YA Guy Reviews... GO SET A WATCHMAN by Harper Lee!

YA Guy finally got around to reading Harper Lee’s GO SET A WATCHMAN. It’s not really a YA novel—in fact, it’s even less YA than its predecessor, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD—and I’ve been extra busy this semester teaching overloads and juggling writing projects. But I finally got a break on the teaching side, and before NaNoWriMo starts next month, I had a chance to sneak Lee’s novel in.

When WATCHMAN was published last year, a lot of people were disappointed, even devastated, by what they took to be the sequel to MOCKINGBIRD. They were troubled, first of all, to discover that this “sequel” wasn’t very well written (more about this later). They were upset by some of the events that occurred in the fictional Finch family as the thirties turned into the fifties. And they were dismayed to discover that saintly Atticus Finch had, apparently, become a racist and a Klansman in his declining years. For those who saw WATCHMAN as Lee’s carrying forward of the story she’d first told in MOCKINGBIRD, all of this seemed like a betrayal of a beloved classic.

But as we know now—actually, as we knew all along, only this wasn’t talked about much within the publishing industry because it might have hurt sales—WATCHMAN is manifestly not the sequel to MOCKINGBIRD. Quite the contrary, it’s Lee’s first draft, her first attempt to tell the story of Jean Louise Finch and the racial history of Maycomb County. She wrote it before MOCKINGBIRD, submitted it to her editor, Tay Hohoff, and was told that it needed drastic reworking before it could be published. Hohoff suggested that she refocus the story on Jean Louise’s childhood, the days when she was (to quote WATCHMAN) “Scout Finch, juvenile desperado, hell-raiser extraordinary” (49). That’s exactly what Lee did, and MOCKINGBIRD was the result.

WATCHMAN, in short, was never meant to be published, any more than any first draft is meant to be published. It got published only after Lee’s advancing age and infirmity made it impossible for her to block its publication. Had it been published by a scholarly press, with an editor to provide the context and annotate the text, one might have argued that it got published for academic reasons, as a means of providing students and teachers insight into a classic author’s writing process. Being published as it was, however, it’s quite clear that it was published largely to make a bunch of people in the publishing industry (and not Lee herself) rich.

Given that history, part of me wishes it had never been published. It really isn’t a very good novel; though the writing is confident at the sentence level, the plot is slow and fractured, the characters (including the adult Jean Louise) dull, the romance between Jean Louise and her childhood chum forced and uninteresting. To the extent that it’s harmed Lee’s posthumous reputation in the eyes of some, it’s unfortunate that her wishes regarding its publication weren’t respected, or that (as said above) it wasn’t at least published in an academic manner.

But if the reader in me, the lover of literature, feels this way, the writer and the teacher of writing feels differently. What WATCHMAN tells us is that writers, even writers of Lee’s immense and astonishing powers, seldom if ever get it right the first time; it’s by swallowing their pride, accepting the limitations of their first efforts, and engaging in the arduous process of revision that writers are able to do what they do. With NaNo approaching—and with so many people both inside and outside the publishing industry rushing to put inferior work out there simply because the “market” demands it or electronic publishing facilitates it—I think it’s important to remember that drafts are just that. They exist for a reason, but they’re not ends in themselves.

I can’t wait to re-read MOCKINGBIRD, which I plan to do now that I've finished reading it in draft form. I haven't read it for years, and I’m eager to be reminded of what Lee’s persistence, humility, and hard work enabled her to produce.

YA Guy... Takes a Break!

YA Guy's been writing novels for over forty years.

Well, that's not entirely true. I started writing novels when I was a bit under ten, and I'm a bit over fifty now, but I didn't complete a novel until I was sixteen, and I took a major break from novel-writing between graduate school (when I was in my early twenties) and my mid-forties. Plus, you know, I take the occasional break to eat, sleep, spend time with my kids, and so forth.

But my point is, I've been writing for a long time. And particularly in the past five years, from the completion of the first draft of Survival Colony 9 in 2011 to the publication of Scavenger of Souls just last week, it sometimes feels as if I've been writing nonstop. No sooner have I completed one project than I've moved on to another. That's the writing life: you're either working on one thing or promoting something else (usually both at the same time). It's relatively easy work physically, but it can be exhausting mentally and emotionally.

So I've decided to take a little break. Roughly four months, to be precise. From now until the beginning of 2017, I won't be writing anything new.

The timing is actually quite good. My daughter's a high school senior, so we'll be driving her around to visit colleges and so forth this semester. I'm teaching five classes (one more than usual), so there'll be a bit of a time crunch there. Plus I'm traveling some to promote Scavenger of Souls, so that's another time commitment. I've heard back from my editor about my forthcoming YA science fiction novel, Freefall, and she wants only minor changes, not any major rewriting. And I'm scheduled to have a sabbatical this coming spring, so for a solid four months I'll be able to devote the full workday to my current work in progress, the YA historical horror novel I'm calling Polar.

When I resumed writing novels five years ago, I had no idea how much work it would be. How could I? Like many novice authors, I had the illusion that I'd write a book, it would become an instant bestseller, and I'd be able to sit back and collect royalty checks while leisurely producing my next classic.

Well, live and learn.

When I told my agent, with some trepidation, that I'd be taking a little break from writing, she had this to say:

I support this 100% and am here whenever you are ready. Writing ebbs and flows and I totally respect that you need time to revitalize. Do what you want to do – take your time – write when the mood strikes and know I am always here!

So now you know, for one, why she's my agent. But you also know why I needed this break. Writing does ebb and flow; authors do need time to revitalize. Much as I respect those writers who seem able to work pretty much nonstop, I'm not one of them. Each writer needs to recognize his/her own strengths and needs and limitations; otherwise, you run the risk of burning out for good.

I'll still be blogging from time to time--when the mood strikes--and you'll probably see me around on Twitter or Facebook or live and in person. I hope you'll read Scavenger of Souls, and I hope you're looking forward to Freefall. Down the road, I'm sure you can expect more from me, starting with Polar and moving on from there.

But for now, YA Guy's taking a break.

YA Guy Reads... Historical Fiction!

YA Guy's always been a voracious reader. (Like, what author isn't?) Though there are certain genres I've focused on--YA and science fiction, most obviously--I've dipped into lots of others over the years, including biography and memoir, travel narratives, epic fantasy, mystery, and many more. I'm too restless a reader (and writer) to exclude anything!

So now, I find myself reading historical fiction, something I haven't done much of in the past. My new fascination with the genre is largely due to the fact that I've begun to write a historical novel myself, centered on Thoreau and his relationship with abolitionist John Brown. I'm discovering that there's some really good stuff out there, and while I'm in the thick of it, I thought I'd share it with you here.

Mr. Emerson's Wife by Amy Belding Brown. Ralph Waldo Emerson was married twice, first to Ellen Tucker, who died shortly after their marriage from tuberculosis, and then to Lydia Jackson, who bore him four children and lived with him through the rest of his life. This novel is told from Lydia's point of view, and it delves into the frustrations of being a woman in the nineteenth century, even (or especially) when one is the wife of a famous man. Though it's a bit disconcerting to delve into Emerson's intimate life, the book does a good job of humanizing characters whom most people think of as pure symbols or icons.

The Good Lord Bird by James McBride. There are many novels written about John Brown, and this one, which won the National Book Award, is well worth reading. Purporting to be the narrative of an escaped slave who rode with Brown in Kansas and survived his raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry (no such person actually existed), the novel seeks to deflate the Brown myth through comedy and satire. I wasn't crazy about that at first, but the book gains richness and resonance as it goes on.

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. Told in alternating points of view by Sarah Grimke, a southern slaveholder who became an abolitionist, and Handful, one of Sarah's slaves, this Oprah's Book Club novel does an excellent job of portraying the lives of antebellum women, black and white. For me, it bogged down a bit in the middle with its focus on Sarah's romantic entanglements, but it picked up thereafter, weaving other historical figures expertly into the tapestry of Sarah and Handful's lives.

Raising Holy Hell by Bruce Olds. Another John Brown novel, this one a kind of postmodern pastiche that combines actual quotations, newspaper clippings, slave laws, and other historical material with an inventive, fictionalized portrait of Brown. While I didn't agree with the author's representation of Brown as a complete madman, I found the technique intriguing.

Woodsburner by John Pipkin. Based on an actual event in which a young Thoreau accidentally burned down part of the Concord woods he so loved, this novel felt particularly well researched to me. Its cast of characters includes not only Thoreau but an opium-addicted minister and a businessman who discovers the new art of photography (and thereafter trades in pornographic images). You'll have to read it yourself to see how all of these strands tie together!

Cloudsplitter by Russell Banks. Yet another John Brown novel, this time narrated by Brown's son Owen, who accompanied his father to Virginia but stayed behind at Harpers Ferry and thus survived the raid. I haven't finished this book, mostly because it's nearly eight hundred pages long (!!!), but it promises to be another good read.

So there you have it! If you know of any other good historical novels--especially ones focusing on Thoreau, Brown, the Transcendentalists, and/or antebellum slavery--drop me a line!

YA Guy Talks about... Sequels!

YA Guy hasn't posted in a while, and there's a simple reason for that: I'm working on revisions to my sequel. (The title of which is no longer Skaldi City, but I'm not ready yet to tell you what the new title is.) Chances are I won't be posting much throughout the month of May.

Sequels are weird. Everyone says they're harder to write than the first book, and everyone is right.

I can think of lots of great sequels, books (and movies) that matched or surpassed their originals: The Lord of the Rings, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Tombs of Atuan, The Illearth War. I can also think of plenty of sequels that disappointed me for one reason or another.

But until you write one, you don't really realize what you're getting into. You've got to extend the story that started in the first book, keeping things consistent yet taking the narrator and other characters into entirely new places. You've got to expand and enrich the world, revealing information that wasn't evident in the first book (but that appears to unfold naturally from what was provided in that book). You've got to find the right balance between filling in what came before (for new readers) and assuming a certain familiarity (for returning readers). You've got to up the stakes, complicate the situations, heighten the tension, and pretty much blow every reader's mind, new or returning.

Oh, yeah, and you've got to tell a good story while you're at it.

Maybe this is why my sequel has gone through three distinct phases. In the first phase, it was a mess. I didn't know what the heck I was doing, and I went in a direction that simply wasn't workable. I basically had to jettison 80% of that manuscript and try again almost from scratch.

In the second phase, things were moving in the right direction, but there were significant issues with plot and character that needed to be resolved, not to mention significant dead spots in the manuscript that needed to be removed. Maybe 40% of that manuscript ended up on the cutting room floor.

And now we're on to phase three, which contains the 20% from phase one and the 60% from phase two. But it's not as if I could just stick those two chunks together and add another 20% to produce the 100% I need to have a complete manuscript. No, I'm having to rethink the whole thing yet again--not only to reconcile the disparate parts but to transcend them, to produce something better than either of the previous two attempts.

Survival Colony 9 went through multiple revisions too. But though some of those revisions were substantial--chapters moved around, character relationships altered, and so forth--none was as substantial as each of the major revisions I've undertaken with book two.

I'm happy with where the manuscript is going right now (though I still have lots more to do). I not only hope but believe it'll be at least as strong a book as its predecessor.

But after I'm done, I'm going to stick with stand-alones for a while. YA Guy needs a break.

YA Guy Discusses... My Writing Process!

Today YA Guy is participating in something fun: the “My Writing Process” blog tour!

The way this works is that each blogger on the tour answers four questions (see below) about their writing process. Then, each person invites three others to participate. I was invited by my friend (and fellow Pittsburgher) Stephanie Keyes, who blogs at www.stephaniekeyes.com. Her post went up on February 24^th, so you should definitely check back and see what she has to say!

And now, without further ado… my writing process!

1)     What am I working on?

At the moment, I’ve just started the third book in a series that begins with my YA science fiction debut, Survival Colony Nine, which releases September 23^rd of this year. Now, granted, the second book, Scavenger of Souls, hasn’t yet been accepted for publication, but why let that stop me? I don’t have an official title for this third book, though I’ve got two working titles that are as different as can be: Dark’s Dominion and Skaldi City. Anyone want to help me choose?

2)     How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I’d say there are a couple ways in which my work differs from many (but not all) others in the YA science fiction genre. First, I enjoy playing with genre itself, so you’ll find elements of fantasy, horror, and mystery in Survival Colony Nine and its sequel(s). Second, I’ve been told that my writing has a more “literary” style than many of its kin. That doesn’t surprise me, since I started my career as a literature teacher and my first short stories, before I started writing YA, appeared in journals that publish adult literary fiction.

3)     Why do I write what I do?

This is an easy one. I write speculative fiction because science fiction and fantasy have been my favorite genres since I was a kid. Most of my favorite books are in those two genres, and I’m not the slightest bit embarrassed to admit that I still love action figures, comic books, and movies like King Kong and Real Steel. (My wife hates movies like that, by the way, which makes for all kinds of interesting conversations on date night!) The reason I write speculative fiction specifically for young adults is that I have children of my own, and I’ve found that sci-fi and fantasy are among the best genres for sparking young readers’ imaginations and helping them explore the wonder, mystery, and challenge of life.

4) How does my writing process work?

I’m what people call a “pantser”--that is, I don’t plan out what I’m going to write beforehand. I might have a few tentative ideas before I start writing (the name of my main character, the location of the story, some sense of the villain or central conflict), but for the most part I just sit down at the keyboard and let the story unfold as it will. I make my best discoveries that way: I learn what I want to say in the process of saying it. That means a lot of backtracking once I’m done to plug plot holes, create consistency, and flesh out ideas that occurred to me as I was drafting. But the way I see it, you’re going to end up revising your novel multiple times no matter what (Survival Colony Nine went through seven complete edits), so it makes sense to me to adopt a writing process that maximizes the chance of discovering something cool along the way!

Thanks for stopping by! The three bloggers I’ve invited to participate in the tour, whose posts will appear on March 10^th, are:

Jimena Novaro loves reading and writing science fiction, fantasy, and YA. A self-proclaimed geeky sort of nerd, she spends a lot of her time fangirling over her favorite shows, books, and bands. Her first book, Blue Rabbit, a YA urban fantasy, is available now! Jimena blogs at http://www.jimenanovaro.com.

Kat Ross worked as a journalist and editor covering climate change and environmental issues for more than a decade before writing her dystopian thriller Some Fine Day, which is set at the turn of the next century. It imagines a world eight degrees hotter that's ravaged by hypercanes, massive storms the size of continents. She can be found online at www.katrossbooks.com and on Twitter @katrossauthor

Sarah J. Schmitt is a K-8 school librarian and Youth Service Professional for Teens at a public library who gleefully takes on the challenge of matching students up with the book that opens them up to the joys of reading. She is an active member of SCBWI, ALA, and the Indiana Library Federation, and is a regular participant at the Midwest Writer's Workshop. Her debut novel, It's a Wonderful Death (Strange Chemistry, Fall 2014), is described as Mean Girls meets A Christmas Carol. To learn more about her, visit www.sarahjschmitt.com and follow her on Twitter @SJSchmitt.

Hope you’ll keep following the tour!