MYSTERY AUTHORS TURNING to YA #WriterWednesday

One of my projects has been to explore and experiment in the craft of writing stories in various genres and topics. An example is the 26 short stories I wrote in an eclectic assortment of genres for an April AtoZ Blogging Challenge. The research, reading, and writing involved were all beneficial learning experiences for me. (The master plan is to include the stories in a wider project.) 

Many writers focus on one particular genre. Mystery writers can choose from a plethora of subgenres: Cozy Mystery, Police Procedural, Hard-Boiled Detective, Soft-boiled Mystery, and Thriller, for starters. Sub-sub genres can include vampires or fairies or science fiction characters that meld with cops and robbers. But even with all these choices, mystery writers sometimes decide to branch out into a totally different genre, such as Young Adult fiction.

Stories in every genre hold a mystery, and mysteries remain at the top of my list for reading and writing. Yet all genres have unique appeal, with young adult fiction ranking high. Some of the articles concerning YA fiction writing are timeless in their information or advice. Much has changed in the marketing industry, but when writing novels for a specific genre the rules, guidelines, and writing process remain fairly solid. 

As has my addiction to dark chocolate.

Of course, YA and Mystery aren't necessarily exclusive genres, but writing for adults and for young adults can feel like writing for two completely different worlds.

For those of you interested in or toying with the idea of writing YA, several timeless blog posts I've found interesting offer excellent advice for writing in the Young Adult fiction genre.

Links are included below.

*****

Cherie Colyer wrote an article, Writing for a young adult audience, that gets right down to basics of audience, character development, and protagonist backstory.
http://cheriecolyer.blogspot.com/2016/07/writing-for-young-adults-audience.html

This is an interview of author Stacy Juba by author/interviewer Judy Penz Sheluk:
http://www.judypenzsheluk.com/2015/07/24/interview-with-an-author-stacy-juba/
plus: 10 YA Sports Novels for Teens and Tweens:
http://stacyjuba.com/blog/2015/07/20/ya-sports-novels/

Brian Klems welcomed teenaged writer Jamie S. Margolin to his blog site, The Writer's Dig, to discuss What NOT To Do When Writing YA Books:
http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/what-not-to-do-when-writing-ya-books-advice-from-a-teen-writer

This is a post about the " Top 5 Dos of Writing YA Lit" on the WiseInkBlog (actually 4 with a "don't" included):
http://www.wiseinkblog.com/self-publishing-2/the-top-5-dos-of-writing-ya-lit/

And here are some writing tips from editors concerning authenticity, subject matter, and trends when writing YA:
https://blog.reedsy.com/editors-tips-write-young-adult-novel

*****

With this information at my fingertips, I may decide to write a young adult mystery of my own. Of course, this will require a whole new mindset and a willingness to take myself back to the days of my youth. Maybe I'll begin by stocking up on chocolate - and rereading a good YA novel by a fellow mystery writer to get me in the mood:

THE RAINBOW CONNECTION by Laurie Hanan

Review comments:
The character development is awesome
Wonderfully interwoven twists and turns

THE RAINBOW COLLECTION on Amazon

*****

#WriterWednesday - Book Review: Stacy Juba's DARK BEFORE DAWN



Today's book review is for author Stacy Juba's Magic of Books Tour. The YA novel is entitled DARK BEFORE DAWN (Young Ladies of Mystery Book 3) Age Level: 12-18; Grade Level: 6-12

This is the author's synopsis of the novel:
If you could control minds...would you? Dawn's psychic abilities lead her to befriend two girls who share her secret talents-but when she discovers that her new friends have dark intentions, she must make an impossible choice.

Book 3 of the Young Ladies of Mystery Series - each novel is a standalone, but shares a common theme of young women thrust into a world of danger and mystery in New England small towns.

Book Review of DARK BEFORE DAWN

by Gail Baugniet

This is a YA novel. The author's excellent writing style and exceptionally well-researched subject matter, however, create an interest for adults as well. From the opening lines, Stacy Juba demonstrates her authority on the topic of teenagers, their thought processes, and the predictability of their unpredictability.

The story's protagonist, Dawn Christian, has been aware for some time that she is different. She knows things through premonitions. But her mother doesn't want people to think of her daughter as different and she discourages Dawn from mentioning this ability. Although demonstrating extra sensory perception isn't the same as not picking up your dirty socks, in either case having a parent dictate how to act or think is often interpreted by a young adult as a lack of support.

Creating characters who possess ESP in an otherwise normal, blended family situation gives this story an edge that the author utilized to ratchet the tension ever higher. The plot never felt contrived. Scenes were confined to a reasonable realm of possibility.

While the story dealt with paranormal phenomena, the author also wove in the plotline a very real problem of bullying that is prevalent in schools today. In comparing "the results of bullying" to an ongoing trial case labeled "The Making of a Murderer," two sides of a question arise. Does a bullied person become a danger to society because of adverse treatment, or does bullying treatment only release latent danger inherent within a person?

*****     *****     *****

Posting a review of a book you enjoyed reading is the best compliment you can give an author about their work. With this in mind, I will also post my review of 

Dark Before Dawn 

at Amazon.com and Goodreads.com 

 

*****     *****     *****

 

Please visit Stacy Juba's Young Ladies of Mystery series
Promo Tour: http://stacyjuba.com/blog/2016/05/05/20849/

Nancy Drew for Grownups

Week #5 of The Next Big Thing

Welcome to Week #5 of The Next Big Thing! Here’s the plan:

***Answer the ten questions (below) about your current WIP (Work In Progress)

***Tag five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them.

It’s that simple.

I’ve chosen to answer one question per week with the best intentions of having my second novel published by the time I post the final question.

Question #5 of The Next Big Thing:

TNBT: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

GAIL: The one-sentence synopsis of my WIP, Different in Degree is:

A cousin of Insurance Investigator Pepper Bibeau dies after falling from an icy rooftop and her husband refuses to claim the insurance settlement, raising questions about more than one death in Pepper's family.

AND NOW, five awesome writers whose work you want to watch:

1. Coral Russell @AlchemyofScrawl http://alchemyscrawl.com/

2. John Betcher @JohnBetcher http://www.johnbetcher.com/

3. Elizabeth McKenna @ElizaMcKenna http://elizabethmckenna.com/

4. Carole Sutton @cazutt http://casutton.tripod.com/cazutt/

5. Stacy Juba @stacyjuba http://stacyjuba.com/blog/

Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big Thing:

What is the working title of your book?

Where did the idea come from for the book?

What genre does your book fall under?

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Who or What inspired you to write this book?
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?