fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #3229 ]

⌈ Secret Post #3229 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.

[Devil Survivor 2]

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02.

[Undertale]

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03.

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04.

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05. [SPOILERS for How to Get Away With Murder]

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06. [SPOILERS for Undertale]

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07. [WARNING for underage]

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08. [WARNING for suicide]

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09. [WARNING for rape]
http://i.imgur.com/MtRDOAU.jpg
[link for implied baby... sex? i don't know]

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 000 secrets from Secret Submission Post #461.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 1 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

This is just as much about YA in general as it is about paranormal YA, but whatever:

Less focus on romance, more focus on character development and aspects of growing up other than "DOES THIS CUTE BOY LIKE ME?"

When I was still a teenager I often dismissed YA literature as stupid and trite. It seemed to me that for YA characters, all their teenage angst revolved entirely around romance and/or sex, and I was tired of "teenage issues" being equated totally with romance and sexuality. Obviously those are important topics for most if not all teenagers, but I would have to liked to have seen other issues explored more in-depth.

Stuff like the fear of becoming an adult (or the paradox of both wanting to be an adult but at the same time being nervous about it and sometimes even wishing you could go back to being a child), coming to terms with growing apart from your friends as you age, coming to terms with the world and the people you know being really very different from how you've always envisioned them, getting to know your parents and teachers and authority figures as people and not just "grown-ups". Basically, the way your relationships and perceptions change as you start the transition from childhood to adulthood.

In particular, the gradual shift from the black and white morality through which children view everything to an adult's more nuanced, complex vision of reality. That's a topic I'd love to see explored more. And there are so many ways to approach it in genres like sci-fi and fantasy, where characters deal with fantastic problems on top of mundane problems, emotional reactions are frequently exaggerated by extraordinary circumstances, and everything "unrealistic" can potentially be an allegory or metaphor for real life issues and dynamics!

And of course, there are ways to work romance and/or sexuality into all of the above WITHOUT writing a story that's entirely about romance and/or sexuality.

(BTW, I'm not saying there's no YA literature whatsoever that deals with the things I describe above, just that I wish there was MORE of it. More is always good.)

Avoiding romance-centric stories?

That was the first idea I had for this. I agree with you 100%

I really like your suggestion "fear of growing up/remaining a kid". I feel like this can be a good coming of age that doesn't necessarily focus on a romantic partner. I'd like it even more if there was no romantic partner if the first book (sure, a small crush could be acknowledge every now and then)but damnit! The world is going on without me/or whatever!

That particular feeling is especially raw now as I'm in my early 20s and "moving forward". Questioning what makes you an adult and what doesn't.

For the OP, I also think that focusing on familial or friendship relations is important. Mentors are always pretty cool, but I don't think there should be someone to solve all the protagonist's problems; and if you stick with what the poster above mentioned about black and white morality, maybe the protagonist begins to see that their mentor isn't as black and white as he/she thought.

Side note:
I dislike the idea/trope of beautiful monsters. I mean, I do think they should be attractive, at least something is alluring, that's all part of the appeal--the danger. There's something about them that draws you in, but at the same time something that repels you. And I think that at the moment of "monstrosity" (as it were), the monster should like what it is--no dissemblance of what we want it to be. I.e. the vampire may be somewhat attractive, but when the time comes to bite, you gtfo because you're scared and this isn't who you thought it was.

Very good point. "DOES THE CUTE BOY/GIRL LIKE ME?" is a very emotionally fraught aspect of growing up of course, but sometimes YA treats it like it's the ONLY issue that matters.

I'd also like to see more friendships. They can be so intense at that age, but you rarely see it as a main focus in YA paranormal.

I could give you a list of the YA books I've read where the main conflict isn't "does this cute boy like me?" But that list would be way too long, since it's basically all YA I've read barring a few, and you sound like the kind of person who thinks any mention of it automatically makes it the main conflict, anyway.

[ SECRET POST #3229 ]

Re: Things You'd Like To See In Paranormal YA

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Re: Things You'd Like To See In Paranormal YA