Research is your friend

This month on YAtopia we're looking at new beginnings as the way to kick off the New Year. And I thought I'd discuss starting anew - starting a new writing project o. And my best advice to people is research.

Research in stories is becoming more and more important. The reality is that it always should have been, but there seemed to be a perception that 'hey, we're authors, we can make shit up.'

And don't get me wrong, we can. In fact, I've often said that phrase in jest when talking to friends. If we want to decide there are flying monsters that live in outer space that attack a space shuttle then we can make that shit up.

Research is important for making sure you make the real world elements of your story believable. And it's especially important for ensuring good representation of people, no matter what cultural group they belong to, or how they identify sexually or gender-wise, or any other identifiers such as mental health, etc. But today, I'm not going down that rabbit hole as it's a separate topic on it's own.

What I've found is how great research is for generating story ideas, whether it's for a brand new story, or if you've started a story and you're experiencing some writer's block. Jumping on google and exploring elements of your storyline can give you amazing ideas.

I'll give some examples from a couple of my stories. I've got one with a far-future setting, so I explored some technologies and advancements that could exist in the future, such as data storage on crystals. This became a really important element of my world building. In another series I needed to have elements of mind control, so I researched the topic and discovered some brain-washing techniques that were used on prisoners of war. That technique formed the basis of a major plot element in my story.

And nowadays you don't have to simply pop in a search on google and read webpages on the topic. You'll likely find videos as well where you can listen to tutorials on topics, and vlogs/interviews on people's experiences.

But, of course, you don't have to do all the research virtually. In a recent YAtopia post, Chris talked about the importance of imagery. One of my stories is set in Brisbane and features a sandstone building. I don't get to Brisbane very often, and when I do, I don't always get to go to areas that have those types of buildings. So I got my mum to go and get a bit handsy with the building and report back to me. Luckily I am getting to go to that area of Brisbane next week, and I'm going to try to subtly sniff a building and lay some hands on it.

Research can help expand your story ideas, flesh out your stories, and become a way better writer. It will help you add authenticity to your work. It can help you take the seed of an idea, and grow it into an oak. Never underestimate the power of research.

What is an "authentic" voice and how do you write it?

I'll admit it. I couldn't write a teenage girl's voice to save my life. The idea of writing a YA novel with a female main character scares the bejeebers out of me. Why? I have no idea how to do it! My problem is that whenever I think about what an "authentic" girl's voice is, I can't help but go straight to the stereotypes--emotional, constantly ruminating, obsessed with appearance, boy-crazed, etc. In my mind, that is the authentic teenage girl. These are simply the default traits my mind comes up with. I don't even realize that they are just part of the stereotype, a stereotype that has been subconsciously ingrained in my poor, weary brain.

I'm not alone on this (at least, I hope not!). When we think about "authentic" teenage guy or girl voices, especially when writing about our opposite gender, we are so prone to falling into the trap of stereotypes. It's not something we consciously do; like I said, it has simply been ingrained in our minds that the authentic teenager acts a certain way. It's really difficult for us, as readers and writers, to break away from viewing things with stereotype-tinted glasses. 

So, unfortunately, what we think is "authentic" really isn't all that authentic at all. And boom, we are halfway into a story with a main character we think is authentic and complex but in reality is flat as a board and completely cliche.

This problem isn't exclusive to writing about the opposite gender either. Let's face it, most of us haven't been teenagers for a few years, so we are quite a ways removed from our teenaged selves--and the teens of today. Case in point: I wrote an upper-middle-grade novel about a 14-year-old boy, who served as the story's first person narrator. Try as I might to get his voice to be authentic, I too fell into the trap of the dreaded stereotypes--he was quick to anger, obsessed with the hottest girl, worried about status, etc. I was quickly called out on it by some of the agents I later queried. One even said it seemed like I was "trying too hard" to be authentic. It was a shock to me because all along I thought I had given him the perfect voice, when really I gave him the stereotype of the perfect voice.

As readers we are often prone to thinking in terms of stereotype too. This came up in a discussion I had with my writing group. We were talking about why women writers and their characters are more heavily scrutinized when writing a boy's point-of-view. They are quick to be criticized for not having an "authentic" male voice. While this may or may not be true, what is true is the tendency for readers and critics to criticize a book if the main character doesn't have the traits usually associated with that gender. Problem is, they aren't looking for an  authentic voice, but the stereotype of an authentic voice. The fact is that it's incredibly difficult for us to break away from this thinking, as writers and readers.

So how do we do it? How do we write truly authentic characters? The answer is more simple than you think.

There are no authentic characters!

Every teenager is different. And more importantly, times are changing--teenagers are even more different today than they were even five years ago. Gender norms are breaking down. Even the concept of gender is vastly different now. Teenage boys can be sensitive. Some might not even be interested in girls! Teenage girls play video games. Some might even play football!

Throw the stereotypes out of the window. Now that we realize that they are in our heads whether we mean them to be or not, we can think outside of them. We need to worry less about how the typical girl or boy might act and more about creating unique, complex, interesting characters. Bend those social norms. Dare to be controversial. Make the reader think less like, "Hey, that's not an authentic voice!" and more like, "Wow, what a unique character!"

Diversity in YA Lit

First, I want to make a little announcement. Last time I posted, I mentioned that my sister and I were trying out for the YA Rebels. Well, guess what?

We're the new Saturday Rebel(s)! All the Rebels are posting intro videos up this week so check them out and you can see ours on Saturday! I wrote a post about all the new rebels, but my web host's server crashed last week and hasn't come back up, so you can see the Google cached version (without pictures) here if you wish.

Now on to my regularly scheduled post...

My post today was inspired by this post by Zoe Marriott (who, by the way, I met through YA Rebels auditions!) as well as the posts over the past week(ish) by YAtopians Kelley, Leigh, and Sharon. It seems we're inadvertently tackling "issues" in YA lit this week!

Zoe's post is basically encouraging (especially) white, straight, able-bodied writers to add more true (non-stereotypical non-token) diversity to their characters. I didn't even fully realize until I read this post that I'm 20k words into a novel where my FMC is 4th generation Chinese-American, my MMC is a Ugandan who has been in the US a few years, and one of my antagonists is a Japanese woman pretending to be the German Ambassador's daughter (don't ask; just trust me on this one for now). BTW, to avoid confusion, both of my MCs and most of my characters are also weredragons. There's also diversity in the types of dragons that definitely causes tension between the different groups. I mean, check out how different these two dragons are:

There are even "differently-abled" people as supporting characters all over the place. The reason why that specific phrase is used and in quotes is they're differently-abled compared to the other dragons, not necessarily compared to human conventions. There is one woman who suffered a brain injury that prevents her from fully changing back to a human and she has dragon scales covering some of her human body. Another character is in terrible shape - missing both legs, terribly scarred face, and other dragon-specific injuries.

FMC: Katherine "Kitty" Lung

My point is, I didn't really set out to create this "diversity." It's simply a result of the different dragon mythologies I wanted to blend to create my world AND the fact that these dragons are constantly facing dangerous situations with a high probability of severe injuries. And I've learned over the years that I'm apparently more accustomed to living in "multicultural" settings than most people expect a blue-eyed girl born in Missouri to be, thanks to my life as a military brat.

MMC: Bulisani "Sani" Mathe

I'm comfortable with all these different cultures, it seems natural to me - especially in a country as diverse as the US. But I do still worry about getting something wrong. I'm doing tremendous amounts of research on cultures, but I fear that I'll make one mistake and be accused of being "ignorant" or "insensitive." (I may somehow be the former, but I'm definitely not the latter.) My FMC is 4th generation American - but is she too Americanized? Too Chinese? My MMC is Christian, like 80% of Ugandans but will I be accused of trying to make him more relatable by mentioning his religion?

These are all real, valid fears I have and I know it's a risk. But for me, for this story, it's a risk I'm willing to take. I know I'll have to find a publisher to take those risks with me too - and with all the talk of whitewashing covers the past few years, I'm worried.

So what do y'all think about diversity in YA Lit? I'd really love to have a conversation about it in the comments.

UPDATE: I just realized I didn't discuss diversity in terms of sexual orientation, but that is something to think about too.

Can they see right through you?

 So YA is hot. The publishing industry is abuzz with the next big YA novel that teens (and adults) will be raving over. And you say to yourself, you know what, I can do that. 

Me (right) on my last day of high school with
a friend. I can use the emotion of the day, but
not the lingo if I want an authentic teen voice.



So you think really hard and remember back to when you were a teenager, how you spoke, what you did for fun and you start writing like crazy. And your dialogue goes something like this:

     "Bud, I was so stoked when I dipped in on Bobby and Joe smoke a doobie and heard that this primo party is on this weekend."
      "No way!"
      "I kid you not."
      "Most triumphant."

Congratulations, to today's teens you've just written a historical fiction. Fail!

Or maybe you've come up with this great and intricate storyline. It has so many twists and turns that it's bound to be a best seller. You decide to make the MC 17, never mind the fact you've got her behaving like someone in their late 20s.

Congratulations, you've written a novel for adults that you're passing off as YA. Epic Fail!

Or maybe you've written a story about a small town girl who moves to the city, takes on the corporate world and wins, is confident and sassy (even though she was the outcast in her home town) and has the same interests as my middle-age mother. There is no coming of age rights because she magically turns into a mature woman just by stepping off the plane.

Congratulations you've just written a YA novel without an authentic YA character. Severe lack of YA writer ninja status.



Make your teen voice authentic and make it pop!

 Okay, yes, YA is popular. Kids gotten bitten by the reading bug thanks to Harry Potter, Deltora Quest and Goosebumps. Now they've grown up and they still really want to read. Not only that, but "grown-ups" are devouring YA as well. I admit to being a YA junkie, and I got my mother hooked too.

But does that mean every writer should jump ship and write YA? Hell no!



Your story should be YA because it's YA. The characters should be teenagers because it's what's required for the plot. If your story isn't about a teenager, dealing with teenage issues, then don't force it.

 

One of my biggest concerns with some of the latest YAs is authenticity. I've read some fantastic books that I enjoyed immensely, but I had trouble believing that the MC was a teen and it detracted from the story.  Don't kid yourself, teens are very savvy. If you're intent on writing YA and you don't make the effort to make your character sound like a teen from the 80s or 90s, the reader will see right through you.

My Closet

I'm a collector, or a hoarder if you ask my hubby. So I'm going to share some things each post that I've collected for you.got stashed in my virtual closet.

Mother Nature beats up cars: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYUpkPTcqPY&feature=youtu.be

Beaut Book (this one supports the victims of the flood in the video above - more than just cars got beaten up): http://fablecroft.com.au/books/after-the-rain/after-the-rain-after-the-floods-limited-ebook-edition

Cutie kittens: http://youtu.be/YZVignZNSfE

Awesome agent: Denise Little - http://deniselittle.wordpress.com/

TopTweeter : @MarieSuzetteYA



Winners!!!



From Chanelle's and my week 1 competition the winners are:

Lexie!! - Stolen or Forgiven

Cass (Words on paper)!! - The Blood Countess