Under the Influence

I am officially sick.  I've been denying it to everybody, including myself, for the past few days.  Why? Because I have a crap-load of stuff to do and simply no time to get it all done.  That and I hate cold medicine.  It makes me ... well let's say a bit crazier than I already am.  My good friends know this and take a fair amount of amusement in engaging me in conversation while I am under the influence of Nyquil. They did it last night, asked me an insane amount of questions to see how messed up my answers would be. This morning, I found this in my inbox.



That pretty much sums up my state of mind.  But god, do I love my friends!  Couldn't ask for a better bunch of people to cheer me one when I feel like crap!

Let's Talk About Sex

I have seen a resurgence of the topic of Sex in YA lately; mostly, I think, related to the recent growth of the upper YA and NA genres.  I have also seen it used, wrongly in my opinion, as the defining trait of an “edgy character.”

I have been accused of writing edgy characters.  I’m not afraid to take to the buckle end of a belt to them in a scene or have them carve the name of their next victim into the baseball bat they used to cripple them with.  As for sex…pick up any one of my YA contemporary manuscripts and you'll find it in there. Sometimes in detail.  But never once have I used sex to as the sole defining character trait.  Simply put, in my mind,

Sex  ≠ Edge

Sex, whether it be the actual act or the mere thought of it, needs to be written in context, a justification if you will – good or bad – for why your characters are contemplating or actually doing it.  Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t need undying professions of love as set-up. I don’t even needed flowers or the cliché prom scene.  But I do need to understand the emotions, positive of negative, behind the characters motivations or else would could have been a truly powerful scene turns into nothing more then a gratuitous chapter.

I read somewhere that the average teenage boy thinks about sex once every ten minutes.  I tend to disagree.  For the sake of my sanity as the mother of a teenage boy, I got to hope there is more rattling around in their brains that that.  But even it that were true, that doesn't mean I want to read about it every ten lines of a YA manuscript.  I don’t want it to be the sole thought that filters through your character's mind.  He needs depth.  He needs an existence outside of his primal urges.  He needs friends, and interest, and counterpoints to make me simultaneously love and hate him.  He needs a life, and in turn the story needs a plot, outside of sex.

 

So tell me, what are your thoughts on sex and edge. 

Beta Reading Etiquette

I watched two separate twitter feeds explode last night.  Both were on their own rant about manuscript critiques they had received. Normally this wouldn't bother me; I’d lurk and chuckle at the way we, as authors, tend to internalize things way to much.  But as I watched them progress, I got to thinking, or rather stewing, about Beta Reading Etiquette and the unspoken rules that I always try to play by.

1. When you ask someone to critique your WIP, you expect them to not only point out the parts they loved, but also the scenes, bits of dialogue, character actions that had them confused or pulled out of the story.  If you are not looking for constructive feedback, then don’t ask someone to “critique” your manuscript.

2. Always find something positive to say about the person’s manuscript.  Whether it be a thread, or a beautifully descriptive phrase, convincing voice, or just the concept in general, always find something positive to say.

3. Don’t over reach when you get feedback.  Just because I say I don’t understand your character’s motivation in a specific scene does not mean that I think you character is a psychopathic, sexual deviant.  It simply means that I don’t get his motivation For. That. Particular. Scene.

4. If you have a question about a piece of feedback either received or given, simply ask.  Twitter is not the place to air your grievances.  It is unprofessional and makes authors like myself question why we beta read at all. 

5. Say thank you.  I've been on the receiving end of critiques that just didn't resonate with me or the vision for my manuscript.  That’s okay.  Readers are subjective; they bring their own set of personal experiences to every scene they read.  You may not agree with their opinions, but that doesn't excuse you from offering them a simple thank you.  The time we put into critiquing manuscripts is time spent away from our own projects.  Recognize and appreciate that.

My mom had a saying when we were growing up – Because Nice Matters.   I used to cringe every time I heard it as a kid, think she was being crony and overly naive.  I get it now, understand what she meant and how that simple principle can be applied to every thing we do.  That simple phrase – Because Nice Matters – applies here as well.