February 2012
M.T. Anderson: On the Intelligence of Teens →
mt-anderson.com
M.T. Anderson, my latest YA writer inspiration. I love this especially:
It sometimes strikes me that there is only one taboo left in young adult literature. By and large, no one complains any more when we write about drugs or sex. We can write about masturbation; terminal illness; the horrors of war; illegal organ transplants; matricide; the chilly delights of necrophilia; scenes of locker-room bukkake – none of this raises an eyebrow. No, the one thing which still causes people pause – the final hurdle – the last frontier – the one element which still gets a few adult readers up in arms about whether a book is appropriate for kids– is intelligence. Some adults still balk at the assumption that our readers, the teenagers of this country, are smart, and curious, and get a kick out of knowing things.
One of the great things about writing YA today is that this is changing.
INSURGENT sneak peek! →
shelf-life.ew.com
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“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.”
—Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird (via thelifeguardlibrarian)
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“You wouldn’t berate them for writing badly, or tell them to stop writing, or tell them what they’re doing isn’t worth it because they’re never going be good anyway. Or tell them that there’s no point. Or tell them that it’s too hard for them so they might as well give up now. Or tell them that nobody wants to read what they’re writing and probably never will. Or tell them they suck.
Whoaa. Dude, where did all the depressing just come from? Who would ever consider telling those things to one of their closest friends in the world?
… One question: have you ever told any those things to yourself?”
” —“You’ve Got a Friend In Me (Well, Maybe)” from Emilia Plater