"Still relevant?"
Answering reader mail. One question, from a library science student (and aspiring writer) doing a project, struck me. She asked why I thought my books were "still relevant" to today's teens. I have to admit I was a bit miffed at this. Like, why wouldn't they be? Am I 90 years old? I haven't decided what I'm going to say, exactly, but here is what I want to say.
Dear Student:
First off, can I just say I'm still writing my books! I don't know how old you think I am, but I certainly hope they're "still" relevant because they're fairly recent. I published a new one a month ago. If you went to my website to find my e-mail address, maybe you saw it, Mirrored. My first was published 14 years ago, and if you want to be a writer yourself, I certainly hope that you see it as a career which, unlike professional sports, might last for more than a decade. I know there is a tendency, in publishing, to want to find the new thing. I have noticed that some of the faces have changed since I started writing. However, some of us do keep chugging on even after 14 years! One of the writers who most inspired me, Richard Peck, published his first book in 1972 and his most recent in 2013. He's practically Cher (who had #1 hits in 6 separate decades) by that standard!
However, if you meant to ask how older books, such as those published when I was a teen or younger (Mr. Peck, M.E. Kerr, Robert Cormier, Paul Zindel) can retain their relevance, I think there are certain issues that transcend time and generations. Robert Cormier said, "Fashions change, along with slang and pop tunes and fads, but emotions remain the same. A bruised heart is a bruised heart no matter what year it is." I visited a library just last week and talked to some teens who were reading (and, according to them, enjoying) The Outsiders, which was published the year I was born. Recently, I was in a bookstore and heard a girl gushing to her friend about a great book she read. It was Go Ask Alice, published when I was too young to read it. So yes, I think YA books can retain their relevance even if they weren't published last month, as one of mine was.
In fact, I think the issues remain the same across generations. That is part of the reason I write fairy tale retellings. Cinderella, for example, was about jealousy, sibling rivalry, stepparent relationships. Sleeping Beauty was about a girl who was told by her parents to do just one thing (Don't touch spindles) and couldn't obey. The settings change, but the characters -- not so much. As Cormier said, "Emotions remain the same."
Dear Student:
First off, can I just say I'm still writing my books! I don't know how old you think I am, but I certainly hope they're "still" relevant because they're fairly recent. I published a new one a month ago. If you went to my website to find my e-mail address, maybe you saw it, Mirrored. My first was published 14 years ago, and if you want to be a writer yourself, I certainly hope that you see it as a career which, unlike professional sports, might last for more than a decade. I know there is a tendency, in publishing, to want to find the new thing. I have noticed that some of the faces have changed since I started writing. However, some of us do keep chugging on even after 14 years! One of the writers who most inspired me, Richard Peck, published his first book in 1972 and his most recent in 2013. He's practically Cher (who had #1 hits in 6 separate decades) by that standard!
However, if you meant to ask how older books, such as those published when I was a teen or younger (Mr. Peck, M.E. Kerr, Robert Cormier, Paul Zindel) can retain their relevance, I think there are certain issues that transcend time and generations. Robert Cormier said, "Fashions change, along with slang and pop tunes and fads, but emotions remain the same. A bruised heart is a bruised heart no matter what year it is." I visited a library just last week and talked to some teens who were reading (and, according to them, enjoying) The Outsiders, which was published the year I was born. Recently, I was in a bookstore and heard a girl gushing to her friend about a great book she read. It was Go Ask Alice, published when I was too young to read it. So yes, I think YA books can retain their relevance even if they weren't published last month, as one of mine was.
In fact, I think the issues remain the same across generations. That is part of the reason I write fairy tale retellings. Cinderella, for example, was about jealousy, sibling rivalry, stepparent relationships. Sleeping Beauty was about a girl who was told by her parents to do just one thing (Don't touch spindles) and couldn't obey. The settings change, but the characters -- not so much. As Cormier said, "Emotions remain the same."