Writerly Things…6/19/16

Traci Kenworth

Why MG and YA is a harder question to answer. I didn’t start reading YA until ten years ago. I liked it so much that I devoured entire series. I couldn’t get enough. There was something so innocent, so pure, so exciting about those years. I realized a lot of what I wrote was YA. I love that you can explore different genres within it. Although, here, I still lean toward fantasy. However, I might do some scary. I’ve read horror since my teens and that’s played a big part in what I write. I actually write a lot of short stories that are horror. I’ve read some great stories in YA. The Hunger Games trilogy, of course. Twilight. Harry Potter. The Mortal Instrument books. The list goes on. I admire what a lot of authors have done in YA. Forest of Teeth. Anna Dressed in Blood. The Winter People series.

MG I came to recently though I read a lot of course when I was younger. The Little House books. The Black Stallion books. Where the Red Fern Grows. The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew mysteries. The Three Investigators. That list goes on too. Recent ones I’ve read are the His Dark Material series, the Narnia series, The Dark is Rising series. I’m uncovering more gems with each. I usually like on the scary side of things. Grayling’s Song. I want to read more scary ones and maybe see some mysteries in this age group. I have a fantasy story in mind for this age group but I want to read more MG before I get into it too much. I want to see what’s been done. I think this age is more about exploring things.