I know she's finally at peace, but it doesn't make the loss any less difficult.
Too many family members have died this year.
Too many people are gone.
Due to the circumstances, I won't be online in the near future.
My brain is full right now.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Short update
Just after 2pm today (PST), my husband's grandmother died. She's been suffering for a long time with a horrible strain of cancer.
I know she's finally at peace, but it doesn't make the loss any less difficult.
Too many family members have died this year.
Too many people are gone.
I know she's finally at peace, but it doesn't make the loss any less difficult.
Too many family members have died this year.
Too many people are gone.
Glad to be home, and blog awards/memes!
I just got home yesterday. The time away was good and I was able to read 7 or 8 books while away. Well, technically, I finished the last one this morning.
Since I'm a little draggy this morning, I'm extra pleased that two people tagged me so I have an excuse to not have to think a lot today ;)
TL Bodine tagged me for the 'Be Inspired' Meme and Kathy McKendry tagged me for two blog awards.
For the 'Be Inspired' Meme:
Q: What is the name of your book?
A: "Brake Fluid, Blood & Body Bags"
Q: Where did the idea of your book come from?
A: Honestly I don't have a good answer for that. At the time I had a fully finished MS out with a published author who was going to edit it for me (but for personal reasons had to pull out) and I was experimenting for the first time with 1st person POV (for a MG Magical Realism story), when one night, I just opened up a blank document and spilled out over a thousand words of new material. The character just came out of nowhere and blindsided me, making it impossible to continue writing the MG story.
Q: In what genre would you classify your book?
A: YA Contemporary, though there is a sort of murder mystery-ish quality to it as well.
Q: If you had to pick actors to play your characters in a movie rendition, who would you choose?
A: uhm... I suck at these, especially in this case 'cause I'd need a 14 year-old-kid who is so androgynous you can't tell if they're male or female. They'd also have to be tall and super skinny. For Triss... hmmm, again, I'm bad at this. Short (like 5'-5'2" tall) with a clearly-Jewish nose. Really, I'm not picky about what any of the characters look like.
Q: Give us a one sentence synopsis of your book.
A: A nameless, gender-ambiguous teen rides shotgun with Triss, the driver of the car and the situation, on a mission to dump the corpse of a classmate whose death they might have, sortof, maybe had something to do with.
Q: How long did it take you to write your book?
A: Well, I wrote about 4,000 words in September/October, then about 20,000 words for NaNo 2011. After that, I put it on hold to start a YA Northern Fairytale. I started back at 'Brake Fluid' a few months ago and finished the first draft in June.
Q: What other books within your genre would you compare it to, or readers of which books would enjoy it?
A: Courtney Summer's "Cracked Up To Be", Justine Larbalestier's "Liar" (with no werewolves), Nova Ren Suma's "Imaginary Girls", and to a much lesser degree, Anonymous's "Go Ask Alice"
Q: Which authors inspired you to write this book?
A: Probably "Go Ask Alice" would be first on this list. I read it when I was 9 or 10 and since I was so young, most of it went completely over my head, but what stuck with me was how fascinating it was not to know the main character's name... and I remember, even then, thinking how cool it would be not to know the gender either.
Q: Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book.
A: Drunken teenage parties, twisted/manipulative bets, sex, love, desire, revenge, death, and a genderless main character. What else is there? Oh yeah, someone gets stabbed in the gut with a butter-knife. It was a party. Things happen.
Q: Now tag five others:
I'll get to this later :)
For the 'Versatile Blogger' Award:
1. Thank and link back to person who gave you award
Done
2. List the rules
Done
3. List seven random facts about yourself
a) My favourite colour is green
b) If I could only pick one meal to eat forever, it'd probably be salmon sashimi, gomae (a cold spinach salad) and unagi (eel) with rice. And I'd wash it down with green tea and hot sake.
4. Nominate 10 people for the award and notify them
I'll get to this later :)
For the 'Fabulous Blog Ribbon' Award:
1. Post the rules
2. Name five of your most fabulous moments in real life or in the blogosphere
3. Name five things you love
4. Name five things you hate
5. Pass it to five other bloggers
Since I'm a little draggy this morning, I'm extra pleased that two people tagged me so I have an excuse to not have to think a lot today ;)
TL Bodine tagged me for the 'Be Inspired' Meme and Kathy McKendry tagged me for two blog awards.
For the 'Be Inspired' Meme:
Q: What is the name of your book?
A: "Brake Fluid, Blood & Body Bags"
Q: Where did the idea of your book come from?
A: Honestly I don't have a good answer for that. At the time I had a fully finished MS out with a published author who was going to edit it for me (but for personal reasons had to pull out) and I was experimenting for the first time with 1st person POV (for a MG Magical Realism story), when one night, I just opened up a blank document and spilled out over a thousand words of new material. The character just came out of nowhere and blindsided me, making it impossible to continue writing the MG story.
Q: In what genre would you classify your book?
A: YA Contemporary, though there is a sort of murder mystery-ish quality to it as well.
Q: If you had to pick actors to play your characters in a movie rendition, who would you choose?
A: uhm... I suck at these, especially in this case 'cause I'd need a 14 year-old-kid who is so androgynous you can't tell if they're male or female. They'd also have to be tall and super skinny. For Triss... hmmm, again, I'm bad at this. Short (like 5'-5'2" tall) with a clearly-Jewish nose. Really, I'm not picky about what any of the characters look like.
Q: Give us a one sentence synopsis of your book.
A: A nameless, gender-ambiguous teen rides shotgun with Triss, the driver of the car and the situation, on a mission to dump the corpse of a classmate whose death they might have, sortof, maybe had something to do with.
Q: How long did it take you to write your book?
A: Well, I wrote about 4,000 words in September/October, then about 20,000 words for NaNo 2011. After that, I put it on hold to start a YA Northern Fairytale. I started back at 'Brake Fluid' a few months ago and finished the first draft in June.
Q: What other books within your genre would you compare it to, or readers of which books would enjoy it?
A: Courtney Summer's "Cracked Up To Be", Justine Larbalestier's "Liar" (with no werewolves), Nova Ren Suma's "Imaginary Girls", and to a much lesser degree, Anonymous's "Go Ask Alice"
Q: Which authors inspired you to write this book?
A: Probably "Go Ask Alice" would be first on this list. I read it when I was 9 or 10 and since I was so young, most of it went completely over my head, but what stuck with me was how fascinating it was not to know the main character's name... and I remember, even then, thinking how cool it would be not to know the gender either.
In the past, I've experimented writing short stories with gender-ambiguous characters, and most of what I write is from male perspectives. I didn't plan 'Brake Fluid' to be this way, it just sort of happened.
The other books mentioned in the previous question were all ones I read before starting this one and all had certain aspects that, like the nameless character in "Go Ask Alice, leaped out at me and got my brain working on new possibilities. None were planned for, but in retrospect, I can recognize the influences.
Also, I know I've been heavily influenced by Banana Yoshimoto's writing. In all her books, the story starts after a *big* event, like death, and focuses on the fallout. If you've read anything of mine, and go check out any of her books, I'm sure you'll see some similarities in character development/growth/theme.
Q: Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book.
A: Drunken teenage parties, twisted/manipulative bets, sex, love, desire, revenge, death, and a genderless main character. What else is there? Oh yeah, someone gets stabbed in the gut with a butter-knife. It was a party. Things happen.
Q: Now tag five others:
I'll get to this later :)
For the 'Versatile Blogger' Award:
1. Thank and link back to person who gave you award
Done
2. List the rules
Done
3. List seven random facts about yourself
a) My favourite colour is green
b) If I could only pick one meal to eat forever, it'd probably be salmon sashimi, gomae (a cold spinach salad) and unagi (eel) with rice. And I'd wash it down with green tea and hot sake.
c) I tend to stand far away from people when I talk because I'm tall* and all my friends growing up were really short. It's easier to make eye contact/converse standing farther apart when there's a big height difference. Also, apparently I'm intimidating, so it helps when I'm not standing right beside/towering over people. It's something I'm overly/unnecessarily conscious about.
d) There are very few material things I'm attached to. One is my Sims snowboard, the last edition they sold in Canada. It's blue with butterflies. It's a replacement for my 1995 collectors edition Shannon Dunn designed snowboard which was stolen the first year I lived in Victoria. I'm still ticked off about that and look for it every time I'm on a mountain, even though I know it's completely ridiculous since it was such an old board, the thieves probably just trashed it.
e) I don't normally like reading novels about werewolves/vampires/etc, but I'll happily read about them in comic books. I have no idea why. The latest one I'm reading is 'Blood Alone' by Masayuki Takano. I like that it's so *quiet*.
f) I follow a lot of online comics. Like, easily over a thousand. Yeah, that's a vice I should probably scale back on...
g) If I could choose any pet in the world (taking into account realistic parameters of food/upkeep/etc), hands down, it would be an ocelot. When I was a kid, I was able to pet one at a zoo in Belize and have been in love with them ever since.
4. Nominate 10 people for the award and notify them
I'll get to this later :)
For the 'Fabulous Blog Ribbon' Award:
1. Post the rules
Done
2. Name five of your most fabulous moments in real life or in the blogosphere
a) The first time someone commented on my blog, and every time thereafter :)
b) My first dive (scuba)
c) My second snowboarding experience
d) The first request from an agent
e) Every time I come *home* after being away
3. Name five things you love
a) Rain
b) Flavourful, delicious food
c) My family, friends, and pets
d) Reading
e) Snowboarding
4. Name five things you hate
a) Racism and any other form of thinking it's okay to believe some people are worth more than others
b) Bad drivers
c) Liver, cabbage, cucumber & overcooked fish
d) Irresponsibility (in life, actions, words, etc)
e) Getting a fever
5. Pass it to five other bloggers
Okay, I kept saying I'll get to this... but I also know how many people get tagged for the same awards, SOOOOOOO, I'm going to do what I usually do:
Any readers who want to participate/play/join/accept any of these, please post a link in the comments.
I promise to read/respond to every last one of them :)
Thanks again TL & Kathy! I had a blast answering these :)
* I'm only 5'9", but when all your friends are Asian and around the 5' mark, it makes a big difference.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Giving it away
I don't watch the evening news (too depressing), but I do love watching The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.
On June 26th, Stephen Colbert interviewed Richard Ford, whose new book is called 'Canada'.
Link to the episode is here, unfortunately, the feed is not available to Canadians, and I don't know about the rest of the world, although obviously if you have a VPN service running, you can watch it anywhere.
The book 'Canada' starts out:
"First, I’ll tell about the robbery our parents committed. Then the murders, which happened later."
...and Colbert's comment really hit me. He said (paraphrasing) "Why should I read the book now? You've given away the entire plot in the first two lines."
Ford's answer was something along the lines of, "Well, I hope you'll be anticipating those events and read on to find out what happens."
The reason this comment hit me is because 'Brake Fluid' is remarkably similar. On the first page you know Jackson's dead in the trunk and before the end of chapter one, you know there was a party six months earlier where Jackson hit Triss and she stabbed him with a butter knife. You also know that party is the reason Jackson's now dead, and that he died a couple of days before the story actually starts.
That means, in the first chapter, you know how the two past nights ended, and you can assume the ending of what's happening in the present... since the MC & Triss are trying to get rid of the body.
So... have I given it all away?
Well, I don't like to think so. This is my first time writing a murder-mystery-ish type story, but murder mysteries always start out with a dead body, and you read on to figure out who did it.
'Brake Fluid' is a little different in that all the characters involved know who did it, but the reader doesn't.
All three timelines (the party six month ago, the night Jackson died, and the present where they're trying to get rid of the corpse) play out in bite-sized chunks.
And I wonder, is that anticipation enough that someone will want to keep reading?
Let's just take one, small aspect of the story. Triss stabbing Jackson with the butter-knife.
I chose a butter-knife because it's a funny/memorable enough item that the reader won't forget the stabbing is coming*. Sure, it happens at the end of the party, so they have to wait for it, but they know it's coming even while everything else is going on, and they don't know the exact circumstances of when/why it happened.
The first time the reader actually sees the knife is midway through Chapter 13, but the actual stabbing doesn't happen until Chapter 16. The butter knife is mentioned several times in between, but that's it. It's there, hanging around, just waiting to be used.
As I'm working on my first editing run on this story, the question of anticipation is something that weighs heavily on my mind. Will it encourage the readers to eat up the story faster, or will it get annoying, like I'm deliberately dangling a carrot out of reach?
And I supposed I won't have any clear answers until I get comments back from my writing group/online CP's.
Have you ever written a story where the anticipation of the event is more important than the event itself? How do you know when 'enough is enough'?
* I've even seriously though of re-working the title to include 'butter knife'. The closest I've come to a substitute I like is, 'Butter Knives, Brake Fluid & Body Bags', but I think it's too much of a mouthful. The rhythm isn't as nice as 'Brake Fluid, Blood & Body Bags'. What do you guys think? Even in the title, I'm pretty much giving it all away ;)
On June 26th, Stephen Colbert interviewed Richard Ford, whose new book is called 'Canada'.
Link to the episode is here, unfortunately, the feed is not available to Canadians, and I don't know about the rest of the world, although obviously if you have a VPN service running, you can watch it anywhere.
The book 'Canada' starts out:
"First, I’ll tell about the robbery our parents committed. Then the murders, which happened later."
...and Colbert's comment really hit me. He said (paraphrasing) "Why should I read the book now? You've given away the entire plot in the first two lines."
Ford's answer was something along the lines of, "Well, I hope you'll be anticipating those events and read on to find out what happens."
The reason this comment hit me is because 'Brake Fluid' is remarkably similar. On the first page you know Jackson's dead in the trunk and before the end of chapter one, you know there was a party six months earlier where Jackson hit Triss and she stabbed him with a butter knife. You also know that party is the reason Jackson's now dead, and that he died a couple of days before the story actually starts.
That means, in the first chapter, you know how the two past nights ended, and you can assume the ending of what's happening in the present... since the MC & Triss are trying to get rid of the body.
So... have I given it all away?
Well, I don't like to think so. This is my first time writing a murder-mystery-ish type story, but murder mysteries always start out with a dead body, and you read on to figure out who did it.
'Brake Fluid' is a little different in that all the characters involved know who did it, but the reader doesn't.
All three timelines (the party six month ago, the night Jackson died, and the present where they're trying to get rid of the corpse) play out in bite-sized chunks.
And I wonder, is that anticipation enough that someone will want to keep reading?
Let's just take one, small aspect of the story. Triss stabbing Jackson with the butter-knife.
I chose a butter-knife because it's a funny/memorable enough item that the reader won't forget the stabbing is coming*. Sure, it happens at the end of the party, so they have to wait for it, but they know it's coming even while everything else is going on, and they don't know the exact circumstances of when/why it happened.
The first time the reader actually sees the knife is midway through Chapter 13, but the actual stabbing doesn't happen until Chapter 16. The butter knife is mentioned several times in between, but that's it. It's there, hanging around, just waiting to be used.
As I'm working on my first editing run on this story, the question of anticipation is something that weighs heavily on my mind. Will it encourage the readers to eat up the story faster, or will it get annoying, like I'm deliberately dangling a carrot out of reach?
And I supposed I won't have any clear answers until I get comments back from my writing group/online CP's.
Have you ever written a story where the anticipation of the event is more important than the event itself? How do you know when 'enough is enough'?
* I've even seriously though of re-working the title to include 'butter knife'. The closest I've come to a substitute I like is, 'Butter Knives, Brake Fluid & Body Bags', but I think it's too much of a mouthful. The rhythm isn't as nice as 'Brake Fluid, Blood & Body Bags'. What do you guys think? Even in the title, I'm pretty much giving it all away ;)
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Rethinking writing
Some of the long-time followers know I sent off a small first-batch of queries back in November/December after winning one of the Miss Snark's First Victim/Authoress' Secret Agent contests.
I sent 10, only 10 (to test the water). I'm aware that is an absurdly low number.
Then my querying dried up due to the high volume of family members dying, being rushed to hospital/emergency, and coming down with terrible illness/afflictions.
Querying was so far down on my list of concerns that I barely got excited each time I was asked for a full/partial, and it barely phased me when (ultimately) the story was rejected by every agent who made a request. I was pretty numb about the whole thing, which is why I didn't send out any more or make any kind of further effort. In truth, I nearly forgot about it entirely.
About two weeks ago (just as I learned another relative has a very short time to live), I heard back from the second-to-last agent who still has the full.
...and that one hit me kindof hard.
It was a personalized response (I got a couple of those, which was nice/flattering), and it clearly pointed out the single major thing I have always worried about with 'Simon's Oath'.
When I wrote the ending... I knew I liked it. I was also completely aware that probably, out of 10 readers, 9 of them would hate the ending.
Now, the problem with 'SO' isn't the ending itself, it's the character arc of one of the two main characters, Simon.
Y'know how, at the wrap-up of every story, the main character hits the lowest point, has a revelation (of sorts), and then climbs back up, even if it's only a few feet?
My story ends with Simon still flat on his face. Sure, there's the implication that things will work out better for him... but he never truly climbs to his feet and takes a step in the right direction. Which doesn't work in the world of YA. In adult fiction, it would have been fine.*
The ending fits with his character, and while I find it satisfying, I was already aware that it would be a difficult sell, because while Simon changes and grows as a character... it's not really a vertical growth. He sinks deeper with every choice he makes and then the rug is (essentially) pulled out from under him in the end. It's not quite Hans Christian Anderson where the matchstick girl dies in the cold and the little mermaid dissolves into bubbles, but it certainly leans closer to that than a Disney-fied 'everyone lived happily ever after' kind of ending.
It's not just a simple matter of re-writing the ending because the failure in the Simon's character arc to turn up at the end makes the wrap-up feel too fast, disrupts the expected ebb/flow of the story, and leaves somewhat of a bad taste from what I had hoped was a bitter-sweet end.
The question now is... what will I do with it? 'Cause it's not an easy fix. I'll probably have to tear apart/re-write the last 1/3 of the story, maybe more.
I don't even know if it's something I can fix on my own, because I know I'm not objective.
Has anyone else had a major problem like this with a story? Did you stick with it, or abandon it like a single sock that's lost it's mate and never looked back?
Any suggestions would be completely welcome/appreciated :)
*which is probably why another agent suggested I re-write the book with an adult audience in mind.
I sent 10, only 10 (to test the water). I'm aware that is an absurdly low number.
Then my querying dried up due to the high volume of family members dying, being rushed to hospital/emergency, and coming down with terrible illness/afflictions.
Querying was so far down on my list of concerns that I barely got excited each time I was asked for a full/partial, and it barely phased me when (ultimately) the story was rejected by every agent who made a request. I was pretty numb about the whole thing, which is why I didn't send out any more or make any kind of further effort. In truth, I nearly forgot about it entirely.
About two weeks ago (just as I learned another relative has a very short time to live), I heard back from the second-to-last agent who still has the full.
...and that one hit me kindof hard.
It was a personalized response (I got a couple of those, which was nice/flattering), and it clearly pointed out the single major thing I have always worried about with 'Simon's Oath'.
When I wrote the ending... I knew I liked it. I was also completely aware that probably, out of 10 readers, 9 of them would hate the ending.
Now, the problem with 'SO' isn't the ending itself, it's the character arc of one of the two main characters, Simon.
Y'know how, at the wrap-up of every story, the main character hits the lowest point, has a revelation (of sorts), and then climbs back up, even if it's only a few feet?
My story ends with Simon still flat on his face. Sure, there's the implication that things will work out better for him... but he never truly climbs to his feet and takes a step in the right direction. Which doesn't work in the world of YA. In adult fiction, it would have been fine.*
The ending fits with his character, and while I find it satisfying, I was already aware that it would be a difficult sell, because while Simon changes and grows as a character... it's not really a vertical growth. He sinks deeper with every choice he makes and then the rug is (essentially) pulled out from under him in the end. It's not quite Hans Christian Anderson where the matchstick girl dies in the cold and the little mermaid dissolves into bubbles, but it certainly leans closer to that than a Disney-fied 'everyone lived happily ever after' kind of ending.
It's not just a simple matter of re-writing the ending because the failure in the Simon's character arc to turn up at the end makes the wrap-up feel too fast, disrupts the expected ebb/flow of the story, and leaves somewhat of a bad taste from what I had hoped was a bitter-sweet end.
The question now is... what will I do with it? 'Cause it's not an easy fix. I'll probably have to tear apart/re-write the last 1/3 of the story, maybe more.
I don't even know if it's something I can fix on my own, because I know I'm not objective.
Has anyone else had a major problem like this with a story? Did you stick with it, or abandon it like a single sock that's lost it's mate and never looked back?
Any suggestions would be completely welcome/appreciated :)
*which is probably why another agent suggested I re-write the book with an adult audience in mind.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Words which reveal
I'm both proud of my words, and horribly embarrassed.
While I can happily spend hours upon hours analyzing my own words (or those of others) with the members of my writing group and online CP's, I balk at talking about writing to anyone else.
If someone else brings it up, I'll change the subject, flip it off with a joke or a sarcastic comment.
I can count on one hand the number of people (in real life, not online) who know I write.
It's not something I'm comfortable discussing.
And that's 'cause I'm both proud, and embarrassed by my own words.
Oddly enough, the two are inseparable. It's because I'm proud that I'm embarrassed. Because I'm embarrassed, I work harder so I can be proud.
It's a vicious cycle :)
A while back, someone asked me in the comments why I write YA and whether I thought it was limiting my prospects and, I admit, I've been thinking about the question ever since.
One reason I want to write YA is because it's harder.
...which is why my cycle of pride/embarrassment is relevant.
Let me take this from another angle. In animation, or even just in figure drawing, the difficulty level is night-and-day different between drawing male and female characters. Males are super easy 'cause they're made up of hard geometrical shapes and straight lines. Drawing females is murder. They have so many soft curves/round shapes that they're incredibly difficult. Even harder is animating them and keeping them *on-model* because, literally, a deviation of a line's breadth can make a female character look overweight or anorexic.
...you get three guesses as to which gender of characters I primarily focused on while in animation school.
So why is YA harder? Well, for one, that's like comparing a 10 second commercial to a full length film. In a commercial, you have an extremely limited timeframe to sell an idea whereas in a full length film, you've got 90 minutes.
Writing YA is like shooting a commercial. The audience won't put up with filler, obvious preaching/lesson-teaching, over-written descriptions/etc. Older readers will give you the benefit of the doubt/patience and read work that younger readers will not. YA has to be clean, sleek, and efficient as possible and teens can smell BS from three miles away.
So that's one reason I write YA.
Another reason is because I like the themes of YA, specifically the struggle for self-identity.
Again, because I struggled so much with my learning disability growing up, and still do even today, self-identity/confidence is very much still relevant to my own life, and I think to almost every person out there who isn't a sociopath. I also think that (some) YA is so popular with adults is because it reminds them of their weaker self who was struggling to figure out who they are and where they belong.
In a way, I think it's an important theme that bridges the gap between age-groups.
Lastly, and most importantly, I just write what I what to write, and oddly enough, that just happens to be YA. Again, I think it's because of the themes that interest me... things like trust/betrayal/confidence/responsibility/etc, many of these just work better, and is more relevant, with younger characters, and appeals to younger readers as they are stepping out from under their parents' protection and gaining awareness of the larger world around them.
The themes, the age group of the characters, and the voice all dictate how a book is positioned in regards to categorization/audience.
Personally, I don't think a lot about categorization. I just write the book I want to write and figure it out from there.
As for the notion of limiting my prospects... well, that doesn't bother me. I've never had much of an interest in competing with other people because I spent so much time competing with myself. If I can write something I'm happy with, and others like it as well, I'd be 100% content.
I hope that answered your question, icyHighs :) If it hasn't, feel free to ask in the comment box, and if anyone else wants to chime in, you are perfectly welcome to do so :)
I'd love to hear about why you all write in the genres you do.
While I can happily spend hours upon hours analyzing my own words (or those of others) with the members of my writing group and online CP's, I balk at talking about writing to anyone else.
If someone else brings it up, I'll change the subject, flip it off with a joke or a sarcastic comment.
I can count on one hand the number of people (in real life, not online) who know I write.
It's not something I'm comfortable discussing.
And that's 'cause I'm both proud, and embarrassed by my own words.
Oddly enough, the two are inseparable. It's because I'm proud that I'm embarrassed. Because I'm embarrassed, I work harder so I can be proud.
It's a vicious cycle :)
A while back, someone asked me in the comments why I write YA and whether I thought it was limiting my prospects and, I admit, I've been thinking about the question ever since.
One reason I want to write YA is because it's harder.
...which is why my cycle of pride/embarrassment is relevant.
Let me take this from another angle. In animation, or even just in figure drawing, the difficulty level is night-and-day different between drawing male and female characters. Males are super easy 'cause they're made up of hard geometrical shapes and straight lines. Drawing females is murder. They have so many soft curves/round shapes that they're incredibly difficult. Even harder is animating them and keeping them *on-model* because, literally, a deviation of a line's breadth can make a female character look overweight or anorexic.
...you get three guesses as to which gender of characters I primarily focused on while in animation school.
So why is YA harder? Well, for one, that's like comparing a 10 second commercial to a full length film. In a commercial, you have an extremely limited timeframe to sell an idea whereas in a full length film, you've got 90 minutes.
Writing YA is like shooting a commercial. The audience won't put up with filler, obvious preaching/lesson-teaching, over-written descriptions/etc. Older readers will give you the benefit of the doubt/patience and read work that younger readers will not. YA has to be clean, sleek, and efficient as possible and teens can smell BS from three miles away.
So that's one reason I write YA.
Another reason is because I like the themes of YA, specifically the struggle for self-identity.
Again, because I struggled so much with my learning disability growing up, and still do even today, self-identity/confidence is very much still relevant to my own life, and I think to almost every person out there who isn't a sociopath. I also think that (some) YA is so popular with adults is because it reminds them of their weaker self who was struggling to figure out who they are and where they belong.
In a way, I think it's an important theme that bridges the gap between age-groups.
Lastly, and most importantly, I just write what I what to write, and oddly enough, that just happens to be YA. Again, I think it's because of the themes that interest me... things like trust/betrayal/confidence/responsibility/etc, many of these just work better, and is more relevant, with younger characters, and appeals to younger readers as they are stepping out from under their parents' protection and gaining awareness of the larger world around them.
The themes, the age group of the characters, and the voice all dictate how a book is positioned in regards to categorization/audience.
Personally, I don't think a lot about categorization. I just write the book I want to write and figure it out from there.
As for the notion of limiting my prospects... well, that doesn't bother me. I've never had much of an interest in competing with other people because I spent so much time competing with myself. If I can write something I'm happy with, and others like it as well, I'd be 100% content.
I hope that answered your question, icyHighs :) If it hasn't, feel free to ask in the comment box, and if anyone else wants to chime in, you are perfectly welcome to do so :)
I'd love to hear about why you all write in the genres you do.
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