Some reviews of Sweetness express that part of what is wrong with my books is that I'm still in high school. That got my mind rolling. Does that mean it would make a difference if I was in college?
Don't get me wrong; I do believe that improvement can happen as one grows older. However, part of me looks at it like this:
If I'm a bad writer, then I'm a bad writer. I'm not going to turn a 360 once I'm out of high school. What I'm getting at is that you can't blame the bad on age. I may be 18, but I do know some things. I do know what I'm talking about in certain situations. You don't have to agree with me. I'm not asking you to. But people deal with things differently and, for example, Jake deals with his alcoholic father as I do. It is possible to handle that situation as such. I know because that's, for the most part, how I handle my father. True, not everything that happens with Jake, happens with me.
But I've been there and I can relate. Maybe that's where readers are missing the point, for lack of better words. It may seem like they aren't dealing with it, but they are in their own way. No one deals with everything the same way. Maybe that's where I went wrong in not conveying good enough that they are dealing with their issues, just not how you would think one should/would.
Just because I'm in high school doesn't mean that I can't take things seriously. I've been through a LOT in my short lifetime, as I'm sure many have, and just because I'm 18 doesn't mean that I take things as if they don't matter.
It's all in word choice and maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way. I simply feel as if one should realize how their word choice affects the overall meaning. Saying that how you feel about my book is all explained by the fact that I'm in high school, honestly doesn't make much sense to me.
Okay. I'm done "ranting."
Hey there, check out this book, Bonjour Tristesse, by Francoise Sagan, on Goodreads. The author was 18 when it was published, that's her picture on the cover. It was her first novel, and it won many awards, including the very prestigious Prix de Critiques in 1954. It was made into a hugely popular film, and she went on to have a long and glorious writing career. Here's a link to the book, now considered a modern classic: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7797703-bonjour-tristesse. Now read the first community review, by Tatiana. Sound familiar? So, take what people say with a huge grain of salt, you never know what kind of issues or whatev they are dealing with. You've got talent, let 'em deal.
ReplyDeleteI have read both books for blog tours, I did not know you were 18 years old and now that I do this does not deflect me from absolutely loving both book. So what if you are still in High School. Surely that only helps with writing about teens.
ReplyDeleteI think you are a great author and I hope the critics don't put you off writing.