Why I Write: Thankfulness

In honor of Thanksgiving, I am giving thanks to the writing in my life.

I am thankful for my writing passion being so strong that I actually like working on weekends and holidays.

Why I Write: Children's Author Influences

 I choose to write young adult novels and started my writing journey with middle grade stories. The coming-of-age character is the one I connect with, but the authors who inspired me to read were the children’s authors I discovered in elementary school. While I read hundreds of phenomenal authors, the two writers who always pop into my head are Jean Craighead George and Cynthia DeFelice. George's Julie of the Wolves Trilogy and DeFelice’s The Ghost of Fossil Glen center on young women, aged thirteen and eleven respectively, who struggle to live like children, think like adults, protect and interact with the environment and its creatures, and represent the kinds of children that are needed in modern society.

Live Like a Child, Think Like an Adult

George’s character Julie, or Miyax, is raised in the Alaskan tundra with her widowed father until the age of thirteen, when she marries a boy her age and moves away. When her boy-husband tries to force himself on her (without graphic detail), Julie runs away and gets lost on the tundra. She is discovered by a small wolf pack who take her in as one of their pups and it is because of them that she finds shelter, food, and protection.

Married at thirteen is difficult enough without having to survive a season in the Alaskan tundra. George’s character is strong because of her determination to better her life, even if the process is dangerous and uncertain. Julie relies on her survival instincts, taught by her father, and the trust of the wolves. The alpha male is often portrayed as regal and trustworthy, the alpha female is caring and stern, and Julie’s favorite pup is precocious and brotherly. Attributing characteristics normally given to people gives these animals a humanistic persona, and the young reader will feel safer with the wolves in nature as Julie does rather than in a warm house with a misguided young man. This idea, that sometimes what is found in nature is safer than what we create in our society, is what children need to learn and understand in case they fear the situation they are in or are terrified of learning what is the unknown.

Why I Write: Origins

Growing up, everyone dreams of the ultimate fantasy career that he or she believes will make life perfect: police officer, firefighter, actress, singer, athlete, professional gamer, you name it. I thought I wanted to be a veterinarian before I learned I had a phobia of needles and fainted at the sight of blood. For many years I dreamed of becoming an astronomer and studying the planets, possibly discovering a new one and naming it after myself, but after five weeks in high school physics I laughed at the idea and dropped the course. Combining so much math with science was like listening to Spanglish: I could never keep up with which subject we were focusing on. Fortunately, writing pulled me in and whacked me over the head a few times to let me know that I was born to work with words. I may be a young writer, but my writing origins spanned eight years, starting with the preparation for the Writing TAAS Test, meeting the Texas Poet Laureate, and hearing the greatest advice I’ve ever been given.

Exit Exam



Why I Write: Young Adult

As a teenager, life is arguably the most dramatic it will ever be (without considering raising children and your spouse). For that reason a young adult is receptive and likely to change his or her beliefs or perspectives before the permanent transition into adulthood. Writing for young adults is crucial and should be given more seriousness by authors and readers. I may have been in high school daydreaming about boys more often than not, but the novels that stuck with me were the ones where self-discovery was more important than a high school crush. Novels like The Ranger’s Apprentice, His Dark Materials, and Stravaganza illustrate the necessity of understanding and trusting ourselves before we focus on friends, family, and romance.

The Ranger’s Apprentice

John Flanagan’s character goals for Will in The Ranger’s Apprentice included finding a purpose or career in life before giving himself to others, either in friendship or romance.