Continuing our discussion of banned books (and gearing up for Banned Book Week), check out this awesome post by Laurie Halse Anderson about schools trying to ban her books. The excerpts from her readers’ letters are especially powerful.
So, I had started writing a different post today (which will now be posted tomorrow), but after reading Jamie Harrington and Elana Johnson‘s blogs today, I decided it was time for me to address this as well. This is a topic that has been on my mind for quite some time.
I have heard (okay, probably read) people talk before about Young Adult authors being responsible for what their audience is reading. “We are the adults,” they say, “we need to use our writing to teach the readers about life and the world.” Jamie wonders if by having her characters engage in bad behavior, is she promoting bad behavior or telling it like it is? Elana, on the other hand, believes young adult authors have a solemn responsibility to show readers the consequences of bad behavior. So where do I stand on this?
As a young adult author, I believe I have these responsibilities:
- Tell a great story.
- Write real, believable characters.
- Stay true to my characters and plot.
- Entertain.
You will notice that nowhere in this list is the term “teach readers morals and good judgement.” That is not my job. My job as a writer is to entertain the reader, nothing more. Morals and good judgement should be taught by the parents. Unfortunately, the sad fact is there are parents out there who do not teach their children these things. But that doesn’t mean the bill falls on authors.
If an author puts a scene in her book of characters participating in underage drinking at a party, it does not mean the author is trying to promote underage drinking. The author is merely putting a real element of life into her book (and hopefully it propels the story, so it isn’t just gratuitous). Yes, there are consequences of underage drinking, and maybe the author will show these. Maybe not. It should be shown only if it helps move the story forward.
Young Adults are smart, perceptive people. They will know if they are being preached to. I believe it is only appropriate to put lessons and consequences in a novel if they directly help move the story along. Are these lessons being learned by a character? Then great, they are an important part of character development. But if we as writers put lessons into our books to try to teach our readers morals, we are doing them and ourselves a disservice. Teenagers hate to be preached to, and they know when you are doing it. Chances are, they will put a preachy book down and not pick it up again.
I write novels, not lesson manuals. I am not writing to teach a moral code.
4 Comments
I agree with all of your points. In my opinion, in order to write real, believable characters, you have to give them consequences. If not, it stops being real and believable. I know that teens don’t get caught every time they do something wrong. I also know they get when they’re being preached to. I also believe that parents bear the burden of teaching their children. As a school teacher, trust me, I believe this with all my heart.
I think, for me, I do carry that burden of showing consequences. Because I’ve made the choice to be that kind of author. For you, you don’t feel like you need to. And I think that’s fine. It’s all about what our goals are when we sit down to write.
Excellent discussion!
My favorite part of your comment: “And I think that’s fine.” I have come across people in the past that had the “my way or the highway” mentality, so I love when people can share their opinion without trying to force others out of theirs. I do agree in giving consequences to characters, I just don’t agree with those people who tell me the consequences the characters get have to teach the readers some sort of lessons. Sometimes consequences don’t seem to “fit the crime”, so to speak.
And you are right–this has been a great discussion. I have been enjoying reading it and participating in it all over the internet today.
I’ve thought a lot about this today, and I think that ultimately the biggest responsibility we have is to our characters. We have to be true to them, and we have to write them in the way we see fit. It’s impossible to imagine my characters making good clean choices all the time, because they’re super villains. And, if every time they did something bad, I stopped to live in their mistakes–well then it would make for a pretty preachy little story there.
In the end, it’s about being true to the story, and true to the plotline. The hard part is that we, as authors, are ultimately in charge of every single bit of type that goes on the page–because it’s OUR name that goes on the cover next to that title.
That is a great point, Jamie. Staying true to the characters and the story should be our focus, whether we are talking about consequences to actions or any other aspect of our book.
What a great conversation all over the web today!