Words for Nerds #AtoZChallenge--Y is for YA (an interview)

Shevi: Hi, YA!

YA: (Continues to text on her phone, her face partially hidden behind her hair. She shrugs.)

Shevi: We’re here to set people straight about all the mistaken assumptions they have about you.

YA: (Pausing but not looking up from her phone) Yeah! People just don’t get me.   

Shevi: I think most people know that YA stands for “Young Adult.”

YA: (Sighs and rolls her eyes) I don’t like being called that anymore. I’d rather be called “Teen.”

Shevi: Totally understandable, since that’s clearly what you are.

YA: Duh!

Shevi: Okay, so I think most people know that YA books are books with main characters who are between thirteen and seventeen years old.

YA: Yes, but we’re not all the same.

Shevi: Right! There’s younger YA, which is more for teens between thirteen and fifteen. And then there’s older YA, which is more for teens between sixteen and seventeen.

YA: Because we’re dealing with different stuff.

Shevi: Absolutely! For example, the Georgia Nicolson books by Louise Rennison, like Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging, deal with friendships, first crushes, everyday family stuff . . .

YA: And the character is younger, so that’s definitely younger YA.

Shevi: Yes. And my Legend of Gilbert the Fixer series that starts with Why My Love LifeSucks has a seventeen-year-old character dealing with the last year of high school and who he wants to be after high school.

YA: Definitely older YA.

Shevi: Yes.

YA: But it’s only like PG-13, so younger teens can read it.

Shevi: Yes, and that’s true of a lot of YA. Younger teens can read it. They just might not necessarily relate to it. It depends on the maturity of the particular reader and what they’re going through.

YA: (Back to texting) Yeah.

Shevi: And that’s one of the misconceptions I’d like to clear up. Some people think that any book with a teenage protagonist is a YA, and that’s just not the case.

YA: (Laughs) Yeah, because if that was true, all those Disney princess movies would be YA, and they’re so not!

Shevi: Right! A YA novel has to deal with same things teens are dealing with today. Like first romantic relationships.

YA: (Blushes) Ewwww . . . Don’t talk about that out loud, okay?

Shevi: Don’t worry. It’s just between the reader and you.

YA: (Nods and goes back to texting)

Shevi: Two other common misconceptions are that a YA book has to be completely clean . . .

YA: (Laughs) Yeah, no.

Shevi: Or that YA books can only be issue books that deal with things like sex, violence, drugs . . .

YA: (Blushes) Yeah, no.

Shevi: A YA book can certainly deal with serious issues. That’s fine. But there are all kinds of YAs.

YA: Yeah, just like there are all kinds of teens.

Shevi: Exactly. And a YA refers to an audience age-group, not a genre. A YA can be in any genre. It can be an issue book, but it can also be a comedy, a fantasy novel, a science fiction novel . . .

YA: (Excited) Have you read The Hunger Games? It’s ah-mazing!

Shevi: That’s another thing. You don’t have to be a teen to appreciate YA. A good book is a good book, no matter how old you are.

YA: Thank you!

Shevi: Before we go, is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?

YA: (Looks up and puts her phone down. She takes a deep breath and lets it out.) I wish people would stop telling me what to do.

Shevi: Meaning?

YA: Some writers treat us like we’re little kids. They don’t understand who we are or what we’re going through. They lie to us. They’re not honest. You don’t have to tell me what to do or think or feel. I can do those things for myself! It’s like . . . it’s like they don’t respect me.

Shevi: (Nods) I think that’s something every writer should keep in mind, no matter who their audience is. No one likes to be condescended to. I know I don’t. And you know what else?

YA: (Shrugs)

Shevi: I love your honesty. I think that’s what makes you one of my favorite categories of books. You don’t waste time but get straight to the point.

YA: (Blushes) I like that about me, too. 

Shevi: So I hope that clears up a few misconceptions. If you want to know more, just check out the books in the the teen section of your local library or bookstore. The more you read, the more you'll realize how great YA books are. 

Writing Words for Nerds #AtoZChallenge--G is for Geek

I speak geek, and I write words for nerds.

Many see these two words--geek and nerd--as interchangeable, but I don't. I see them as similar terms for two different parts of the same thing.

Gilbert Garfinkle from Why My Love Life Sucks (The Legend of Gilbert the Fixer Book 1) is the ultimate teenage geek and nerd, and that to me makes him the ultimate hero.

For me, being a geek is all about the heart. It's about passion. It's about what you love and how much you love it. A geek geeks out about stuff that other people don't, not to that degree. That's how passionate we geeks are. If you love something to the point where others find it excessive, you're a geek--like me.

Being a nerd, on the other hand, is all about the head. It's about knowing about something to the point where others find it excessive. I'm a book and writing nerd. I study these things with a passion others might find excessive. When it comes to most things, though, I'm more of a geek than a nerd. I wish I knew more about the things I geek over, but my memory just isn't that good. I can always find someone who knows way more about these topics than I do.  

For example, I'm a Whovian, which means I adore Doctor Who. I have several Doctor Who t-shirts and several pieces of Doctor Who jewelry. I even have Van Gogh "Starry Night" socks because of one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes. But I'm not a Doctor Who nerd, because I would almost certainly fail any serious Doctor Who quiz. I know all the basics, of course. I can tell my Daleks from my Cybermen, and I know you must not blink when you see a Weeping Angel.  But go beyond that, and I get my episodes and monsters and Doctors and companions mixed up.

I'm a general all-round geek. I geek out over all kinds of things, from books and comic books to movies and TV shows to scientific discoveries and new tech. But when it comes to books and writing, I'm also a nerd because of my passionate need to know as much as I can about this one particular topic.

It takes a curious mind to be a nerd, and not everyone has that.

But I believe everybody can and should be a geek. We should all find something that we are excessively passionate about. Something that makes us beyond excited. Something that makes us geek out in the most exquisitely, embarrassingly geeky way. Something that makes us squee for joy.

Whichever label you use, I'm glad to be a geek or a nerd.  Life is so much better when you care this much about something.

So what makes you geek out? Let me know in the comments below.  

Want to geek out with me? The best way is to follow me on Twitter at https://Twitter.com/SheviStories.