Ah, feels good to be home.

No great achievement, but something that makes me feel good - a realisation.

As some of you may already know, one of my past novels struck me recently as YA rather than chicklit. So I thought, "Great. I'm not all about adult novels; some stories I write are YA too."

But I've begun to look at all of my 'stuff' in a new light. The novel I'm currently shopping around is definitely not YA, despite it getting a rejection saying, "We don't do children's books." I mean - huh? 23-year-old heroine, abortion, infidelity, drug-taking, lots of swearing and you think it's a children's book? Even going by the age of the characters alone, I'm confused at that one. (Trust me; I can't change the MC's age and market it at YA, it just isn't a kids' book). Anyway.

I have other ideas that are definitely for a more mature market but I've realised something important. My trunk novel, when reworked, is YA. My second novel is YA. The third is being shopped around now - definitely for grown-ups. And most of the other ideas I have are YA. The stories peter out...well not peter out; that suggests they grind to a halt...they end naturally at round about 60k words; with some changing-of-MC's-age and other less-important details, they could be tailored to the YA market.

It's funny, because a few years ago a friend read an early draft of my trunk novel and said it was good, but...was I sure it was a grown-up novel? It read to her like a Point Horror (at which I took great offence) or a book for teens.

Seems she was right after all.

I'm a YA writer. Woot! Feels good to say that. 3/4 YA with a few other ideas for more mature readers. It's like I'm putting on a coat that fits, at last. Does that make any sense?

They are indeed.

And just to add my point about my currently-being-shopped-around novel; I realise some YA novels deal with subjects like abortion or drug-taking but this one's particularly graphic in some scenes (not least some sexy sex), and the characters need to be in their early/mid twenties due to The Great Secret at the Heart of the Book happening years before. I need time to elapse before it all comes out, so they end up round about 23, 24 at the end of it.

But yeah. Feels good.

The one I'm writing just now (and I know I keep talking about this but I love the scene) involves someone having their tongue torn out by a shapeshifter.

See? I can do dark. I can do edgy.

Thanks all. I'd been stalling on DAE (see signature) for a few weeks even though I knew what came next, but after my 'epiphany' I typed 2,500 words, printed out the whole manuscript which is at just under halfway, and carried on writing in longhand because...well, I felt like it!

So I'm really smoking now. I should finish this edit by the end of July, easily. August to work on the synopsis and submitting it, and then...who know?

I have a few ideas that are definitely for more mature readers, but I could swap between the two genres with each new piece...rather getting ahead of myself here, but so what?

My enthusiasm's had a good ol' kick up the backside which can only be a good thing.

Mdlle. Nancy said:

Anyway scarletpeaches when your book comes out I'll tell my librarian I know you and she has to get a copy.

Even if it's only released in the UK.

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I love the way you say 'when', not 'if'.

licity-lieu said:

...I want to write that book I was trawling the bookshelves for when I was 15...

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That's the feeling I got. There was no way I could have written anything worth publishing when I was 15 - I didn't have the life experience, even though I was living through my teen years which you'd think would help you to write a YA novel.

I feel as if I had the ideas, the raw passion - but that's the trouble; it was raw and directionless and I hadn't a clue about the craft of writing.

gem1122 said:

Absolutely. I went through the same thing a few years ago, following comments from some friends and other readers. Me: "I write YA novels? Really? Well...okay then!" It was liberating.

Glad you found your way.

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Glad to know I'm not alone then, and that I'm not weird.

Well if I am, you are too.

licity-lieu said:

Truth be told, I wonder if the genre picks the writer rather than the other way round. I guess that's what Scarlet discovered.

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Again, it's funny how I had to be twice the age to be able to write a teen as the MC. You'd think I could write a fifteen-year-old at that age, but no. I had the ideas, but no idea how to hone them. It's only now I feel I have the ability to put my teen/YA ideas down on paper in any coherent fashion.

As I said when I hit the big 3-0 last year; "I'm not thirty; I'm fifteen twice."

Now I claim to be twentyleven.

I'd better get writing then! Watch my signature total shoot up!