Guest Post: Erica Chapman - Why I Write YA?

Hi Everyone!

Big thanks to Dolly for inviting me to “share time” with all of you ;o) I’ve enjoyed the other posts in this series and can’t wait to see who’s next!

In the beginning…

I didn’t start out writing YA and most certainly not paranormal. In fact, I started with poetry. I’m going to get all “honest and sharey” here for a moment. The death of my dad was a huge catalyst for me to write. I wrote my first poem at sixteen after I found out he committed suicide. His death uprooted deeply hidden emotions that could only manifest on the white paper of my kitten journal. It was quite therapeutic, and I owe a lot to my early writing.

“ahh back to snarky, sarcastic me”

What came next was only natural…

I wrote poetry about boys! Once in a while I threw in something about life… blah blah. But boys were more interesting. Those poems are under lock and key, and will stay that way FOREVER. Ha.

So on came adulthood *sigh* I’m fighting it with all I got.

But. I have a confession. I’m a bit jaded. *gasp* I know. Hard to believe, but alas, I’m an adult and therefore have racked up some cynicism and intolerance.

You know what pulled me out of my humdrum life?

Harry Potter.

Yes. Harry Potter got me reading again after a long draught, after thinking life was just one boring political argument after another. I needed more. So thus began my love for YA (yes, I know Harry is MG, but it’s like my gateway book) *ahem* JK Rowling is brilliant. I realize I didn’t mention her yet, but she’s kind of like Madonna, when you say, “Like a Prayer” you know who sings it, right?

So after HP, I devoured the Twilight series in one week, Hunger Games series (well the 2 that are out) in 4 days, and lots of others. I loved reading about vampires/werewolves/ghosts. Put paranormal into a YA book and I’m sold. (yes, I also know that Hunger Games isn’t paranormal)It’s the first loves, complications, the angst that drew me in. You know, the stuff I wrote about as a teen. I immediately formed my own ideas and realized… I wanted to write my own story.

I began with a story that ended up not even being YA, in fact, it was a mystery. I moved on to an Adult Paranormal story about the Devil and the snatchers that took bodies from Earth (you know light stuff like that). But, something was missing. So. During NaNoWriMo, I decided I would try my hand at YA Paranormal. I fell in love. There’s something about re-living those first moments, about experiencing things as if it were my first time but with a paranormal twist, that fits me.

With YA there’s a great opportunity to express something to an audience I don’t normally socialize with. (not that I wouldn’t, just don’t come across any teens).

Writing YA is amazing. The voice has to be authentic; you have to make sure not to instill your own beliefs and jadedness into the words. It’s hard. I’ll admit it. I’ve had to go back and edit my cynical statements, but there’s something really rewarding about living as a teen again.

So.

Would I ever consider going back in time and re-living my teen years if someone magically built a super-awesome time machine with a flux capacitor?

Not if you paid me a trazillion dollars.

Would you?

Come over and say “what’s up!”

laugh.write.play.blog –http://ersworkinprogress.blogspot.org
website - http://ericachapman.com

Thanks ;o)