YA Untraditional Methods to get Information Across...Help!

bobcat22 · May 10, 2009

Hi! I've been watching this board for about a week (I'm new here!) and love the advice everyone offers. I'm writing a YA book right now and would love some suggestions to a problem I'm having.

My main character, Kate, has been stepping out of the story and writing her views in a sort of diary type way. I like this method of getting a different voice, but it's not working yet. I feel like the diary has been over done. What other unique ways can I present this information? I was thinking of having her in a Creative Writing class and having them as journals to her teacher (and maybe putting her teacher's feedback on them). Or e-mails/blogs? I want something fun and creative to allow my character to step outside the regular pages.

Any other good ideas work work in nontraditional writing? Any ideas would be great! Thanks!

Red.Ink.Rain · May 10, 2009

In my YA urban fantasy, my character wrote blogs. Well, two blogs - one at the beginning of the book, one at the end of the book. But that was very fun. Since the internet is anonymous, people can TOTALLY be themselves on their blogs.

Stunted · May 10, 2009

Facebook?
Text messagess?
Email?
An online forum like this?
Would any of those work?

unicornjam · May 11, 2009

There is a book called The Sluts (I skimmed through it, wouldn't recommend it) that has characters talk through message boards, IMs and/or e-mail.

Parametric · May 11, 2009

We had an interesting query in SYW recently for a book written entirely in Twitter messages.

bobcat22 · May 11, 2009

Thanks for all the suggestions already! I like some of the ideas, but I'm not sure if they will work. I want what my character says to be private. Her mom has passed away and her dad has thrown himself into basketball as a way to cope, shutting her out. Her brother is also overseas in the war, so she feels alone. A lot of the content is her speaking out about her father's silence. She's popular, so it's not stuff she wants people to see.

What about letters to her mom (what she wants to say if she were still alive)?
Her brother overseas?
Even to her dad (what she wishes she could say to him)?

Any other ideas about methods like that? It should be more private; she doesn't want people to see it.

Manix · May 11, 2009

bobcat22 said:
Hi! I've been watching this board for about a week (I'm new here!) and love the advice everyone offers. I'm writing a YA book right now and would love some suggestions to a problem I'm having.

My main character, Kate, has been stepping out of the story and writing her views in a sort of diary type way. I like this method of getting a different voice, but it's not working yet. I feel like the diary has been over done. What other unique ways can I present this information? I was thinking of having her in a Creative Writing class and having them as journals to her teacher (and maybe putting her teacher's feedback on them). Or e-mails/blogs? I want something fun and creative to allow my character to step outside the regular pages.

Any other good ideas work work in nontraditional writing? Any ideas would be great! Thanks!

Welcome Bobcat! This idea sounds great. I'd suggest alternating between the diary entries, creative writing journal, blogging, and even texting to friends on a cell phone. You could alternate for variety at the beginning of each chapter, or within the chapter too. That sounds really awesome. E-mails, notes for a rough-draft, etc. (Sounds like your MC is a writer)

I think it will work very well.

Danthia · May 11, 2009

A diary is a diary to me, no matter what the format. (though others may disagree). I wouldn't worry so much about the type of diary you do, but focus more on the story you want to tell. If the story is good, with compelling characters and great writing, the format you choose won't matter. If it's not a great story with all those things, then the most original format won't matter either.

How would your protag record her thoughts? If she's a blogger, blog. If she likes to write in a diary, do that. If she paints and adds multi-media poems stuck into the paint, do that. What she chooses says a lot about her as a character, and that's what's important. So pick something that's unique to her that allows her to express these thoughts in a way that matters to her.

MissKris · May 11, 2009

Outtakes from sessions with a therapist?
Talking to the "person" in the mirror?
You mention creative writing - maybe she decideds to write a memoir about herself?

bobcat22 · May 11, 2009

Oh, I like the mirror idea, but maybe instead, she could be writing letters to her future self (hoping that when this self gets them), things will be better. Hmmm....I'm loving these ideas! Keep them coming!

Becky · May 11, 2009

This may not help you a lot, but I know of a few books that do this sort of thing in different ways: Meg Cabot wrote three books (Every Boy's Got One, Boy Next Door and Boy Meets Girl) through IMs, texts, diary entries, scribbled notes etc. Maybe it would be a good idea to have a look at a book in the styles you're considering, to get an idea of how they work? I agree with Danthia in parts - if the story is good, I'll read it in whatever format it's in: the content is more important than whether it's a diary. But hopefully having a look at some books that do things a bit differently might give you some ideas! I think blogs would be a really cool way for the character to truly be herself.

timewaster · May 13, 2009

bobcat22 said:
Oh, I like the mirror idea, but maybe instead, she could be writing letters to her future self (hoping that when this self gets them), things will be better. Hmmm....I'm loving these ideas! Keep them coming!

Well to be unconventional - you could have her build a scrapbook with exracts from magazines, agony columns, comic strips, novel extracts, film/tv dialogue etc in which she comments on her real life.

Leila · May 13, 2009

Maybe try reading Jaclyn Moriarty's books for inspiration? She's done three for teenagers and she tells the stories entirely in letters, diaries, typed out transcripts, fridge notes, all sorts. She's wonderful.

Also I've always liked books where the main characters draw pictures. There's a book called How to make a Bird by Martine Murray where the main character sometimes does a sketch of how she is feeling. They're very simple but utterly beautiful.

It's-Magic! · May 14, 2009

I think a book that changes through different types of messages would be very interesting:
Post-it-notes?
Texts?
E-mails?
Blogs?
Diaries?
Phone notes?
Notes on her hands?
I know some of these may be awkward to grasp, but I think a book that changes form would be very cool.

Barb D · May 15, 2009

Ralpine! Deja Vu!

- TimeTravel (Knitting Knovelist)

YA Untraditional Methods to get Information Across...Help!

bobcat22

Red.Ink.Rain

Not your kid brother's YA

Stunted

Ich heiße Superphantastisch!

unicornjam

Parametric

bobcat22

Manix

Mutatis mutandis

Danthia

MissKris

Is the random.

bobcat22

Becky

timewaster

present

Leila

bookshop girl

It's-Magic!

An eye for an eye.

Barb D