JANE GEORGE
  • Author & Illustrator

...journal jane...

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WHY I WRITE YA - YACAFE BLOGFEST 2011

6/10/2011

12 Comments

 
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Lithograph for Nightfish by Jane George
Why do I write books targeted at young adults? I must admit it’s not for the lofty aim of saving anyone, (or more accurately, showing them the tools to save themselves), but rather because of the allure of the unopened door. Adolescence is a time of exploration and POSSIBILITIES.

I’m certain a therapist would tell me my stories that feature teenagers and their challenges are a way of working through my less-than-ideal adolescence. My family suffered a tragedy when I was ten. I attended fifteen different schools in twelve years. I was a target for bullies in those schools, one of the toppers being the chocolate-shake-Carrie-moment in my sophmore year. I proceeded on to a phase as a punk-rock drug addict, which catapulted me into adulthood and I worked my way to being well-adjusted from there. (Who is that I hear laughing?)

Back to the door metaphor. When we’re young we’re faced with what seems like an endless hallway of choices, doors that will lead us one place or another. It can be terrifying to choose a door and commit to going through it. There’s lots of backing up and testing of other door handles. Let’s see, mine were; mannequin painter: low wages and high fumes, veterinary assistant: hospitalized with a cat bite, pre-press production artist: lost a bunch of years there, and the list goes on. I remember thinking that as long as I didn’t choose any one door, an infinite array of possibilities would remain open to me, that somehow by choosing a door I would be limiting myself. Nothing is further from the truth. When you commit to going through and shutting that first door behind you, that’s when the next array of better doors appears. Even if it ends up being down a different hallway. And so on. I write for teens to share that truth.

I’m a writer and an artist because I love the drama, the mystery, the conflict, the romance, of turning a handle and discovering a world.  The golden light shining  through the cracks around a closed door is a powerful draw.

I am, however, a bit of a cheat. I don’t write strictly for teens. I also write books for older people who’ve had doors slammed in their faces. And I started out writing picture books. One was about a skeleton who was missing his legs, so with an axe he pursued a young girl to get her legs. She ended up building him legs out of blocks. Yeah, well, not totally age-appropriate, but I think I’m in the right hallway now.

Do you write YA? Why? :-)


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12 Comments
Shallee link
6/10/2011 12:30:17 am

I love the possibilities of YA too. I love the idealism, and the passion, and the insanity of teenagers. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this.

And I would TOTALLY read that children's book. :)

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Akoss link
6/10/2011 02:21:19 am

Oh my. You went through a lot.
I like your philosophy of closing one door for many more to open to you. I don't think being versatile is a cheat. In contrary it adds to you and who you are as a writer.
I enjoyed reading this. Thanks for sharing and nice to meet you.

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Margo Berendsen link
6/10/2011 05:45:47 am

I love this post! i knew I would discover other reasons from YA writers that would resonate with me. The world of possibilities... how overwhelming and exciting and nervewracking it was a a teen. I esp. liked your imagery of the powerful draw of the light shining through the edges of the door, and how going through doesn't limit you but just opens you to more. that's so true.

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Jane G. link
6/10/2011 06:39:18 am

Hi Shallee, Akoss & Margo!

One of the benefits of participating in things like YA Cafe Blogfest is meeting more writing peeps!

Welcome & nice to meet you!!!

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Dawn Embers link
6/10/2011 07:42:24 am

Great answer to the question. It's okay to cheat a little. I write adult too. ;-) My YA answer is over on my blog.

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Shannon Lawrence link
6/10/2011 08:32:22 am

Love the doors and the concept of having a new hallway open up when you go through one. It's only recently that I discovered that's still true for adults, but sometimes harder to see.

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kate Larkindale link
6/10/2011 11:30:33 am

I would so totally read that picture book. It looks awesome!

I don't write solely for teens either. I've published erotica under a pseudonym and I have written an adult romance novel. But it's YA that has my heart. My newest book was supposed to be for adults. The characters came to me 20 years older than they ended up in the book. Somehow though, in thinking about these two, their backstory became more interesting than the book I planned to write, and it ended up being YA.

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Jane G. link
6/10/2011 11:45:59 am

Hi Dawn - I left a comment on your post too. :-)

Hi Shannon, yep, the choices just keep comin' don't they? Thanks for stopping by!

Hi Kate - I think that's so funny (In a very cool way) that you arrived at your story in reverse, so to speak.

Nice to meet you all.

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The Red Angel link
6/10/2011 11:50:47 am

Oh goodness, sounds like you had a very busy "roller-coaster" adolescence! I can't imagine moving around to fifteen different schools.

Indeed, what I love about young adulthood is the possibility that absolutely anything can happen. :)

You have a lovely blog, by the way!

~TRA

http://xtheredangelx.blogspot.com

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Gabi link
6/12/2011 05:02:00 am

Great post! Love the analogy of the hallway with doors and I love your gorgeous artwork! I definitely think that eliminating some of the endless possibilities is the way to stretch one's creativity and open the door to new options.

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Jane G. link
6/12/2011 08:26:19 am

Thanks, Red Angel! And thanks for stopping by.

Gabi, very true.

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Ghenet Myrthil link
6/13/2011 11:02:37 am

Really great response! I sometimes feel like I work through some of the sucky things that happened to me as a teen through writing YA. Also, because I had my own less-than-ideal moments, I understand and relate to teens going through similar issues today. It's so true that it's a time of possibilities and I love your door metaphor.

Thanks for participating in our blog fest! Sorry for the late comment. I was away from my computer all weekend.

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