Fantasy vs. Reality in Y.A. Novels

I have a love-hate relationship with Fantasy. I loved the world of fantasy as a child. Dragons, witches, ghosts, werewolves, things that go bump in the night. But I also got kicked in the teeth when I discovered the world of fantasy and magic lay beyond my flesh-and-blood life. When I discovered Santa was not real, the rest came tumbling down: the Easter Bunny; birthday wishes; unanswered prayers; no fairies under toadstools, etc.

Fantasy author, George R.R. Martin, tries to make a strong case for fantasy vs. reality when he says, "Fantasy is silver and scarlet, indigo and azure, obsidian veined with gold and lapis lazuli. Reality is plywood and plastic, done up in mud brown and olive drab. Fantasy tastes of habaneros and honey, cinnamon and cloves, rare red meat and wines as sweet as summer. Reality is beans and tofu, and ashes at the end. Reality is the strip malls of Burbank, the smokestacks of Cleveland, a parking garage in Newark. Fantasy is the towers of Minas Tirith, the ancient stones of Gormenghast, the halls of Camelot. Fantasy flies on the wings of Icarus, reality on Southwest Airlines. Why do our dreams become so much smaller when they finally come true?"

Lovely thought, but I just can't buy it. He portrays this real world as mundane and humdrum. But OMG, there are things to see and experience in our brief lives that are so awesome. Try camping in the mountains away from city lights and be awestruck by a Milky Way so bright it throws your shadow. Or look at the miracle of a tiny tree frog huddled in your palm. How about the Grand Canyon at sunrise. Or music that shakes your soul. A smile cast your direction that triples your heart rate. A stained-glass cathedral window with colors more brilliant than Aladdin's treasures.

What I'm trying to say is that some authors have the ability to pull you into the glory of our world of reality with their words. Their real-world fiction can be as beautiful, magical, and sometimes terrible, as any book of fantasy.

What's Going to be the new Trend in YA?

When I wrote the first book in my Blending Time trilogy, the agent liked it because the dystopian genre was wide open. Little did I know that The Hunger Games would open a Pandora's box of dystopian of dystopain novels. At the time my agent said he was getting to many queries about vampire and zombie books. The vampire books have kinda morphed into sexy vamps, and sex and erotica is becoming more mainstream in YA books. Why not! Teens are full of hormones. When I was a teen it was "dirty" to read stuffy like that. I can't picture sexy zombies, but who knows.

So what will the next genre topic that lights up the eyes of YA readers? I have no idea, but it will be fun to watch the trend.

Writing a Novel: beginnings, middles, endings.

I've heard writers say that the easiest parts of their books are the beginnings and endings. They know where they want to start, and they can see a clear ending. The middle, for many, is the hard part. It's not too hard to create a dynamite beginning and ending (drama, flash, romance, mayhem, whatever) but to carry that energy through the MIDDLE of the book (200-300 pages) can be a greater challenge for many authors.

For me the ENDING is the hard part. I'm not a great outliner with a file of cards detailing scenes from page 1 to the end. For me the beginning is easy and fun. I like to start in the middle of the action and go forward, sprinkling enough information along the way for the reader to be filled in on the novel's world. The MIDDLE for me is fun and organic. I work up character histories (family, hopes, dreams, flaws, strengths) so the characters seem to take on their own lives as I write. I know roughly where I want the book to go, but the interaction of strong, well thought out characters do the 'heavy lifting' for me.

What is hardest for me is the ENDING. I don't want a sappy or a predictable ending, so (like many film makers) I try multiple endings. Right now I'm trying not only to end a third novel, but it is the last in the 3-book BLENDING TIME series. So that is kind of a double whammy--the end of a book plus the end of a series. It has to be just right (at least for me).

More than once I've come to the end someone's trilogy only to toss the book across the room because the author chose to use a predictable or cliched ending which killed the integrity of good writing. I think the reader deserves a memorable, unpredictable ending for any novel.

So, onward and upward to the ending (which is keeping me awake nights, but which will somehow come together). I hope, I hope, I ...