THE WRITING LIFE
Leave the Kids (Writers) Alone:
Despite the perception, writing for young readers is serious business
By Erin Dionne, Bread and Circus co-editor
A couple of weeks ago, I received the latest issue of Writer’s Digest in the mail. Ann Brashares, author of the bestselling Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, is on the cover with the headline: “The WD Interview: Ann Brashares Moves Beyond Teen Fiction.”
Recently a friend said to me, “When does Harry Potter stop being a children’s book?”
Another said, “Anyone can write a kid’s book.”
And then a colleague asked, “Why would you choose to write for kids?”
What is it with the perception that writing for children is less worthy of an endeavor than writing for adults? As children’s books become more and more popular with adult readers—especially young adult titles such as Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight (and its sequel, New Moon, which has been on the New York Times bestseller list for 45 weeks) or the Harry Potter series—one would think that the depth and quality of these books would change public perception, but that doesn’t seem the case. If anything, the attitude seems to be going in the opposite direction…as more children’s books achieve mainstream popularity, the more the genre and its authors are bullied.
Contemporary writers for children can recount a litany of slights. Deborah Davis, author of Not Like You (Clarion), My Brother Has AIDS (Atheneum), and The Secret of the Seal (Crown), sums most of these tales up:
I have been asked if I think I’ll ever write for adults, as if then my work might be given serious consideration. And I’ve heard, so many times, “Oh, I’ve got an idea for a children’s book that I’m going to write as soon as I can find the time”–as if all it takes is a little time and inclination, maybe a few weeks over the summer, a project to be squeezed between jobs. I never hear people say to a writer of books for adults, “I’m going to write my novel, too, when I have a few weeks to spare.” There’s an assumption that writing for young people takes less time, less blood, sweat, and tears, maybe even less intelligence than works for adults. I think this is a huge and unfortunate misconception.
Even Judy Blume, one of the pioneers of the YA genre, 2004 recipient of an honorary National Book Award for contributions to American letters, is not above such criticism. On her first title for adults she says, “When Wifey was published some people thought I would never write another children’s book, some thought I had written a real book at last…”
So where do the misconception and bullying come from? Why do people think that writing a children’s book is easier, or takes less skill, than writing for adults? Is it the shorter length? The illustrations? The age of the main characters? The age of the readers?
I think one of the main factors at work is the intended audience.
Most adults perceive children as being unsophisticated and incapable of following a complicated story—ergo, the novels written for them must be simplistic. While it’s true that complex critical thinking skills develop over time, and what’s understandable for a preschooler is certainly different for a middle schooler, the vast majority of junior high aged readers can follow the twists and turns of a complicated plot if they are drawn in to the story. Harry Potter, of course, comes to mind. The plot traverses (soon to be) seven books and multiple characters, holding the rapt attention of the Playstation Generation. But perhaps J.K. Rowling’s creation, and the eighteen wheelers filled with books, midnight release parties, and Pentagon-level security, isn’t the best defender of the children’s market. After all, it has blown the genre conventions to smithereens.
E.B. White, regular contributor to The New Yorker, and author of children’s classics such as Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, and Trumpet of the Swan might be a better champion for the complexities of children’s titles. His books deal with life and death, responsibility and protection, and finding one’s way in a hard-to-navigate world—not exactly child’s play. In a 1969 interview with The Paris Review, he explained, “Anyone who writes down to children is simply wasting his time. You have to write up, not down. Children are demanding. They are the most attentive, curious, eager, observant, sensitive, quick and generally congenial readers on earth.” But even he might not be the best champ—his books were published at a different time, when slick marketing, colorful packaging, and “edgy” content weren’t the norm. Contemporary critics rail against the Gossip Girls series, citing them as “fluff” or “trash,” depending on the reviewer’s angle. And those YA novels are leaps—and decades–away from White’s quiet middle grade stories about barn animals and mouse-boy adventures. However, aren’t there “fluffy” and “trashy” titles on the adult shelves, too?
John Green, author of the 2006 Printz-winning Looking for Alaska and the Printz honor book An Abundance of Katherines, might have the best answer to critics of the genre. In his July 12 interview on PopMatters.com, he says,
Almost everyone who dismisses contemporary teen literature hasn’t read much of it. So it doesn’t bother me at all, really. I wish people would read more of the ambitious YA novels being published right now, but I also wish people would read more of the ambitious adult novels being published right now.
Maybe that’s what it comes down to—ignorance of what’s available for young people to read–and it’s only by experiencing the wonderful, innovative, heartbreaking work of contemporary writers for children that the perception will start to change.
I admit that I’m biased. I write for middle grade, or “tween,” readers—the 9-12 age bracket. When my colleague asked why I chose that group (and, to be fair, she’s not the only one who’s asked—just the most recent) my response was along the lines of “because that’s the voice I gravitate towards,” or “those are the stories I have to tell,” both of which are true. However, the part I didn’t say, that’s harder to explain, are the feelings of joy and passion that books generate in readers of that age. Many kids dive into novels, bringing characters to life outside the boundaries of the story in a way that few adults have the time, inclination, imagination, or attention to do in their own reading. Kids stuff beloved titles under their pillows, carry them around in their backpacks, knock them into the tub or cover them in dirt on the playground. As a writer, it’s a privilege to engage that type of reader—one who loves their book to a worn, spine-cracked mess, who allows the story to share space with his or her daily life.
Maybe one day the demeaning questions to children’s book writers will stop, or we’ll wake up and agree that all writing, regardless of audience, genre, or style, takes intense effort on behalf of the author, but I don’t think so. In the meantime, bring on the bullies. We can take ‘em.
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Erin Dionne, co-editor of Bread and Circus, is the author of the forthcoming novel Beauty Binge from Dial Books for Young Readers. Available in spring 2009.
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11 comments
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July 15, 2007 at 5:13 pm
cmsutt
I’ll admit that when I started reading “for real”, I read adult books, for the most part. I didn’t get my teeth into Narnia or the Golden Compass until high school (12th grade, in fact) — and I only did then because I was desperate for books to read during the portion of the school day that I’d devoted to helping the librarians with various tasks, and the only halfway-decent SF/F books that they had were from the Narnia series, or a few others.
Oh, there was Tolkien, of course — but I’d cracked that in 4th grade. And Heinlein (to my surprise, even his controversial Job: A Comedy of Justice, which I would never have expected to see on a high-school bookshelf) — but I’d been reading Heinlein since I was a youth — and I didn’t know that even HE wrote Children’s books until I was nearly as old as I am now.
Oh, I read the school-mandated books (except Dickens. I hated Dickens the day I laid eyes on him and never changed my mind), the Giver (which is evidently having a sequel, and is also evidently some sort of controversy now because it’s too sad or something for kids, what?), Watership Down (which I still quite enjoy, because, as you say — it may have been about rabbits, but it never talked down to me, and it never talked down to them.) — but I cut my teeth on adult books for no other reason than that was what was around the house, those were the authors that I had access to and the stories I fell in love with (Dragonriders of Pern, the Future History series, and the ever-in-depth Dune).
I’ll even admit that I don’t particularly care for the YA genre to be my bread-and-butter reading – I’m a SF/F girl at heart, and I tend to like my characters be the scraggly old mercenaries and the heart-hard 20-somethings who’ve got to save the world. I rarely ever empathized with teenagers, even when I was one myself.
But that doesn’t make me think that Animorphs, or the Circle of Magic (Tamora Pierce), or even Joshua Palmatier’s new F story that stars a prepubescent girl who grows up on-screen, took anything less than a great deal of time, effort, detailed plotting, and dedication.
It’s just a reminder that I had an odd childhood… and that as I age, I’m coming to appreciate juvenile fiction more and more. (movies too – most of the movies I even bother to see are children’s comedies. Adult comedies are too raucous, too juvenile, and frankly, teenaged-boy-humor (Napolean Dynamite) does very little for me. But I’ve found that Shrek, Spy Kids… those have humor for kids, and good plots, and awesome stories to tell — but they don’t ignore the adults who might be watching and enjoying along with their kids.)
July 16, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Susie Wilson
I am delighted that you quoted Deborah Davis in this excellent story as she is my talented and very smart daughter-in-law, and a good writer to boot.
I would like to recommend the pleasure of taking a Children’s Literature course in college to your readers. I took one in graduate school (albeit for a degree in education) and it was a great experience to read the classics of the genre. One could only gain respect for the authors of the great works this genre and for those who carry it on today.
Good piece. Thank you.
July 16, 2007 at 5:24 pm
Carrie Jones
Erin,
This is a brilliantly done article. Thank you for it.
July 16, 2007 at 5:31 pm
Tom K
I agree with many of the points you make; we do tend to like to put things in convenient labels, even if those labels do a disservice to the thing that was labeled. People who criticize YA writers have likely never read a book they consider to be YA and are commenting out of ignorance and the idea that if you’re writing a story for youth, it must be uninteresting to adults (since we’re so much more mature and wise than they are…HAH!). The success of Harry Potter should serve as a reminder of why people buy and read books in the first place; to see characters and stories that movies bury with special effects most of the time. If adults can relate to this young boy Harry it’s because his themes are universal to all people; even the awkward teenage stuff. The quality of the story doesn’t suddenly go up just because the book has a sex scene or deals with grisly dark death.
I think there’s a little too much defensiveness in your article’s criticism of people who have stories to write. Writing and telling stories is universal: one doesn’t have a special credential because they have poured their blood, sweat and tears into a story for 2 years only to see it rejected time and time again with numerous rewrites, finally to be accepted when you were about to hang up the pen.
Being a *published* author takes dedication, talent, and a little bit of luck, but you must admit sometimes that last one trumps the first two. Really as long as there is a single reader to enjoy the story, regardless of publication status, isn’t that the point of writing it? No one is degrading your profession simply by thinking they have a children’s story to tell. I’m sure they do, and I’m sure someone would enjoy reading it, if only their own family. The difference, really, between you and them is that you *did* tell your story, now not later, and someone is willing to bet money that a lot of people will enjoy it. That doesn’t really “legitimize” the story, does it?
The true test of the success of any story is when the readers open themselves to your world and feel and think with your character; not whether the story was published or how long the process took or whether your a one-hit-wonder or you push out 2 books a year.
Don’t measure yourself by your success as an author, or by other’s assessments of your success in that measure, but of how your “children” go out into the world and make it a better place. Whether it’s a NYT best seller and the latest craze or just 1 person who read your story over email.
July 17, 2007 at 3:41 pm
Writing for Teenagers Easier? Ha! at J.L. POWERS
[...] finished reading a thoughtful post about whether it’s easier to write for kids or not. Many non-writers (and many writers) [...]
July 17, 2007 at 4:13 pm
L. Diane Wolfe
Like cmsutt above, I delved deep into science fiction as a teen, expecially the Dragonrider series. Anne McCaffey was my inspiration to become an author!
But today’s YA fiction is far more complex (and plentiful!) than it was 25 years ago. I know many adults who read from the YA section, because there are indeed some introspecitive, well-written, great books there.
And it is tougher to write for older teens and young 20-somethings, because their shorter attention span demands that you capture & intrigue them right away! Writing any type of book or story takes time and dedication.
If the bullies only knew!
July 17, 2007 at 10:56 pm
Erin Dionne
Thanks for the range of wonderful comments. A few specific responses…
To cmsutt and L. Diane–I think sci/fi attracts a lot of teen readers, as does other types of genre fiction. Those stories are relatable to readers of all ages who have interests in those genres, and the authors don’t “talk down” to their audiences. YA suffered a lot during the 70s and most of the 80s because it was too moralistic or stilted–young readers just didn’t “buy” the stories (of course, there were notable exceptions to that rule…)
Tom K–I definitely understand your point that people have stories to tell and it doesn’t matter if it’s published or not. I *totally* agree with that. What I think is a shame–and is a common occurrence–is that there is a perception that the ACT of storytelling for children is easy. Lots of us have a wonderful story and share it with their family or friends and choose to never seek publication–and it’s wonderful that those stories are shared whether orally or on paper–THOSE aren’t the people who scoff at writing for children as being easy. I’m talking more about those who feel it is a “lower” form of writing in general…and that it’s not really “blood, sweat and tears” that YA authors are putting in to their work, it’s a walk in the park.
As for the talent/luck question…I think it depends on which authors you ask. I’d say hard work trumps them both.
Susie W.–your suggestion of taking a children’s lit class is a good one. Even perusing the summer reading lists for local schools is a great education as to what’s available for young readers.
Carrie–Thank you!
July 19, 2007 at 10:47 am
writerbug
Great article. The one thing I would add is that, as a writer for adults, I also get similar comments about how “I plan to write my novel as soon as I retire!” (find time, etc.). It really annoys me, since it does imply that writing is something that just takes time, not talent, devotion to your craft, studying of technique, etc. I’m usually too polite to say anything other than, “That’s great! It’s harder than it looks though…” Any other suggestions for responsing?
July 21, 2007 at 11:03 am
Kerry Madden
This was just excellent – thank you for putting into words what so many of us face constantly. I’m very glad to have found your blog.
All best
Kerry Madden
July 23, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Erin Dionne
Writerbug– I’ve had a lot of people say the same thing. My usual response is, “it’s great that you’re waiting until you have the time to devote to that project and develop the craft.” Usually I get a blank look, then a nod and they drift away. Let me know what happens if you use it!
Kerry–Thanks for coming by! Hope to see you around here more often.
December 22, 2007 at 10:00 pm
Kristi Holl
As a writer for middle graders also, I’ve heard those same comments for years. My favorite fingernails-on-the-blackboard question is: “So. How long does it take you to crank out a kiddie book?” Perhaps I was a strange child, but my best friends lived in books. I read and re-read them. Many of them guided my moral values (like LITTLE WOMEN), and many others (like CHARLOTTE’S WEB) taught me about compassion and true friendship. These child readers are our legacy and our future. To me, writing for children (who are formed and influenced by what they read) is about the highest calling you can have! There is no one more important we could hope to write for someday.