Back when I was in my MFA program (“Writing for Children and Young Adults”), right at the beginning as I met with my first faculty advisor, I was given a mandate: I had to read one long work (novel, either MG or YA) and 5 picture books every month, and write a long precis for each. The readings had to have been published within the past 3 years. I’d turn these precis in at the end of every month, along with essays and my work in progress.
Okay…whew! But I was up for it.
While I was sitting in a large room with other students going through the same instruction, I overheard an argument. It was unavoidable as voices grew louder and angrier.
A young man in my class was arguing that we should be reading the “classics”, not newer works, and the faculty member said, “Nope. That’s not who you’re writing for.” It turned into a knock-down verbal fight that none of us could ignore.
I wasn’t surprised when the student dropped out of the program, but I was surprised that he didn’t understand the assignment. After all, he wanted to write for today’s children, yes?
Why We Read What We Read
Having read those classics in college I was more curious about his argument than anything else. But since that time, whenever I suggest that newer writers read things published in the past 3 – 4 years, no older, I see their faces fall. I can read their thought: why? Why not read things older? I like those older books.
Because, dear writer, today’s young readers are so very different from young readers of twenty, ten, even five years ago.
We live in a rapidly changing world that feels smaller by the minute. News travels by weird channels at lightning speed, ideas bloom and die before they can take root, and kids are learning very different things in very different ways from what you and I learned back in the day.
The books we were raised on, from Little Women to Narnia to Charlotte’s Web, are lovely and worth reading, of course. But kids today would rather be reading The Last Dragon on Mars, Wimpy Kid, and The Liars Society. The pacing of today’s stories is faster, the humor more off-color, the magic more magical. Everything is edgier. And characters are more representative. Windows and mirrors.
If you want to be published today, you need to understand the desires of your audience. And so you must read what that audience is reading, analyze those books, so you can write those books, too.
This is not about your idea; it’s about your execution. I love Francine Prose’s Reading Like a Writer, which taught me more than a thing or two about analysis.
Speaking of Reading…
I’ve read a few books lately and this week I made a point of heading to the big A to review 5 of them. Like it or not, reviews on that platform do make a difference to writers – even to the point of helping a book stay in print and a favorite author get a next deal.
My pledge is now to review every book I read because I believe it will help the writer.
Please consider even a one-sentence review of what you do read. And the number of stars doesn’t matter as much as the number of reviews. If you’ve read any of my books (especially WINTERGARDEN, CARRY ME HOME, or MYSTERY OF MYSTIC MOUNTAIN) please consider a quick and honest review.
With most humble and hearty thanks!
And…write happy!