3 Tips for Writers (...and anyone else who just wants to be entertained), Part 2

“Who cares about pretty? I'm going for noticeable.”--Tris Prior, Divergent

Pop culture is an increasingly hot topic. So much so, it's the new religion and politics taboo talk at parties. Books-turned-blockbusters like Harry Potter, Twilight, The Hunger Games, Divergent, etc, started to aggravate people so much to the point they couldn't help but create cults like Team Edward/Team Jacob and wizarding cloaks and What Faction Are You buzz quizzes. I know, kids these days, right (We huff maturely as we guiltily Google photos of Edward)?

The disturbing thing is that these blockbusters have morphed into the 21st century replica of Lady Godiva riding naked through the streets--We may try not to look, but common, everyone is going to look.

Such staggering fame either amazes you, befuddles you, or infuriates you ("Anyone can write that shit!!" We spout, between sobs and someone petting us understandingly).

Either way, once your sales hit the 500 mil shelf and the film profits quadruple and you're floating on a cloud of net worth somewhere in the upper millionths hemisphere, your hand weary from signing autographs and your love handles oozing from too much Amedei Porcelana chocolate, I will personally congratulate you with a golden fucking Willy Wonka ticket.

Anyway, upon continual observation over the years, and an ongoing project that I'd be eager for other cloud kingdom making writers to participate in, here are just a few of the ideas behind successful teen bestsellers which are, back to the subject of trends, surprisingly less fluctuating than markets like fashion and music (Boys will be boys, after all. And "girls just want to have fun"..oh, the sageness of Cyndi)...

• If you have a teen, or ever were one, remember it

"Actually I'm highly logical which allows me to look
 past extraneous detail and perceive
clearly that which others overlook."--Harmione Granger

Yes, even the pimples and the hornyness and the recklessness and the bad financial decisions (..these ARE teens we're talking about...). Think of the high school dance, your first kiss, your first job, getting detention or being busted for getting drunk off of your dad's secret liquor stash. Whatever you were going through as a teen, chances are you weren't alone. Well, maybe you were a loner, but uniformitarily, you spoke the same language. Harry wanted to run away from home, Katniss lost her father, Bella was in love (slight understatement), and Tris wanted to prove herself in a big, scary world. 

• Decisions and conflict

“Here's some advice. Stay alive.” --Haymitch

This may seem obvious, but in reading beta books, this seems something woefully neglected. 

The conflict needs to be radical. The decision life changing. Harry takes on Voldemort, Katniss volunteers in her sister's place for the Games, Bella falls in love with a vampire, and Tris chooses Dauntless.

Each of these decisions kick-start the conflict that fuels the story. They're the ticking time bombs, the bungee cord, the pump of adrenaline; why we turn the page. What faction will she pick? Will Katniss win? Will Bella ever grow up (only kidding)? 

Maybe when we were young the only extent of our dramatic decision making was what to wear for the boy we liked, but the nerve endings are the same. The emotions are relatable, because we have all felt terrified of the unknown, of standing out or speaking up, the want to keep and protect the someone we love.

• Language

  

  --Gus and Hazel, The Fault in our Stars

Writing simply isn't just lack of a literary foundation, it's a conniving method by these writers we so mutually love and hate. Unless you regularly dug into encyclopedias for breakfast, teens, and adults alike, enjoy easy reading. They already have school and all the boringest books ever written on their syllabus (Why do they do that, anyway?) to plow through. Generally we like having a handy read where we don't stumble over thesaurical lingo and yawn inducing descriptions of the sunset, no matter our age (Fun fact: 55% of YA readership are adults over 18, 28% of that being 30-44 years old, and 78% overall aren't buying it for their kids). 

Do be descriptively creative. But focus on dialogue. Witty, sassy, whimsical dialogue, with moments of intensity, permeates every bestselling YA you'll ever read. Conversations keep it animated and builds character in the fastest possible way. We're on the train to Hogwarts here, and every page matters. Keep us squirming in our seats but please, bring the damn candy trolley while we get there.

Milk and Cookies, Part 2

The Bone Season is Samantha Shannon's debut novel.
You probably haven't heard of her. Yet. I didn't, until I picked up my monthly Forbes magazine and saw a feature article written about her.
"Rumored as the next J.K. Rowling"--a pretentious idea, considering J.K. Rowling is still very much alive, is nevertheless a headline you'll look at twice.
Samantha Shannon wrote her first novel when she was 15. By the time she was ready to send it in to agents, a terrifyingly similar novel hit the Young Adult bestseller shelves. And by comparison, hers just wasn't publishable material. She was rejected. And rejected. And rejected again. Until, billowed by defeat, she locked herself in her room and drowned in rejection slips (Figuratively speaking).
If you don't know the feeling of having your book rejected, imagine, instead, professing your love to a crush you've had for years. All that damn daisy petal plucking and scribbling sonnets that sweat with torrential longing. All those nights tossing and turning and downing glass after glass of water, because nothing can quench the thirst. 
And her only response is....indifference.
Bitch.
Anyway. This story only matters if you didn't end up a homeless hobo who wanders about telling everyone you bump into 'About that girl'. 
Samantha went on to study English in Oxford (Which turns out to be a sumptuously Gothic setting in the book) where she simultaneously wrote and planned The Bone Season. During an internship she presented her manuscript and ended up with a six figure deal with Bloomsbury Publishing.

What is this book about: A paranormal dystopian set in the year 2059. Nineteen year old Paige Mahoney works in the criminal underground network of 'Scion' London as a Dreamwalker. Her job is to gather information by breaking into people's minds. In a realm of spirits, auras, and warring dimensional creatures, your gift is your crime.
After committing murder on a subway, Paige is arrested and sent to a mysterious voyant prison.
Her captors, the Rephaim, are a powerful otherworldly race who were supposedly wiped off the map hundreds of years ago. Now they seek out people like Paige to fight for them, against a force threatening to destroy humanity.

What I think about this book: Samantha has been praised for her ambition and "teeming imagination". She writes from a plush descriptive voice, vastly imaginative, carefully sewing together a meticulous plot.

Paige is clever, Irishly defiant, and has a fortress for a mind. The romance element of master/captive is bolder than you will find in the typical YA book.

The layers and levels of 'spiritrinomics' along with the writing style is fairly complex for the casual teen, or even adult, reader. You'll have to refer to a map and a page of unusually named hierarchies. It does, however, have huge potential for a cult following. And the fact that this is only the first book in a to-be seven part series does sound promising. 

Who should read this book: The curious, escapist-fiction fans, and the dreamers.

Watch here for the book trailer

Blowin' in the Wind

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore
There is a society where none intrudes,

By the deep sea and music in its roar:

I love not man the less, but nature more. 

--Lord Byron

The weekends aren't just great times for beering out, sleeping-in with cucumbers on your eyes, TV-series-binge-watching, deep cleaning, or cruising your convertible down the shoreline honking at girls (Don't tell me that was you). At the close of the week's chapter, this time, spare a moment for the salve of nature. 

Remember what it was like to be a kid, when magnifying ants made you feel like a scientist, collecting seashells made you want to be a mermaid, and star gazing made you dream about being an astronaut?

That little child is still in there, somewhere.

As human beings we crave a tryst with nature. That special silence, not broken but sweetened by singing birds, the breeze through the corn husks, and the rumble of waves against the rocks. 

Maybe you're one of those people who crinkle their nose at the thought of mud, insects, and cheerful animals. But this prescription isn't just for the mountaineers and tree peers. Think of it like vegetable juice. Just because you don't like it, it doesn't mean it isn't good for you (Think Popeye).

Explore a hiking trail, a sea cave, a castle ruin, or even just a patch of grass. Turn off your phone. Switch off your mind. Shut up and listen. 

Now no need to get all yoga on us. Unless that's what you're into. It's merely isolating yourself from the clutter of daily life and relearning the art of simple clear headed thinking. (How do you think Socrates got so damn wise?)

And while you're at it, you just might have a eureka! moment. Check out these nature swooners...

Immersing oneself..

"Adopt the pace of nature:  her secret is patience." --Ralph Waldo Emerson, Author, Poet. 

"Great things are done when men and mountains meet.  This is not done by jostling in the street." --William Blake, Poet, Painter

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." --Albert Einstein, Physicist 

"To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug." --Helen Keller, deafblind author, activist, lecturer  

"For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." --Isaiah 55:12 

"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds." --Edward Abbey, Author, essayist, environmentalist