GOLDEN NUGGETS FROM THE SCBWI LA 2011 CONFERENCE

Here is some treasure I’m carrying in my pocket from this year’s SCBWI LA Conference.

Don’t throw anything away. You never know what might be “mineable” material. BRUCE COVILLE, Author

A big mistake is submitting your manuscript too early. TRACEY ADAMS, Agent from Adams Literary

Readers are not trends. They want a story full of heart and soul. LIBBA BRAY, Author of BEAUTY QUEENS (You have to listen to the audiobook. I’m still laughing.)

Know what came before you – classics and current works. STEVEN MALK, Agent Writer’s House & JON SCIESZKA, Author of STINKY CHEESE MAN (And a stack of other books I share with the kids in my class every year)

COWBOY AND OCTOPUS by JON SCIESZKA (I dare you not to giggle for days.)

Start a book on the day something different happens. JUDY BLUME, Author of countless amazing books

Help kids know there is more than one way to look at things. NORTON JUSTER, Author of THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH

Be the kid you were when “it” happened. ALAN SILBERBERG, Author of MILO, STICKY NOTES AND BRAIN FREEZE (I dare you not to feel your heart fill with laughter and your eyes with tears when you read MILO.)

History repeats in every human heart. RICHARD PECK, Author of A YEAR DOWN YONDER

The seed of my art was spinning in my soul. LAURIE HALSE ANDERSON, Author of SPEAK

I'm still floating on a cloud of inspiration. Sell the cat if you have to in order to go to SCBWI LA 2012. You'll never regret it.

Join the Conversation: YA Saves

Welcome to all the new followers of Yes, This Will Be on the Test. I’m delighted you’ve joined us. It was a thrill to hit the 100 followers mark. Thank you.

And now for something completely different:

I would be remiss and irresponsible if I did not add my voice to the chorus of protest against the offensive article in the Wall Street Journal, "Darkness Too Visible", by Meghan Cox Gurdon. Her words slammed young adult literature as containing “hideously distorted portrayals of what life is.” If you haven’t read the article please use the link and become informed/outraged.
 
The piece made my blood boil and turn into a cloud of red vapor. I am prepared to write a doctoral dissertation to rip apart this gross misrepresentation of YA lit. Instead I will hit on a few of the key points that have me seeing red.
 
AUTHORS PURPOSE:
Gurdon acts as if she intends to inform and warn parents about YA lit. More accurate words describing the thrust of this article would be:
1. Sensationalism: The journalistic use of exciting or shocking stories or language at the expense of accuracy in order to provoke public interest.
2. Propaganda: Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature used to promote a particular point of view.
 
WORD CHOICE:
The use of the word pathologies to sum up crucial teen issues is as insulting as it is ignorant. How dare you shove the challenges and life altering situations that face our teens today under an unfeeling term associated with disease? Being gay is not a disease. Being abused is not a disease. Being raped is not a disease. Psychological and emotional disorders are not obliterated with a simple vaccination like the measles.
 
HEAD IN THE SAND SYNDROME:
1.Foul Language: Ever ride on a junior high bus or sit next to a group of teens at a fast food restaurant? They are well versed in the language of profanity. Curse bombs are even being dropped on a daily basis on the elementary school playground. Kids don’t learn profanity from books. They learn it from life.
2. Faulty statistics: Going to a private school with a small student population to report the percentage of students reading YA books is skewed data, with a capital S. 

WHAT LIGHTHEARTED CLASSIC LITERATURE DID WE READ BEFORE YA BECAME A CATEGORY:
1.Jane Eyre – Man nearly commits bigamy since he keeps his lunatic wife locked up secretly in the house. Lunatic wife burns house down.
2. Lord of the Flies – Anarchy. Murder.
3. Add your own favorite example here… 
 
Why oh why is the Oprah show finished? I would love to see Oprah moderate a debate where the author of this biased article has to hold her own against the dream team of Laurie Halse Anderson, Libba Bray, Suzanne Collins, Ellen Hopkins, and yes, the Judy Blume. These creative warriors would tear her to shreds.
 
Let you own voice of outrage be heard. Blog about it. Register your thoughts on Facebook. Join the conversation on Twitter by weighing in under the hashtag #yasaves. Read through the tweets on #yasaves to hear an elegant artistic uproar. They will link you to some brilliant blogging thoughts.
 
And by all means go to this eloquent link by Laurie Halse Anderson to hear the heart of the matter.

As a mother and mentor of teen readers, a teacher, and a writer of YA, I say:

LONG LIVE YA LITERATURE!