"Old" People Writing for Teens V

Kaylinn, that is terrible. I hate hearing about cancer taking young people. We need a cure already! I read something that said we haven't found cures for anything for 30 years, just treatments, because that is what makes pharmaceutical companies money. Disgusting.

Sage, enjoy your vacation, and adjust deadlines if you must. You must not stress!

JTR, that sounds terrible for your daughter, but glad it worked out. I understand the house hunting stress. We moved a few years ago and it was the same. I wanted to be in a specific school district. I also wanted to be close to schools and stores and stuff, yet the husband wanted a three car attached garage and stuff that was impossible in houses in town. It is a wonder we found our house, and when we found it, we had to be ready to buy. It was good we had time to wait for it. Our other house was sold and we had big cash down payment.

I am working on revisions on what I call a throw away story, because nobody is going to buy a book set in the 80s, around the Challenger disaster about a computer hacker in Special Education who is mainstreamed. But damn if she isn't fun to write. I just got over a hurdle in this revision tonight, and it feels SO good! I am trying to get through this revision so I can set it aside to steep while I write something brand new that is literally nipping at me to get going.

JK, why won't anybody buy a book set in the 80s? Your premise sounds cool.

Have to agree about the pharmas. I'm sure there's a cure for drug addiction and mental disorders, but such treatment would be illegal, too. They are monsters, making money out of people's suffering and sending them into debt in the process.

Kaylinn, that poor kid.

Sage, happy birthday and have a fantastic vacation.

JTR, the school handled that very badly indeed. I hope none of those kids who were expelled or failed were innocent, but I imagine there would be. Politics trumps the right thing. Thank goodness your girl didn't get burned.

JK: Personally, I think that story idea sounds awesome!

Bookgirl: Congrats, and I hope the new job is everything you want it to be!

Kaylinn: Really sorry to hear that...

JTR: That's scary... I honestly cannot imagine what that must be like for everyone involved. The idea of getting your future messed up because of something you didn't do is just terrifying.

I finished the first draft of the novel I plan to enter in the Beta Project. It's a bloated 105k manuscript that I can easily imagine cutting by 20-30% if not more by the time I'm done, but I think it has potential. I'm just really, really sick of looking at it after working on it since last October. So, I'm gonna finish up my opening pages for the BP, then toss it in a drawer for a little while to let it simmer before I start editing.

In the meantime, I'm taking a break from writing to get some of my steam back... although I'll admit I just had to jot down some notes for a random story idea that hit me on the bus today. It's a genre-hopping science-fiction/fantasy/time-travel/contemporary YA piece with series potential that is completely out of my wheelhouse and that I'm woefully unprepared to write at the moment, but I'm very intrigued all the same.

I second Matt, JK. It's not even my usual genre and I'm interested.

And I'm intrigued, too, Matt. I'd love to hear more about it!

It's so weird to be feeling so good. But it's great! I started the job on Thursday, and it went beautifully. I also found out yesterday that I got into the graduate program I applied for, so I'll be starting that at the end of the month. Things are finally going right again!

...Now if I can just finish this round of revisions, everything will be perfect (...at least for a few minutes ).

Just 16k left to edit of the book formerly known as FROSTBITE. Then I'll be hitting up everybody and their mother to give it a last read before I kick it out of the door.

After rewriting it about 7-8 times, I've finally come up with a serviceable 150 word hook for the BP. It's indeed a fantastic exercise for compressing the story to its most essential components, although I of course had a few panicky moments where I was at 200-250 words and was absolutely convinced that nothing else could be cut haha.

I told myself I wasn't going to edit this story until giving myself more time to get some distance from it... but I edited the first 750 words for the BP, and then fell into the temptation of editing just a little bit further into the chapter. Surprisingly, it was a pleasant experience, and I'm in the mood to keep going, despite how burned out I was on Thursday. I'm thinking of setting a reasonable goal for myself, like editing one chapter a day, which should help me finish it in a few months without burning out again.

Bookgirl; congratulations!

I finished the rewrite of an ancient novel from last century last night; it's 90k and it's YA set in 1979-1980. The changes are substantial, and it's multiple POV until Part 4. I dunno if I'm gonna put in chapters or not.

Good thing today is election day, so bank holiday, cos it was 3am before I finally yawned off to bed, only to be still awake with the new day dawning. I'll let it vegetate for awhile.

Hi folks. I'm looking for some insights into spending a few days in Brooklyn/New York City. I've never been there, but I seem to recall some people here are familiar with the city. Particularly, I'm looking for recommendations for casual eateries known by the locals for food and atmosphere, esp. in Brooklyn, best bookstores, must-sees (I know there are too many and depend on taste but I'd love to hear anyway), live music venues, as well as some general questions on getting around safely, etc.

Feel free to PM me if you're open to chatting a bit. Thanks.

JKR - I saw an agent or editor say they were looking for 80s YA recently. Sorry, I can't remember who, but it just shows some people want it. I also love the sound of your story, and if you're having that much fun with it, it's likely to be infectious.

Congrats bookgirl! I'm glad things are looking up

Thanks guys. Cancer really does suck.

So before all that happened, I was actually working on a BP entry for this year. I figured I'd submit my WIP that I'm having the crisis about and see if I could get a couple more sets of eyes on it. I think I've decided I want to enter something and I'll make the time to get everything done. But now I'm debating if I should enter current WIP, or switch and let people look at First Sight instead. That one needs some love too, but I really really want to get some opinions on the current WIP. Decisions decisions.

Also, toddler nap transitions are a horrible thing and I hate them. Baby Girl cannot decide if she wants to take one or two naps a day. Most of the time it's two and she's her usual happy curious self. On the days she chooses one nap she turns into the child who cries about absolutely everything. And then wakes up at 5 the next morning. *sigh* I really do love her, I promise.

Congrats Bookgirl! Glad things are going so well for you.

Have fun Sage!

Question about the BP entry: how specific should you be in the What do you look for in a beta section? What I mean is, should I specifically say here that I'm looking for help with particular issues (a particular section of plot line or character relationship) with this manuscript or should it just be more general and ask for help with plot and characterization in general?

JK: Ummmmm, why wouldn't anyone be interested in a book like that?!! I think it sounds amazing! The thing is, I bet 80's YA probably isn't the biggest thing, but 80's YA around a super important event, that sounds fantastic. It would be historical fiction, right?

Kaylinn: I'm a little late, but I am so sorry about that little girl. Those situations are the worst. A friend of mine lost her daughter at 11 after fighting cancer almost her entire life. It's not a loss you can ever get over. You just learn to deal with it day by day.

Thanks everyone for the thoughts on my daughter. We are so relieved to have it all over with.

I forgot to share the guest blog post I wrote for Ava Jae's blog. Here it is if you're interested.

Sage: Super jealous of Disney! Have fun for all of us!

Kaylinn: Good luck with the naps! My 5yos are transitioning to no nap. They won't get them next fall in kindergarten. I'm still having them take one every day unless we have something going on. Sometimes that works; sometimes I have 2 chupacabras on my hands by 3pm. So I feel your pain.

So we found a house! I'm excited but nervous and stressing about a million things. At least that's one thing off my plate though. Now to get our other two houses sold so we can eat something besides ramen noodles . . .

Good news on the writing front: my agent said my new ending made her tear up. Guess I did something right.

An agent tearing up reading your ending is definitely a step in the right direction.

So, maybe I won't write off (HA!) my 80s hacker special needs girl. I am not ready to shop it out either....or maybe I am. I am currently reading "Ready Player One," which also loves the 80s. Although I think it uses too many info dumps.

I am wondering if I can find a beta reader who is a super 80s computer geek, and how hard would that be. Maybe less hard than finding beta readers who are Hmong?

I am getting the green light on creating my writer's group for teens at the library where I work. The children's librarian even suggested I could go to the high school and do it, as a representative of the library, and of course, getting paid. I like that idea too, although I'd really like to see more teens in our library, and one of our locations is a block or two from the high school.

I really like the idea of giving kids the opportunity to explore writing for fun, and what they can do with it. Not that I am a super star or anything in the profession, but I think I can give them some direction, understanding of the business, tools to work with, and someone to talk to about it.

jtrylch13 said:

JK: I bet 80's YA probably isn't the biggest thing, but 80's YA around a super important event, that sounds fantastic. It would be historical fiction, right?




So we found a house! Congrats!

Good news on the writing front: my agent said my new ending made her tear up. Guess I did something right.

Click to expand...

It's an oddly great feeling, isn't it?

jtrylch13 said:

JK: Ummmmm, why wouldn't anyone be interested in a book like that?!! I think it sounds amazing! The thing is, I bet 80's YA probably isn't the biggest thing, but 80's YA around a super important event, that sounds fantastic. It would be historical fiction, right?

Click to expand...

I wasn't born until the end of the 80s and today's YA reader is 15 years younger than me. So I'm guessing it's historical.

I am currently reading "Ready Player One," which relies heavily on 80s stuff and the internet. It is a studied read. Do I add more, less? Many a poster on Goodreads complains of infodumps in "Ready Player One."

There is definitely an event in my novel, the Challenger explosion is a key figure in the plot, although it may not have to be. I really like it, because it was huge for high school kids at the time. Many saw it explode, live, on television, during class, which was horrible. As does my main character, on the same day her life explodes for another reason. And special needs programming was different in the 80s. I'm not sure her story would work with the modern way of doing things.

The more I think I am done with a project, the more it sucks me in. I wrote a huge post to my critique group about my story problems in this novel. There are many, but it is also much cooler than I give it credit. My dreams of writing something new drift away! I had hoped to start new project in June, but I have some work to do on my 80s hacking girl throwaway novel first.

Ragged edge, did you find some places in Brooklyn? My family went to NYC a few years ago and a highlight of the trip was eating at the Stardust Cafe and the singing waiters. I think that is in Manhatten.

JKRowley said:

I am currently reading "Ready Player One," which relies heavily on 80s stuff and the internet. It is a studied read. Do I add more, less? Many a poster on Goodreads complains of infodumps in "Ready Player One."

There is definitely an event in my novel, the Challenger explosion is a key figure in the plot, although it may not have to be. I really like it, because it was huge for high school kids at the time. Many saw it explode, live, on television, during class, which was horrible. As does my main character, on the same day her life explodes for another reason. And special needs programming was different in the 80s. I'm not sure her story would work with the modern way of doing things.

The more I think I am done with a project, the more it sucks me in. I wrote a huge post to my critique group about my story problems in this novel. There are many, but it is also much cooler than I give it credit. My dreams of writing something new drift away! I had hoped to start new project in June, but I have some work to do on my 80s hacking girl throwaway novel first.

Click to expand...

I will never forget it, except I was at home (in Oz) when I saw it on the news, which mainly focused on that teacher. It vexed me. What about the other payload specialist and the astronauts? I do recall stuff about the weather being exceedingly cold, even for a Florida winter. My school didn't discuss it, but given it was the epitome of mediocrity, no surprises there. Challenger was a disaster of historic proportions.

I haven't a clue how my YA would fit, of if it's a YA. It's set in 1979-80, and doesn't focus on a particular event, but my MC's story too wouldn't work in a modern setting. It has significant adult characters, including the MC's parents, a gangster, an ex-CIA agent, and an ex-KGB agent, who is her grandfather, but he gets no 'screen' time. He had disappeared.

It's about a fretful rich girl who gets recruited by a gang from Hunt's Point who had set themselves up in Riverdale. Her task is to spy on her wealthy peers, but it's what she's been doing for years. She had been trained by her grandfather, and eventually becomes a predator.

I'm writing contemporary YA for the first time and its tough. Its a story that doesn't want to leave me alone, but I find myself asking basic questions. I assume its okay to reference contemporary movies and video games?