Love in YA – The Problem with Insta-Love

(“L” is for LOVE in the A to Z Blog Challenge)  If the interwebs are to be believed, YA readers are sick of insta-love – that moment when the heroine sees a cute stranger and decides immediately he’s the one! On Goodreads people have made “No Insta-Love” shelves and there’s even a Listopia “Young Adult …
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Dropping the F-Bomb in YA Lit

(Yes, I scored the letter “F” in the A to Z Blog Challenge!) At a writing conference the topic of swearing in YA lit came up. I was surprised some writers vehemently believed you couldn’t put the F-word in a YA novel. They claimed no agent or editor would publish it with that word (or …
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Friday Inspiration: Seven YA Books that Inspire Me to Write Better

Great books inspire great writing. Without further ado, the novels that push me to be my creative best…   SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson This is the first YA book I ever bought. I read it yeeeeeears ago, when I was about 22. Though I can’t remember the details, I do remember the issue and …
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