(no subject)

[tanaise]

Oh, and I should probably do a 'first day at the new house' type post, but I didn't really do anything there, so I'm not sure if it's worth it. I'll think about it for a while though.

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Oh, at the New Wave YA reading, Sharyn November gave the best definition of YA as a group that I've heard yet. Hannah and I just looked at each other, and gave each other very big eyes. She said, aproximately, that YA novels are about people (presumably young/youngish, but not necessarily in a particular age group) facing a problem they don't have tools to handle yet.

I think it might be a bit broad--clearly you can write novels about that which aren't YA, but I'll bet that I could make at least 75% of the YA I read fit that sentence, without even stomping on the edges.

So. What do the rest of you think? yes? no? (Hannah, or anyone else who was there, did I remember it correctly?)

Comments

[crowyhead.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's super cool. I just might have to share that with my YA Resources prof. Maybe it'll make me feel less nervous about asking her to be one of my references. :)

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

I like that definition.. and the best of the books follow the development of said tools in some form or another. Yep.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

It makes it fairly clear to me why Sharyn edits YAs, if that's how she sees them, because to me that's the heart of most interesting books. (I'll bet I could send her one that meets that definition but couldn't be published as a YA....)

[tanaise.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I think that's a dare. ;) I think it's the heart of most interesting books, but possibly *all* interesting YAs.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

No, it's not a dare; sdn has too much from me to deal with already, and she said that the books in question were books she wanted to read but knew she couldn't publish.

[stronae.livejournal.com]

Heh. My characters are facing problems they don't have tools for all the time. :)

[buymeaclue.livejournal.com]

She also said something about the characters facing things for the first time. Or did someone else say that and I just thought it was a good definition, too? I think it was her. I loff it.

[tanaise.livejournal.com]

That's what I meant by 'don't have the tools to handle it yet', but she may have said your version.