Yeah, let's go there--Sex in YA Fiction

I’ve given this topic quite a lot of thought lately, mostly because it concerns my current WIP. This past week I realized something that hadn’t occurred me when I was first plotting the story out (I use the word plotting loosely here): that my protagonist absolutely, undeniably HAS to lose her virginity for the mid-point, second plot point/crisis, and climax to work.

Hmmm...

When I realized no amount of “beating around the bush” would accomplish the same goal, I had a moment of panic. But they’re seventeen, not yet "legal". They’re not married, or from cave-dwelling times, or aliens from a different planet. They are a couple of teenagers set in now-a-day USA (albeit one of them is not your average human).

I wholeheartedly believe I have a responsibility to the teens I’m writing for, but perhaps not in the way some think. I believe it is my responsibility to write a story they can immerse themselves into, to bring them characters and situations they can relate to, and others they would have never thought about before. Teens are savvier than ever today, and to deny that some are having sex, others are thinking about sex, and most are faced with decisions regarding sex, is unrealistic.

It’s not so much the “CAN” sex be included in YA books as it is the “HOW” sex is portrayed that becomes the real issue. Some questions worth asking before writing this type of scene: Is it more about the emotional aspects versus the down & dirty? Is there more alluding to rather than graphic detail? Is there a timely “fade to black”? Is birth control mentioned? Are there consequences—emotional or otherwise? And most importantly, is it in the story because it absolutely has to be there? 

Some great links I found on this subject include:

Literary Agent Mary Kole weighs in her opinion over at Kidlit

YA Highway has a 4-part posting on Sex in YA, starting with Part 1 here

Author Suzanne Young discusses Sex in YA at WriteOnCon Vlog

A list of popular teen books dealing with Sex & Pregnancy at Goodreads

WRITING VILLAINS

Antagonist=opponent, competitor, enemy, rival

AKA The Villain

He's the monster under your bed, or in your closet, or in your head; the ghost of Christmas past, a disloyal friend, or a stepmother’s wrath; the ghoul chasing your soul, the zombie craving your flesh, the flaming eye, the pie in the sky, and the genie who offers you a wish!

I am currently reading the “Villains” section of SCREENWRITING TRICKS FOR AUTHORS by Alexandra Sokoloff. She does a wonderful job describing the importance of these baddies imperative to any novel. What I found particularly interesting was her suggestion that villains make up half of an entire story’s theme. This makes perfect sense, since theme deals with subtle messages and all those hard choices between good and bad, or in a real tense novel, between bad and worse.

The great Donald Maass, in his book THE BREAKOUT NOVELIST describes the mostly used “Mwoo-ha-ha Villains” as the cardboard variety that never work. He suggests making the antagonist multi-dimensional, so that the reader is swayed in unexpected directions and even accepts the antagonist’s point of view. Writer’s Digest posted a recent article 4 TECHNIQUES FORCREATING BELIEVABLE VILLAINS which uses strategies taken from James Scott Bell’s CONFLICT & SUSPENSE. These strategies also suggest giving the antagonist a sympathy factor in order to lend a powerful current of emotion to the experience. 

I’ve been working on the back story of my “villain” and learning all kinds of interesting tidbits to use in my novel. The more I understand the reason for the antagonist’s bad behavior, that more I can “grow” the story and all its juicy conflicts. I feel sorry for my protagonist just thinking about it!

   

Zombie Apocalypse--for Honeybees

Some say truth is scarier than fiction. I have to agree. When I read the recent news article about a parasite turning honeybees into "Zombies", I wondered if there might be something to the zombie apocalypse hype after all.

Evidently, a parasitic phorid fly--Apocephalus borealis--hijacks the bees' bodies, burrows into and nests in their stomachs, causing them to exhibit zombie-like behavior. The infected bees walk in circles, some pursue bright light, many lose the ability to stand on their feet, others flee their hives, and all of them eventually die. My first reaction to reading about this gruesome attack was...EW! My second was, Crap, yet another threat to our bees!  and my third reaction was, Okay, so maybe the discovery is the missing link to understanding Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)--that mysterious phenomena taking out our honeybees.

This same, new, parasite is also attacking the bumblebee population. Scientists are studying whether or not this parasite is an additional stressor on the honeybee, contributing to CCD, or if it might actually be the primary cause of CCD. Whatever role it plays, one thing is for certain: we must, if we value all that is good in nature, all that is good on our dinner table, save our precious bees from turning into zombies.

Books--A History

Long, long ago, in a world without e-book technology, way before the printing press, the world's oldest book was made. I'm not talking cave drawings or clay tablets, which depict the first "writings", but the very first official "book". In 600 BCE the North Italian Etruscans created a book of 24-karat gold with six illustrated gold pages joined by gold rings. Wow. I think it's pretty darn cool that the ancestor of all books was something so special, so valuable, and so symbolic of how books would be treasured by humankind.

Relatives of the books we know today also include one from China dating back to 868 CE, made from carved wooden blocks, and many others were created from scrolls of leather or parchment. It wasn't until the mid-1400's that Johann Gutenberg invented the movable-type printing press and published the first mass-produced book--the Gutenberg Bible. A whopping 200 copies were made, and an estimated 21 complete copies exist today, each valued between $25-$35 million dollars (cha-ching!).  

(picture of Chinese Bamboo Book)

With the printing press, came the start of mass communication. Eventually, everyone could enjoy what only the very rich or very religious (i.e. clergy) had access to. In 1611 the best-selling book of all time was completed--the King James Bible. It celebrated its 400 year anniversary this year with more than 6 billion copies having been published. It was written over a span of 1,000 years by more than 40 authors. Of course the first bibles were mighty expensive and actually chained to the front pulpit of churches to prevent theft. It was the first English bible printed in the U.S., and whether or not you're a bible buff, many of our common phrases come from it. Here are just a few:

• Fell flat on his face (Numbers 22:31)
• To everything there is a season (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
• At their wits' end (Psalms 107:27)
• Labour of love (Hebrews 6:10)
• In the twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:52)
• Strait and narrow (Matthew 7:13-14)
• Apple of his eye (Deuteronomy 32:10)
• The root of the matter (Job 19:28)

And my favorite:

• The skin of my teeth (Job 19:20)

:-D

A Snow White Kinda Year

So, I've recently been watching the new ABC Television series "Once Upon A Time" with Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White (I won't post the trailor here, since I'm already posting two movie trailers). All things fairy tale appeal to me, so when this show aired I knew it'd be a new favorite. The last episode included Cinderella (my childhood fav) and they've done a spectacular job with Rumplestiltskin and the evil queen.

Then while watchiing previews at the movie theater the other day, I saw the trailor for "Snow White and the Huntsman" starring Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron. Oh Joy!!

And I just caught another trailor for "Mirror Mirror" (this one is much more comic-like), starring Lily Collins and Julia Roberts.

So, I'd say we are rolling into a Snow White Kinda Year.