was in another thread, and a poster made the comment that YA is there to teach.

I don't see why YA literature should be singled out as a teaching tool. In any case, pretty much every novel has a message although it's generally referred to as theme.
Linnea

[bluntforcetrauma]

I didn't have the chance to read all the replies, but I feel the writer has a responsibility to the reader to deliver a message that's inline with the sensibilities of it's intended audience.

[Brutal Mustang]

A problem is that real life has consequences; but writers can and do gloss things up to make it seem like there are no consequences. Those of us who have lived a little can immediately detect silly hogwash in a book, (because we've either tried it, or seen someone who has, and know the consequences). Those who haven't experienced life may not be able to think about the consequences of something presented in a story.

Young people aren't stupid. Just inexperienced in life. And for better or worse, they are learning in leaps and bounds, absorbing everything around them like a sponge. Not a good time to read irresponsibly written books.

[William Haskins]

the market will usually decide these things.

[benbradley]

Being suspicious of what "message" there might be in a particular YA work, I read the first ten or twenty pages of the first volume of "Left Behind: The Kids" and the thing is hugely and obviously lecturing - the tone is just dripping with 'this kid is The Bad Kid, he doesn't obey his parents, and he doesn't know it yet, but he's gonna be SO SORRY...' I can't imagine anyone reading it of their own volition, and I feel sorry for anyone who might have had it bought for them and was told or implied they should read it.

I most strongly recall Heinlein's juveniles - they often DID have a "message" or a "moral" but it was (IMHO) pretty subtle, and subservient to the story (actually, deeply ingrained within the story well enough not to notice). If you're going to have a message, that's how to do it - have a story that's good enough you can sneak in the message. And he didn't always get to publish the book he wrote - check out "Two versions of the ending" (warning, big spoiler for the novel) section here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podkayne_of_Mars

The "moral" is there doesn't need to be a message, and if there is, you better not hit the reader over the head with it, no more in YA than in any other genre.

[Nakhlasmoke]

...Not a good time to read irresponsibly written books.


My only responsibility is to write a good story.

Or how do you define an irresponsibly written book.

[donut]

I'm not sure my novel has a moral, other than "don't worry too much about where you get in to college, it doesn't matter as much as you think."

[Exir]

I NEVER start out writing a story with a moral in mind, but once the story takes a clearer shape, I usually can find a message in the story

[Moonfish]

No moral message in my books. But of course there's always a theme. My upcoming book is about making your voice heard as a young woman, and not losing yourself in love. It's fantasy...

[Aegwynn]

More than anything else, I have always wanted to convey some meaningful life-lesson rather than "just" tell a story - I have wanted readers to be able to find something in my work that would inspire them, give them hope, strength, what have you. I suppose that's because that is how I have read novels for most of my life. From children's stories to teen fic to adult literary stuff, I have always sought a deeper meaning in the books I have read through the years. I suppose it just seemed natural to me to write in the same way.

However, it is definitely true that kids - especially teens - are sharp. They can smell moralising from a mile away. They do not want to be taught a lesson; rather, they would like to meet characters they can identify with, become friends with, struggle with. If the character's main function is to convey an important message, then a story will likely go down the drain... it is never wise to sacrifice strong characterisation for moralising.

I'm trying to think of examples of YA fic where moralising has perhaps overridden the effectiveness of the story... but I can only come up with examples of novels where it worked effectively. For example, Alice Hoffman's Incantation has a very strong message against persecution, promoting acceptance and tolerance above all. But it is so beautifully written, and the tension between Estrella and her former best friend and the rest of the community is realistic and I daresay compelling.

I think it's a delicate balance, though.

[timewaster]

I think I distinguish between what the book is about and any message. Most books are about something over and beyond the story; the author's world view tends to leak into their fiction whether or not they are aware of it.
I don't write to moralise, but I am now conscious of what my books might be thought to be about and I try to make sure that I can't be thought to be saying something inadvertently which I don't believe to be true. My stories often have drugs in them, they almost always have violence and, because I don't really know whether violence is ever justified, there are characters who think it is and some who think it isn't and quite a few who think it probably isn't, but are still violent: bad stuff happens to all of them : )

I am very careful to make sure that my girls aren't always the rescued and the boys the rescuer - often it is the other way around or a bit of both and both genders do stupid things and brave things. Some of my adults are evil and abusive, some are wrong, some are kindly and confused and some are a mixture of all of the above. Sometimes it is right for the kids to listen to their elders sometimes their elders are wrong and it isn't. Sometimes they break rules and get away with it and sometimes they pay a price. Writing YA I think you have to be aware of what your story might be saying and be absolutely sure you are comfortable with that. Awareness is, however, quite a long way from moralising.IMHO

[Nakhlasmoke]

Thanks guys this was a very interesting discussion.

I think someone hit it best when they said when the message is didactic, teens can spot it a mile away. No problem with messages as long as they're subtle, and the story doesn't suffer.

[sanctuary6284]

As the person who wrote that post, I did not mean that a message should be the goal of the author. What I meant was that YA books give these kids a chance to learn even without experiencing the situation. It gives them something to relate to. If you sugar coat the world for them they never really understand it. I'm not saying to put a moral lesson in your book. I'm saying don't try to keep edgy stuff out of them because you think kids can't handle it. If anything the kids I know like these books because they are so much like what they live in everyday. Sometimes the books are an outlet for them to experience something that they normally wouldn't or may even be curious about. Sometimes they may learn something from it. Sometimes they get the message actions have consequences. Sometimes they see possibilities. Sometimes it just shows them how to be open minded and sometimes there is nothing gained but an enjoyable read. What they get out of it is up to them.

I apologize for giving the wrong impression. I got off on a rant on that post and maybe I didn't fully cover the point I was trying to make.

Simply this. To say that kids aren't ready for edgy situations or ordeals in their reading material is the same as saying their not ready to grow up when in reality that's what many of them are trying to understand. That whole growing up process and that process of life is more acurately depicted in edgy fiction than anywhere else. They can learn more about actions and consequence from these books than from most of their parents' sugar coated laps.

I in no way meant that the goal of a YA author should be to send a message. I meant that to deprive young adults of edgy fiction is to deprive them of stories that are more real. Sorry for that misunderstanding.

I read "to let them think otherwise" as "to censor sex from their reading"

In a nutshell, this is what I was trying to say.

[Nakhlasmoke]

...

I in no way meant that the goal of a YA author should be to send a message. I meant that to deprive young adults of edgy fiction is to deprive them of stories that are more real. Sorry for that misunderstanding.



In a nutshell, this is what I was trying to say.

Thanks for popping in, Sanctuary. I agree, I rather missed the tone of your message and honed in on the teaching part.

Sorry, I do tend to fly off a bit about certain things. :D

On the plus side, we got some good debate going. :D

[sanctuary6284]

I wanted to put this in a separate post.

I don't think you should ever set out writing a book trying to get a message across. I think if there is a message in it it will make itself evident through the interactions and events in the story.

In real life, we learn most lessons through trial and error or by observing someone else. This should be the same way in story. Most of us aren't trying to write fables. I'm just saying that occasionally there is something someone can get out of the writing that can inspire them or they could learn from.

If it is your goal to get a message in the story (not a moral, but a "Hey, this is life and people go through this" message), then the same thing applies. Don't have a character spout out the message on cue. Don't even mention it. If your writing is done well then the reader will feel like they got a special treat of a message out of their casual reading.

[sanctuary6284]

Thanks for popping in, Sanctuary. I agree, I rather missed the tone of your message and honed in on the teaching part.

Sorry, I do tend to fly off a bit about certain things. :D

On the plus side, we got some good debate going. :D

I agree and it's all good. I'm glad we got this debate going. I mean how many times have you read a book or even watched a movie and you just can't shake the feeling that the author or director is trying to engrain(sp?) something into you. Then immediately preceeding or following the major climactic moment, a major character ruins the whole experience by summarizing what the whole story was about and spelling out the message in pulpit fashion. I hate it when good stories do that. I can't even take them seriously after that point.

[Dana-Lynn]

My first Stephen King book was "The Shining." I was 12 when I read that. Then "Pet Cemetary."
I highly doubt there were YA messages in those books. Other than beware of twins on tricycles and don't dig up your dead cat.

LOL!!!!

LOVED this!

:roll:

[Angela_785]

I don't think you should ever set out writing a book trying to get a message across. I think if there is a message in it it will make itself evident through the interactions and events in the story.



This is exactly my feeling as well. For me, it isn't until I'm part way or even finished the book before I start really seeing a theme or message. I think it's because I'm a bit organtic and what I think I'm writing when I start isn't always where I end up. When I revise, that's when I try to bring out the theme a bit more, smoothing it throughout the story.

The best revelations are ones that we ourselves discover, and that's how it should be for our readers. We shouldn't have to take their hand and walk them through it--they should be able to pick it up on their own without feeling like it was forced on them.

[Talkatoast]

I agree. I think there's more to young adult fiction than just a message. I think kids who read those kinds of books are looking for messages, looking for someone else to relate to that they can find in real life. In any case, I don't think the books young adults read always have to have message about sex, drugs, ect...I think they can have other messages as well.

[gem1122]

Every YA novel may not have an explicit message, but the MC always goes through a change, learning something about themselves and their world. What they learn is what we learn, so the message is there, albeit subtle in some circumstances.

My WIP began with a situation and POV. What the message is, I don't know. But readers will take what the MC learns and internalize it how they want and, most likely, read a 'message' into it. I think that's human nature, especially for YA readers. Most of us read to be entertained, but also to 'learn' something about ourselves, right (even if we don't admit it)?

[Nakhlasmoke]

... But readers will take what the MC learns and internalize it how they want and, most likely, read a 'message' into it. I think that's human nature...

very good point.

[t0neg0d]

Speaking from the perspective of making money from your book:

CONSIDER YOUR AUDIENCE!

You are speaking to people who ARE at an age where they are easily influenced and still unsure of who and what they will become. They is no problem discussing 'adult subject matter' with someone who is not an adult. BUT! If you condone or glorify something that is illegal and dangerous to the point of influencing a child/teen to line your pocket, then damn straight you should consider how far you take it to tell your story.

I am by no means saying it is your responsibility to teach someone morals, but aren't you limiting your audience when you breach these subjects carelessly?

[Haphazard]

I believe that actions have consequences. This is not a matter of moralizing, it's a matter of GOOD WRITING. Then again, I don't mean 'drugs are bad' consequences but just consequences of doing obviously stupid things. If you need some ideas of what I'm talking about, listen to the NPR show "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me!" one weekend; people do stupid things all the time that don't involve sex, drugs, and rock & roll, and people have to pay the price.

I'm not into moralizing but if a man and a woman are both young and fertile and having lots and lots of unprotected sex with each other, the woman's likely to get pregnant eventually. That's not moralizing, that's not the Conservative Right Wing going after stories, that's just nature's way.

I believe in logical consequences, not ones there for the sake of morals. Readers can take from logic whatever they want.

[Nakhlasmoke]

Logical consequences works for me.

I don't see a problem writing about something if it's the truth. Truth is - loads of people -and not just teenagers but doctors and lawyers and drop-outs and teachers and mechanics and people from all across the spectrum - have unprotected sex, drive like morons, take drugs, drink too much. Writing about that isn't "lining my pocket" it's writing the world as I see it.

I'm not a preacher, and I'm not writing with the intent of trying to convert my audience. I am not the moral majority. *shrug*

Kids are pretty quick at picking up when an author is being patronising or didactic.

[Micdougall]

Kids are so much smarter than people give them credit for. Don't hand-hold, and don't lecture. Just write your story, and kids will get their own messages out of it--often with longer-lasting effects since they figured it out themselves. After all, if they wanted a lecture (at least as many of them see it), they'd just talk to their parents! I'm perfectly fine with messages or morals, as long as they're not crammed down readers' throats.

[MHanlon]

Stories are entertainment. Stories are meant to say here is an alternate version of life, but I promise you this version of life will be more exciting, horrific, adventurous than your life. That being said, sure, every story needs to have some underlying message, whether it's a blood-sucking were-chicken who discovers that even were-chickens are not immune to the tyranny of Purdue, or a coming of age story about a boy who realizes he shouldn't have named his blind one-legged dog Runner. That message does not need to teach anything even remotely important about life, why should it? I don't know a single child that reads, watches movies, or plays video games to learn a lesson. They want entertainment. If some message happens to come across as a result, well great. But it's the story that sits with the reader, not the message it conveys. No one turns to the next page and says, "I can't wait to read the author's opinion about how I should say please and thank you." No, they turn the page to find out what happens next.

[Zoombie]

My YA novel has sex...but it's no big deal to my characters.

I mean it is.

But it's not the big deal that I've seen it in some other. I mean, it's a big deal for the characters. A happy deal. A good fun time. Cause you know, sex is fun...mmmkay.

Also, the worst drug my characters have done is smoking.

My characters aren't vice enough, are they? Or are they the right kind of vice?

There are teens out there who aren't completely screwed up you know and they don't have to be boring.

I think I've been a bit incoherent. What were we talking about?

Oh right. Messages.

My messages are simple and hidden. "Life throws funny things at you. If you don't catch them, its your own fault. Also, if you are falling in love, tell her or him before you die a horrible death."

[MHanlon]

My messages are simple and hidden. "Life throws funny things at you. If you don't catch them, its your own fault. Also, if you are falling in love, tell her or him before you die a horrible death."

That message sounds way too complicated. I would stick with mmmm... sex good.

[Zoombie]

Sounds good!


Well...sex with someone you love, trust and adore, plus protection unless you want to deal with preggers gal.

[mirrorkisses]

Should there even be a message?

I was in another thread, and a poster made the comment that YA is there to teach. That there should be consequences for actions because children and young adults learn from these books that for whatever you choose to do (sex, drugs, rock n roll) there will be repercussions.

I don't think I agree with this. To me, it veers awfully close to moralising.

Am I just getting all bothered by something everyone else takes for granted?

It's this part I specifically disagreed with:



It may be that I'm getting the complete wrong end of the stick here, so what are your thoughts on the matter.

Oh my god if I wanted to write 7th Heaven episodes that's what I would be doing. YA lit has no other function but to entertain. Now, if a writer feels it is their duty to give children messages on morality, so be it. But I don't think this is the duty of YA lit itself. Children aren't stupid. They know when they're being preached to, and they know reality from fiction.

This is the WHOLE REASON I decided to write YA fiction, to get away from the preachy stuff and publish stuff kids actually like.

[mirrorkisses]

ps:

I don't throw sex in ANY of my novels just to titillate. I'd be writing erotica if I wanted to do that. Sex always has a reason for being their in my novels, even those written for adults.

[Zoombie]

Also, if you want an awesome, AWESOME way to deliver a message without being preachy or annoying, watch Wall-E by Pixar.