I am no longer a Comic Con virgin. There, I said it. I joined the Writing Ninjas of TX at their large impressive exhibit where we chatted with readers about YA books and signed our featured novels. Our amazing book seller was The Book Spot of Round Rock, TX. The store will have our signed books on sale and on display if you didn’t make the Comic Con in Austin. Here is a link for their YA signed featured books.
Here are photos from Comic Con:
Bottom (L to R): Madeline Smoot, P J Hoover, Mari Mancusi
Standing (L to R): Jessica Anderson, Jo Whittemire, Danny Woodfill (Book Spot)
Kari Holt as a Zombie - Scary
Me in my Duck Dynasty gear - even scarier
HarlequinTeen made sure my latest YA Crystal Fire was “in the wild” when Comic Con was on – a special exclusive for the event. The Hunted series is complete with both books now being available.
Crystal Fire & Indigo Awakening - The Hunted Series at Comic Con
I took some miscellaneous shots of some crazies I saw, but there were many more photos taken by the Austin Chronicle and I’ve included a link to their images below.
Conan
Hercules and his goddess? Don't know, but they were smiling.
Here is a link to the Austin Chronicle posting of many more fun photos taken that day by their photographers. If you ever get a chance to go to a Comic Con, join in the fun and dress up. Tap into your inner child with a flourish. You won’t regret it.
I am traveling to Houston TX today to attend the Houston Book Rave, a first year event featuring 60+ authors (including indie authors)—a celebration of reading and writing. The extravaganza has been heavily promoted in a number of ways and is supported by a group of around 40 bloggers. We had a tweetfest last night and #HOUSTONBOOKRAVE trended with all the live chat. Tons of fun. Got to chat with bloggers and readers and the wonderful event coordinators. The great thing about this is that it’s a first for such a large event in Houston, open to all types of writers, and free for readers. The energy off the coordinators and bloggers is GINORMOUS. So my fellow authors, put this one on your radar for next year if you aren’t going to be there this weekend. I’ve gotten tons of traffic to my website from this event from all over the country. It’s been amazing. Here’s what’s happening: Friday night is a dinner for HBR staff & bloggers to meet authors and each other, to socialize before the event over BBQ. What’s not to love, right? Saturday there will be time for readers to meet their fav authors (without any signing going on), but a signing will follow. Tons of giveaways during the event. Readers will be exposed to many new authors, authors will meet the bloggers (and vice-versa) who can be influential, and above all authors can meet READERS! This is a huge WIN-WIN-WIN. I will have advance copies of CRYSTAL FIRE, my upcoming release of book #2 (which concludes the HUNTED series) in an exclusive for this event, thanks to my publisher HarlequinTeen. Some of these advance copies will be given away at the event. I’ll also be signing book #1 in the Hunted series – INDIGO AWAKENING. There will be a costume after-party, with the theme Dia De Los Muertos, which is very appropriate since Nov 2 is the celebration of the Day of the Dead. I will include HBR pictures from the event on my next post here at ADR3NALIN3. I am so excited. Have a good weekend, everyone! No chocolate comas.
The Houston Book Rave is coming up on Nov 2, 2013. It's the first time for this event and it's HUGE. Over 60 authors will be featured for Young Adult, New Adult, and Adult categories. The list of featured authors is capped out, but here is the LIST of who will be attending.
It's free to the public, but you still need to register online and get a free ticket. You can do that HERE. The event will benefit the Galena Independent School District.
I am hoping to have early copies of CRYSTAL FIRE, my Nov 26th release of book #2 in the Hunted series with Harlequin Teen.
I know. I know. I've talked about this Houston event before, but here is my dilemma. What will I wear to the after party?
The after party is a costume affair. The theme will be Dia de los Muertos (Spanish for: Day of the Dead). Oh, boy. Now I have to get creative. Coordinators wanted the featured authors to not only dress up, but do a little dance as we entered the party room - to be recorded for Youtube. (Yeah, right. My twerking days are behind me, literally. And I've already gotten my flu shot, so I don't expect to go viral.)
My big inspiration for a possible costume came this last weekend while I visited friends in Lubbock. My friend Anna gave me a turkey hat. Yes, it looks like a stuffed turkey - only you stuff it with your head. Nothing honors the day of the dead holiday like a "dearly departed" turkey. If you can't imagine it, below is a picture. Truly inspirational, right?
I could be the Ghost of Thanksgiving Past, with an early tie-in to Christmas, but what else could that turkey hat inspire? I could use some help, people. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
In Indigo Awakening (Book #1 in my “The Hunted” series for Harlequin Teen)—there is a love triangle that is layers deep. I’m a sucker for love triangles, but I wanted the one in Indigo Awakening to be a little more than a girl’s attraction to two very different boys. At the apex of this triangle is a very strong girl, Kendra Walker, the leader of an underground movement of Indigo children and feelings run high when beliefs and ideologies are tested. Lucas Darby is psychic and becomes mentally linked to a girl he hears in his head after he escapes from a mental hospital. Kendra thinks she has made contact with another lost Indigo, but after she realizes that Lucas is a powerful Crystal child, she sees the future she always dreamed would be possible. And for Lucas to connect with the “hive mind” for the first time, the link is intoxicating and seductive. Kendra is older than Lucas, but for him their connection is as intimate as making love for the first time. It changes everything for both of them. Since Lucas is evolving into a Crystal child, the next evolution of mankind, Kendra is motivated to be with him so she can be a part of a new, more powerful movement. She is a modern day Joan of Arc on a mission to save the Indigos, but someone else is her rock when it comes to protecting her Indigo children. Another boy, Rafael Santana, has helped Kendra build a safe underground oasis for the homeless Indigos. Rafe has feelings for Kendra that he’s never shared with her, but he’s also driven to protect Benny, a 10-year old boy he loves like a little brother. This conflict will drive how he reacts when Kendra’s Indigo revolution threatens the home he wants for Benny. After she focuses her attention on Lucas, Rafe becomes jealous, but in his quiet way he deals with it until the conflict between the Indigos and the Believers blows up, the fanatical church zealots who hunt Indigo kids to stop the next evolution of man. Rafael’s love for Benny collides with his loyalty for Kendra and changes everything. Kendra must choose how far she is willing to go to save her Indigo family—the one she has and the one she’s dreamed about. Lucas, the powerful Crystal child, represents the future she had always hoped for, but Rafael is the heart and soul of the past she started with him—the boy who made her dream possible. Key steps to adding depth to your fictional relationships: 1.) Give a strong character vulnerabilities that conflict with what they might want and force them to choose. There are consequences to actions. Someone’s gotta lose, even in love.
2.) Give them choices that test their emotions. Their choices shouldn’t be easy. For example, make them choose between their personal happiness or the greater good. This is classic and always relatable.
3.) Pair them with opposite types of characters to enhance the conflict potential. Opposites attract for a reason. Fireworks, baby.
4.) Create internal conflicts or flaws that make them struggle with their external goals and the goals of the character(s) you’ve paired them with. Conflict is key to any great story. But add depth to your character by layering the conflict inside them first.
5.) Give them a noble cause that is a roadblock to their personal happiness. What would they do? Not every character would make the same decision.
Discussion Questions: 1.) What would you add to this list? 2.) What are some of your favorite literary or film love triangles? Please share your thoughts on why they resonated with you. "Dane's first offering in her new series, The Hunted, is sensational. Indigo Awakening has strong characters and a wild and intense story, matched only by the emotions it will generate within you. Readers will love this book and eagerly await the next adventure. Fantastic! A keeper." 4.5 Stars (out of 5) —Romantic Times Book Review Magazine
Saturday, February 16, 2013
SIGN UP NOW! The groundhog says Spring is coming early and I believe it.
HarlequinTEEN and KismetBT are putting on a major event in March 2013 - Spring Reading into Romance. You want to be a part of it? NINE YA authors in NINE days & daily giveaways!
For deets, click HERE and see who will be part of the tour.
The fabulous people at KismetBT – Danny & Heather – are hosting my Harlequin Teen virtual tour for book #1 in the Hunted series – Indigo Awakening (now available). Each stop will have giveaways plus a great gift pack from Harlequin Teen as a grand prize. There will be character interviews & movie cast images, a feature on psychic powers, photos of the real settings used to inspire scenes, and a peek into the dark sinister world of the Believers. For the deets, check out this LINK.
I will be launching INDIGO AWAKENING (HarlequinTEEN) on Dec 18th. Because December is such a hectic month, I will be postponing my promotion (v-tours & signing events) until January, 2013. INDIGO AWAKENING is book #1 in the Hunted series and is available for pre-order now. You can be first to read it before the virtual tours start, but here are the scoop on the upcoming online tours.
The first virtual tour will be hosted by KismetBT and scheduled for Jan 7 – Jan 18, 2013. Tour stops will have my book giveaway at each stop to one lucky winner, PLUS an amazing Harlequin Teen GRAND PRIZE pack awarded at the end of the 2-week tour.
Another v-tour will be hosted by YABOUND and held the week of Jan 28th. This will be a blast tour format, PLUS Harlequin Teen will also be giving away their GRAND PRIZE gift pack of goodies at the end of this tour too.
Here are a few other deets for the giveaways on these tours:
For anyone who has read an advance copy of INDIGO AWAKENING, you know that a silver infinity bracelet plays an important part in the story. Special bracelets will be given away on the virtual tour so the lucky winners will be part of Rafael’s street family. Rafe’s bracelet was in black leather, but I’ve added a white leather braid as my personal remembrance to you for being in MY family.
Another cool giveaway is a music from the pop punk band, Archimedes Watchout. These guys are friends of mine and are mentioned in my book. Whenever they tour in Texas and come to San Antonio, they stay with us. My husband and I love the 2 AM knock on our door. Friend them on Myspace. Very cool guys.
I also will have a special giveaway for the audio book of IN THE ARMS OF STONE ANGELS with Audible and narrated by the award winning and talented voice actor, Michelle Ann Dunphy. She's amazing as Brenna Nash, my main character.
And I'll have uber-cool commemorative INDIGO AWAKENING bookmark swag, signed of course. Here are the front and back. The design is gorgeous. The color online is nothing like the real thing in your hands.
I picked up best-selling Irish author Tana French’s booksa few weeks ago to check out this
adult thriller writer. I’d heard good things about the writing, her latest
book, Broken Harbor is on several
“best books” lists––and I love reading (and writing) thrillers. It wasn’t until
I started the second book, The Likeness,
however, that I realized she was going for a similar premise with her work as my Harlequin Teen’s WiHi series: linked books that are stand-alone
thrillers.
Cool! Linked books, or companion books, are books in which
there is always a new protagonist. Characters (and sometimes settings) from one
novel appear in the next.However, each book has a definite ending. You can read them in any order and still enjoy each one.
It’s a fun way to create a "series"—without creating a series that must be read sequentially, with the same main character in each novel. Most adult
thrillers are centered around this specific character; usually a private eye––Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone comes to mind–– or a police detective like Irish-American author Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer (don't you just love this
cover?)
It’s a
great way to create reader buy-in. Since the main character’s job automatically
leads to a suspenseful situation in each book, there are instant plot take-off
points. It’s also fun to watch the characters change over the course of the
series. Character growth, however, is not the main point of each book—it’s the
thriller aspect that is primary.
In Tana French’s books, the continuing “character” is, in
actuality, the Dublin police force–-not anyone specific. What she’s doing is
playing a kind of leapfrog—a character who makes an appearance in one book
becomes the main character in the next.
Her books also have psychological complexity (along with
some gorgeous writing and great plotting). I would venture to say that is
possible precisely because of the fact that there is a new protagonist in every
book. A new backstory, a new family situation, new boyfriends and breakups… a
new main character brings lots of things to explore. If you have to “play it out”
over many novels, the impact is much weaker per book. Thus, having a linked series gives French the opportunity to explore character in the way many thriller series do not allow.
In terms of realistic YA, there are not, of course, “professional”
jobs as detectives or private eyes that allow a continuing teen to run into dire straits all the time. Going “linked” seemed to be the
best road for me. In the Wihi series, the school takes the place of French’s
police force and each protagonist has to solve her own mystery in her own way.
As a writer, it was a way to create some familiarity (the school, Brooklyn
Heights, Tony’s Pizzaria), as well as having characters in one book reappear in
the other.
As a reader, it’s fun to see Tana French do the same
thing –to say, "hey, I know you" when a minor character in one book becomes the
main one in the next. Or to find out that the sometimes jerky head of the
Undercover squad is really a much deeper character, with a fascinating
backstory, who becomes not only the focus of the next book, but a much more
sympathetic character in that following book.
So readers, what do you think? Linked or sequential? Does it matter -- as long as the book thrills and makes you turn those pages? Do you find one more entertaining than the other? Just something to think about...
Next time: the importance of setting in a linked series.
In my new HUNTED series with Harlequin Teen, a strong inspiration for book #1 INDIGO AWAKENING and the series is the idea that Indigo, Crystal, or Star children are the next evolution of mankind. I am very intrigued by the idea that despite what man might believe—that we are top of the food chain and can’t foresee a 2.0 version of us—mankind is bound to evolve into something beyond what we are today. And yes, there are many people who believe that these children (or Indigo Warrior adults) exist among us and are evolving into a more enlightened version of ourselves. Query “Indigo children” online and you will get over 61 million hits. The phenomenon of Indigo children or Indigo adults have inspired books, movies, TV shows, national news coverage, and been linked to the CIA and the Pentagon.
The tag line for the book is “They are our future, if they survive.” In my fictional book, these special psychic kids are being secretly hunted by the Believers, a fanatical church that fears what these children (and the Indigo adults who are protecting them) are becoming. A storm is brewing on the streets of LA.
But today I would like to see how many of YOU are an Indigo. At ADR3NALIN3, we think all of our followers are special and exceptional. Take the Indigo test and see if you are the next evolution of mankind and share your results with us in a comment too.
Do you see people's auras? Have you ever seen the dead or angels? Are you intuitive or have you ever had a deja vu moment that struck you as sooooo real? Do you know anyone like this?
If you were an Indigo, what kind of psychic powers would you want to have?
If you have trouble taking the quiz on the widget below, click HERE for the link to the test, but please post a comment and tell us how you did. Some of you may not need a test to tell you what you already know. I have a very strong feeling--call me psychic--that our little community at ADR3 is loaded with exceptional readers.
I have seen the cover for Indigo Awakening (Book #1 in The Hunted series, Dec 18, 2012, Harlequin Teen) evolve through Harlequin's art department and it got better each time. Many thanks to the hard-working and creative people at Harlequin!
This cover was inspired by the first appearance of the mysterious Gabriel Stewart in Indigo Awakening, a runaway boy who rescues my brave girl, Rayne Darby, from a gang of thugs after they follow her into an abandoned zoo at night. Rayne is looking for her younger brother, Lucas, after he escapes from a mental hospital. Lucas is being hunted by a covert and fanatical church who hunts "his kind." Rayne could use Gabriel's help, but he has reasons of his own to refuse her.
Gabriel has way to many secrets that could make things worse for her, not the least of which is his strange companion, Hellboy, and unimaginable psychic powers that could put a target on both their backs.
Because of what you are, the Believers will hunt you down.
Voices told Lucas Darby to run. Voices no one else can hear. He’s warned his sister not to look for him, but Rayne refuses to let her troubled brother vanish on the streets of LA. In her desperate search, she meets Gabriel Stewart, a runaway with mysterious powers and far too many secrets. Rayne can’t explain her crazy need to trust the strange yet compelling boy—to touch him—to protect him even though he scares her.
A fanatical church secretly hunts psychic kids—gifted “Indigo” teens feared to be the next evolution of mankind—for reasons only "the Believers" know. Now Rayne’s only hope is Gabe, who is haunted by an awakening power—a force darker than either of them imagine—that could doom them all.
They are our future—if they survive…
I also have a book trailer for my book. Enjoy and let me know what you think. I can't wait to see this cover up close and in my hands.
Indigo Awakening Book Trailer - (Use this LINK if you have trouble with the video.)
Happy Birthday to… Circle of Silence! Yes, today the book is
officially launched into the world and I am officially a very proud author. That means that at last, anyone can go into a brick
and mortar book store or to one of the many online bookstores and buy/order a
copy! So many hours of writing and rewriting by the aforementioned author, (AKA Carol Tanzman), reading and
giving notes by my Harlequin Teen editor (the awesome T.S. Ferguson), as well as the incredibly talented design
team, the marketing team, the publicity team…a lot of hard work, and time, were
lavished on this beautiful book! I do hope that not only do you enjoy reading it, but that this YA Contemporary Thriller keeps you on the edge of your seat--and turning those pages.
Yes, there is a blog tour! The grand prize is a
Nook GlowLight but there are copies of the book to be won at each stop! So,
check out the tour schedule below, read the fun posts, reviews of the book by the tour hosts, and
find out ways to win! Make sure to comment on the day’s blog. I am going to read and
respond before the next stop's post.
So feel free to tweet, post on facebook and climb onto the bus as we head off! Ah, the places we'll go!
Phenom book bloggers Fiktshun & Two Chicks on Books are hosting an amazing virtual book tour during the month of August that will feature OVER 30 YA authors. Bloggers who want to participate can sign up on July 15th. Click on the link above for the deets. This will be a real celebration of YA books.
Just when summer gets hottest, Fiktshun & Two Chicks on Books really know how to heat things up with more great summer YA reads. Jordan Dane will be featured on August 8th with book giveaways from Harlequin Teen PLUS something special to be announced. Stay tuned!
Join in the fun every day in August. Loads of fun posts and giveaways from your fav YA authors.
I recently read a post on the Letters of Note site (via the
awesome Alice Marvels—if you don’t receive her e-newsletter
on just about everything YA, you should), showing the very first correspondence
exchanges between F. Scott Fitzgerald and his editor Maxwell Perkins regarding his new novel The Great Gatsby.
I loved reading the back and forth between the two of them. Catching a glimpse into their process. Just before Fitzgerald closes the first
letter, in which he tell Perkins that he’s sending him his new manuscript under
separate cover, he writes,
“Naturally I won't get a nights sleep until I hear from
you…”
Sound familiar, writers? The question that haunts us all: in
spite of all our hard work, is this manuscript any good?
In the next letter, Fitzgerald writes, “There are things in
it I'm not satisfied with in the middle of the book—Chapters 6 & 7.”
Perkins writes back after reading the manuscript twice. He makes sure to give Fitzgerald very effusive, and deserved, praise, before he says, “I
think you are right in feeling a certain slight sagging in chapters six and
seven, and I don't know how to suggest a remedy.”
I can almost see Fitzgerald taking a puff of his cigarette or downing a shot of whiskey: “Damn, I was hoping he’d tell me it was fine.”
Because this means Fitzgerald must rewrite, of course. I imagine him trying all
sorts of things to find that remedy himself: long walks, drinking extra booze, staying
up late, waking up earlier, thinking about the problem, NOT thinking about the
problem, working on another note…
Except for the cigarette-smoking, I’m actually projecting a
bit of what happened after I read a few of my editor’s notes for the upcoming Circle
of Silence. The
acknowledgment that, yes, something’s not quite right in a certain section.The awareness that, oops, I’m not quite sure
what to do about it. There has to be a way to solve the problem, I think, and I go through all those
steps until, at last, the “Aha” moment appears.
“I know how to
fix this!” I think.
Lo and behold, in Fitzgerald’s very next letter to Perkins, he
makes this list:
“(b) Chapters VI & VII I know how to fix” (emphasis mine). I hear Fitzgerald’s quiet
triumph, his palpable relief that he can finally make those chapters work.
“(c) Gatsby's business affairs I can
fix. I get your point about them.” (Again, the quiet nod—you’re right about
this, Perkins old chap and I will make it better.)
“(d) His vagueness I can repair by making more pointed—this doesn't sound good
but wait and see. It'll make him clear.“
LOL! “This doesn’t sound good but wait and see…” I just love that. How many times have I said
something similar to an editor? Since I am not F. Scott Fitzgerald, however, I
always add, “If you don't think it works, I’ll cut/change/rewrite.”
Reading these exchanges made me inordinately happy. Through
the wonders of the Internet, I'm able to cross time and space and meet F. Scott
Fitzgerald in the place all writers wish to find: the magical ground that allows
us to make every book the best we can.
This is my birthday week. I have gone fishin’. Herewith are
two links to let you know what’s been happening in the last seven days. It's been exciting (and there are pictures!).
Pixar Story artist Emma Coates tweeted 22 story basics that she’s learned from working at Pixar. You may
have seen some of these tweets; they’re great.
I particularly liked:
#13: Give
your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you
write, but it’s poison to the audience.
It’s something I haven’t ever actually verbalized to
myself—but I realized I’ve been unconsciously doing exactly that in the my
latest YA novels from HarlequinTeen. In dancergirl, Ali is passionate about dance. She has opinions about her teachers and their
choreography, as well as her own dancing. What’s working for her–-and what
isn’t. Her opinions grow out of a deep commitment to the art of dance. What she
is willing to do, how far she is willing to go, as well as discovering where the limits
are––all grow out of her opinions and beliefs. It definitely makes her a more three-dimensional character that was fun to write.
Valerie Gaines, in Circle of Silence,
is equally, if not more, opinionated. Val’s passion is TV news. She fights to
be the Producer of her TV news crew, she fights to get to the bottom of the
mysterious story that is the main conflict of the book (“Who—or what––is MP?”)
and she fights her team, at times, in trying to figure out exactly how to report that story. Valerie’s opinions, which do change, don't come out of a vacuum. As a high school student, she learns from the Campus
News teacher. She does her own “research” and watches her idol,
Emily Purdue, a professional news reporter on TV, to gain tips for her own
broadcasts. She also critiques the rival crew’s stories in Campus News. All to
further her ambition--which is to be the best reporter she can be.
One thing that I especially like about Valerie is that her friends are also opinionated. Because the rest of her crew is just as into TV production as she is, they have their own ideas of how to do things. It makes for some interesting scenes as the crew members argue over the best way to do something. The tenser the situation, the more opinions they have. Having characters with specific, and differing points of view, I believe, tends to make the writing feel very realistic. It also helps to keep things from getting too preachy, as if the author has a specific ax to grind.
And, while conflict may not be the most pleasant thing in
one’s personal life, in literature it is exactly the thing that leads us all to
turn those pages! As Emma Coates noted, having opinions creates not passive characters, but interesting ones that deepen the story you are telling!
Ah, yes. It was bound to happen. Again. A researcher at
Brigham Young University, Sarah Coyne, did a study on profanity in YA books.
She checked the top 40 children’s books (ages 9 and up) on the NY Times
bestseller list (for the week
6/22-7/6 2008) and—gasp––found 1,500 instances of profanity (which included
sexual words, excretory words, strong and mild curse words). All but five of
the top-selling books had at least one instance of profanity.
So what does Ms. Coyne want to do with this information?
Create a rating system for books, of course. As if this won’t turn out to be a
form of censorship. As if this does not get into First Amendment issues. As if
this has worked for the film industry.
The latest example of “fail” in terms of ratings is the
documentary “Bully” (which follows 5 students that have been bullied). The
movie was originally given an R rating (you must be at least 17 to see this on your own) because there were two
uses of the f word. Really? One is okay, two is not. This means that most of
the target audience for this movie, ages 13-17 would not be able to see it
unless they went with a parent.
Watch the trailer for Bully.
Do you honestly believe that students 13-16 should be banned from seeing
this?
After numerous meetings, and student petitions, the MPAA
ratings board would not budge. So the Weinstein company “bleeped” the word to
get the PG-13 rating. Guess what? Everyone knows what the bully was saying anyway
because you can read his lips. What did this end up accomplishing? Nothing!
Yes, I am concerned. The readership for almost every book
that ADR3NALIN3 authors write is for that same YA age range. Many of us strive
to write authentic books for teens –which may
mean use of profanity.
We authors do not use those words, or any word, lightly. We
are not trying to shock for shock’s sake with our language but to write the
world as teens live it.
Death, mayhem, horror, violence, creepy paranormal, stalkers-––those
are the dark YA books we write. According to Ms. Coyne, all of that is all
right as long as an author doesn’t type a dreaded curse word. As if any teen
who lives in this country, and probably all countries of the world, haven’t
heard or used profanity at some point in their lives. It is a rite of
passage–-and it means nothing.
I say that again. Using a curse word, in and of itself,
means nothing. It is a way of blowing off steam, trying to sound cool, showing
frustration. The real importance is intent. If a character calls someone the B
word, it can hurt. But one character can hurt another character just as deeply,
if not more, without using that specific word. If you censor an author from
using a word—and that word is meant to wound, well, our characters will find
another way to wound. Just as deep. Just like with the movie, nothing is
accomplished.
It’s a slippery slope. Who will make the rules? Are
libraries or book stores going to “card” readers in the Teen section? Will one
word be okay, like in movies, but not two? And why are so many adults upset by
profanity? Profanity is not a gateway drug—if you read “those” words in a book,
it doesn’t mean your entire vocabulary will consist of curse words for the rest
of your life.
Both the upcoming Circle of Silence
and dancergirl have characters that occasionally use profanity. It is not gratuitous, and it’s
always in a situation that, if it happened to you or your friends, there is a
great likelihood you would say exactly what my characters say.
If a book has too many swear words for a reader, or if the
content is too upsetting, a reader will put the book down. This is a known
fact. So… let the writers write, Ms. Coyne. Let the readers speak, by choosing
what they want to read. Not you, their parents, an anonymous ratings board or
the government. Let the First Amendment work the way it has worked for over two
hundred years!
I just read about a most interesting study by researchers at
Ohio State University. They were studying the way fictional characters affect
readers. (The complete study will
be published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology).
We all know how wonderful it is when you lose yourself in a
book. Being fully transported to another time and place, “experiencing” another
life so deeply that you don’t want the story to end. It’s what the
twitter-universe has taken to calling #unputdownable. These are the books you
tell your relatives they absolutely must read, the books you talk about at lunch
with your friends. The novels you just can’t wait to read again.
What struck me about the article, though, is that the
researchers were studying how and when “losing yourself” in a book translates
into actually changing your behavior and thoughts to match that of the
character you are reading about.
It’s a process they call “experience-taking” as opposed to
“perspective-taking.”
Perspective-taking, as the researchers define it, is when the reader
tries to understand what someone else is going through without losing sight of
their own identity. Learning about others by becoming more emphatic, if you
will. It is a worthy goal and one that is the most-often cited reason for
the existence of literature over the last oh-so-many-centuries. The
first book that I clearly remember “perspective-taking” was To Kill A Mockingbird.
As a New York kid, the experience of reading about the South,
and the book’s take on both racism and true courage,
definitely showed me a different perspective.
Experience-taking is a term I’ve never heard before. Lisa Libby, assistant professor of
psychology at the university and co-author of the study, describes it as “much
more immersive––you’ve replaced yourself with the other.”
Wow! Read a book and get so into it, you become the author’s
character! But hold on, writers, before you get too excited, it turns out that it’s
not so simple. Libby states that you can’t plan for it. Experience-taking
happens spontaneously. For the
most part, readers don’t even realize it’s happening—which is why it’s so
powerful.
During the experiment, if subjects were given something to
read in a mirrored room, they couldn’t get out of themselves enough to
“experience-take.” That means that some of the losing of oneself in a book has
to do with the actual experience of reading, which obviously an author
cannot control. I imagine that the mirror could be replaced by emails, Facebook,
tweets, or any of the myriad multi-tasking activities one does in-between
page-turning. Just like love, there may a better chance at truly immersing yourself
in a book when you give into it totally.
I grew up in a family of four rambunctious kids. It was a
loud house, to say the least. From the time I was eight, I learned to shut out
the noise around me whenever I picked up a book. To this day, if I am reading
or writing, I do not hear anything else. The TV could be on, I have no idea
what’s happening on that screen. My own children can—and have—yelled, “Mom!”
and I don’t respond. It’s why I don’t play music when I write; I’ll only
tune it out. It never occurred to
me that what I’ve been doing is trying to create my own “experience-taking”
situation. An echo-chamber in which the only echo is that of characters
speaking and living fictional lives.
There were other interesting points the study made, but
there was one that related specifically to me as a writer. When I first started
writing dancergirl, I wrote in third person: Ali said, she thought. After
several chapters, writing the novel that way felt very removed. I changed it to
first person: I said. I thought.
About halfway through the book, I still wasn’t happy. The
immediacy that I was hoping for still wasn’t there. I rewrote chapters, I cut scenes.
Nothing worked. One morning. I woke up and thought: present tense. Although I’d
been writing in first person, it was still past tense.
I went through and changed everything to I say, I
thought. Eureka! The tension grew
exponentially because it felt like the action was happening right here, right now. Since my upcoming
book, Circle of Silence, is also a thriller, I began writing in first person,
present tense––and never changed.
It turns out that what I’d discovered by trial and error has
a basis in the science of reading. To quote Libby again: “When you share a
group membership with a character from a story told in first-person voice,
you’re much more likely to feel like you’re experiencing his or her life
events. And when you undergo this experience-taking, it can affect your
behavior for days afterwards.”
Writing in first person, of course, is not the only way to
get readers to reach experience-taking nirvana. It would be a boring world if
every book was written the same way. Readers will soon tune out. But for the kind of contemporary YA thrillers
that I write, first person, present tense is the easiest way for a reader to
truly feel the story.
There is also literature that does not want you to
experience-take in any way. Stories that need distance. The most famous example
I can think of is the work of Bertold Brecht, who wanted his plays to
“alienate” the viewers. Here is a clip of Meryl Streep in Brecht’s play,
Mother Courage and her Children.
So, keeping perspective, alienation, or experience-taking.
Is one really more powerful than the other? Regardless of the answer, it’s a
fascinating way of viewing, and understanding, literature! If you have examples
of books, or plays, that gave you any of these experiences, I’d love to know.
