Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Over and Over Again


Today’s RTW Question from YA Highway: What themes, settings, motifs, scenes, or other elements do you find recurring in your work?

This is such a good question and I wish I had more time to answer it…but I’m determined to post something earlier than 6pm! Some recurring elements I find in my work are:

·        Non-conventional endings: My WIP The Rose of Coracus does not have the ‘the boy and girl are together happily ever after’ ending. Because it’s not right for the pair. Perhaps it’s the bit of feminist in me, but I don’t think books—even romance-driven YA—need to have that conventional conclusion. If it’s not right for my characters, it’s not going to happen in my manuscript.

·        Patience: This relates to the first point. I was surprised to see that many of my characters have to exhibit non-teenage-like patience. They have to wait for what is right for them, work towards it even if it takes a long time. In this regard, I feel like my characters have a lot to teach readers—and me!

·        Female-Centered: Many of my manuscripts have scenes where women need to work together to stand up against patriarchy (an evil king, the Princess’s father, in Dueling Princesses for example) or highlight female-centered networks of support. (My goodness, I am a feminist!)

·         On a more superficial level, I doubt I will ever write a fantasy book that doesn’t include gorgeous dresses, quasi-medieval setting, a ball, and royalty!

Do you have any themes or such that reoccur in your writing? Share!


Also, last chance to help me out and let me know what you’d like to see here!



6 comments:

  1. I'm also a fan of unconventional endings.

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  2. I love, love, love me an unconventional ending. Happily Ever After is overrated.

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  3. Hooray for feminism! And unconventional endings.

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  4. I love happy endings, but if it's not right for the couple then it just isn't satisfying. I read SOMETHING BORROWED a while back... [SPOILERS]


    and remember thinking that I didn't want the two MC's to get together, even though they did. Saw the movie last night, and it struck me again. This was one instance where an unconventional ending would have suited the story much better. Who wants to end up with a guy like that?

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  5. I actually really like unconventional endings even if I root for the exact oposite to happen. It works really well in The Rose of Coracus. Though it sort of broke my heart because they were PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER, it was much truer to the story and characters. I felt this way about Possession's ending, too.

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  6. Thanks, guys, for all the unconventional ending support!

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