I've always been a meganormous fan of YA lit. Specifically, YA lit with more pain than gain - something where all the responsibility falls to the teenagers, the world (or at least, life as they know it) must be saved, and there's a little romance along the way. Nothing wrong with taking a break from saving the world for a quick smooch, right? In this world, adults are generally either a) useless or b) evil or c) altogether gone. Imagine my surprise when I realised that I am an actual adult now and therefore fall into one of the categories above? I'd like to hope I'd make a brief cameo as 'well-intentioned adult most likely to die in the course of duty'.
Seriously, though, as a kid I think I had serious problems. I would virtually bookmark the passages where my favourite characters came close to death and read them over and over again. The pain - emotional or physical - was my favourite part. I don't know what this says about me, so let's move on.
This is a snapshot of my bookshelf:
Pretty random assortment. Ok, so the bottom shelf is mostly my husband's (except the cookery books and the thesaurus), but the other shelves are all mine. We have a little YA, a little chick lit, some classics and some more random stuff. If you can make out Nothing to Envy on the top shelf, well that's a book about life in North Korea that gave me a lot of inspiration when it came to the setting for Chase. There's a country that's pretty much cut itself off from the rest of the world, right? Delirium, Matched, The Host, all good YA. Love me some Phillip Pullman - that's more than good YA. That's more of the 'everybody should read this - as in right now' genre. Seriously, if you haven't read His Dark Materials, turn off your computer and go read it. So, so good.
I should also point out that I haven't read everything on my shelves - yet - and that they're double stacked. What you can't see there is John Marsden's Tomorrow When the War Began series, which is another must read. I read them when I was a teenager and loved them. They're about these kids in Australia who go off on a camping trip, and while they're away the country is invaded. So then they become, like, guerilla fighters, and blow heaps of stuff up. And they have seriously incestuous romances (not actually incestuous, you understand, just a little wife-swappy) and some of them die, and it's amazing. They made a film of the first one a few years ago, and it was so disappointing. I think a TV series would've been better. I digress.
Anyway, I am thoroughly in agreement with all those who say that to be a good writer, you have to be a good reader. Know what's out there, what you like, what you don't like, which ideas have been overdone and what could be developed into something that's truly yours.
And while you're reading, why not indulge in a little of this
Maybe one of these:
And make it the best damned day of your life. Because what's better than reading, writing and eating?
Seriously, though, as a kid I think I had serious problems. I would virtually bookmark the passages where my favourite characters came close to death and read them over and over again. The pain - emotional or physical - was my favourite part. I don't know what this says about me, so let's move on.
This is a snapshot of my bookshelf:
Pretty random assortment. Ok, so the bottom shelf is mostly my husband's (except the cookery books and the thesaurus), but the other shelves are all mine. We have a little YA, a little chick lit, some classics and some more random stuff. If you can make out Nothing to Envy on the top shelf, well that's a book about life in North Korea that gave me a lot of inspiration when it came to the setting for Chase. There's a country that's pretty much cut itself off from the rest of the world, right? Delirium, Matched, The Host, all good YA. Love me some Phillip Pullman - that's more than good YA. That's more of the 'everybody should read this - as in right now' genre. Seriously, if you haven't read His Dark Materials, turn off your computer and go read it. So, so good.
I should also point out that I haven't read everything on my shelves - yet - and that they're double stacked. What you can't see there is John Marsden's Tomorrow When the War Began series, which is another must read. I read them when I was a teenager and loved them. They're about these kids in Australia who go off on a camping trip, and while they're away the country is invaded. So then they become, like, guerilla fighters, and blow heaps of stuff up. And they have seriously incestuous romances (not actually incestuous, you understand, just a little wife-swappy) and some of them die, and it's amazing. They made a film of the first one a few years ago, and it was so disappointing. I think a TV series would've been better. I digress.
Anyway, I am thoroughly in agreement with all those who say that to be a good writer, you have to be a good reader. Know what's out there, what you like, what you don't like, which ideas have been overdone and what could be developed into something that's truly yours.
And while you're reading, why not indulge in a little of this
Maybe one of these:
I am glad you said your shelves are double stacked, I was getting serious bookshelf envy. Mine are so messy - my to-be-read pile is stacked horizontally in front of my other books. And then I have SO many things from the kids in the shelves, even my bookcases aren't my own anymore...
ReplyDeleteI do agree that it is a good idea to read a lot of the genre you want to write about. I was thinking of writing historical fiction next, but it's not really a genre I read a lot in, so maybe I should reconsider and write a mystery instead (as I love those), but I don't think I am clever enough to think up something mysterious.
Maybe try reading some historical fiction and see what you think. Just because something's in a genre doesn't mean you have to follow all the genre rules, right? The thing that would put me off historical fiction is surely you have to know about that particular era? I'm finding research into a world I'm making up hard enough!
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