The debate is still continuing and is getting really heated. I can't believe I have started something so angry because I hate confrontation.
A few of the comments ........
It is all a matter of taste and the style that is unique to you.
All this still doesn't really help me and even started off another question.....
I have done a course on writing for children but it stopped at the age of 13 as it considered that over that they are young adults and may already be reading adult fiction ( be it dumbed down or not.)
So this opens up another debate on what age young adult/ old teen fiction. And all that is too complicated so I am just going to 'age' my story a little ( may throw in a swear word or two or some nudity.... or even the words ' when I was your age/ in my day' )!!!
Bye for now.
x
A few of the comments ........
To me the only distinction between adult and teen fiction is the age of the person reading it! In some cases, I suppose Jacquline Wilson, it would be argued that she is a teen writer however I'm sure adults enjoy her work sometimes. Tolkein and Rowling have people of all ages reading their work. Also being a teenager myself I often find that my work ends up being for a younger audience rather than strictly 'adult'. It's not because I can't write for adults it's because my experiences and attitudes means my work relates more to a teen audience.
I do understand that a lot of teen fiction is 'dumbed down' but, sureley there is intelligent fiction for the teen market?
As I am at the more elderly end of the age spectrum of this course, I come from the era when there was no teen fiction. It was either for children or adults! Once we were at secondary school we were reading adult fiction. Although not D H Lawrence! Lots of adults read books intended for children ie Harry Potter, The Golden Compass etc
And the teen audience and adult audience is really only different on the explicitness of sex scenes in my opinion :)
Mind you I say this from the point of view of someone who is more and more regularly invading the young adults area of my local waterstnose to find a decent read :)
Mind you I say this from the point of view of someone who is more and more regularly invading the young adults area of my local waterstnose to find a decent read :)
I am in my fifties but my tastes are distincly teen in fantasy and adult in crime. Chick lit I think requires a mind that hasn't really grown up whatever your maturity because a lot of it involves searching for the perfect partner .. and you can do that at any age. Sci Fi is far too complicated for my simple mind to work out and misery novels are a no no because I can feel miserable enough on my own without feeling bad for someone else too.
All this still doesn't really help me and even started off another question.....
I have done a course on writing for children but it stopped at the age of 13 as it considered that over that they are young adults and may already be reading adult fiction ( be it dumbed down or not.)
So this opens up another debate on what age young adult/ old teen fiction. And all that is too complicated so I am just going to 'age' my story a little ( may throw in a swear word or two or some nudity.... or even the words ' when I was your age/ in my day' )!!!
Bye for now.
x
Discussion has spread to more family and friends... some of the comments are as follows.:
ReplyDeleteI was 13 when I started to read Wilbur Smith novels so there is really no such thing as teen fiction. Teens read what they like.
You can't put teens in one box. Some teens are out drinking and smoking and know more swear words than adults. Others are stuck in front of computer games and some are scouting or swotting for exams. What one book of teen fiction would suit all of them.
I read the Twighlight series and it was better than some of my books for adults.
When you are a teen you think you are an adult. In the library you are more likely to look in the adult section than be seen in the childrens section.
I was quite shocked at the things they write about now in Children and teen books.
It seems to me that unless you write about one parent families or dysfunctional families you won't get your children books published. It seems they don't want children to believe that a normal family with two parents can be happy or interesting.
Normal happy families are too Enid Blyton.
And the debate continues..............