Ask the Author: Hannah Allen Abbott
Answered Questions (5)
Hannah Allen Abbott
When I met Tammy Pierce in about 1983, she was revising "The Song of the Lioness" for the young adult market. She talked about the challenge of conforming to the word count, the fourth-grade vocabulary, and sentences of a certain length. Nearly fifteen years later, J.K. Rowling blew that all away with her Harry Potter series.
For me, writing for young adults vs old adults is a matter of content. I've only written one book so far that isn't suitable for young adults, and the difference pretty much boils down to the sexual content. For young readers, I write romantic relationships, physical attraction, even lovemaking, but not actual sex. In my three published books (the erotic one isn't published yet), all the lovemaking occurs in the context of marriage (which isn't true of a lot of YA). I have read all my finished books except for the erotic one to my children. I figure if I can read it to my ten-year-old daughter, it's suitable for young adult.
I don't believe in writing down to young readers. I don't avoid big words, just obscure ones that wouldn't be clear in context. I put in as much detail as the story seems to call for, and try not to get bogged down in descriptive material. But I don't tailor my stories for young or old readers either way. I just write fantasy. I'd like to think that if my story is engaging for a 14-y-o, it will also be engaging for a 40-y-o. In fact, most of my readers are at least 40, yet my few young readers love my books.
I don't write for readers much below the age of 13. I think that really does take a different approach just because so many of them are still developing their fluency, vocabulary, and stamina. For an example of good youth literature, in what I think would be called the chapter book category, I'd refer you to most of Andrew Clements's books. Somehow all my stories are too big for that medium. :-)
For me, writing for young adults vs old adults is a matter of content. I've only written one book so far that isn't suitable for young adults, and the difference pretty much boils down to the sexual content. For young readers, I write romantic relationships, physical attraction, even lovemaking, but not actual sex. In my three published books (the erotic one isn't published yet), all the lovemaking occurs in the context of marriage (which isn't true of a lot of YA). I have read all my finished books except for the erotic one to my children. I figure if I can read it to my ten-year-old daughter, it's suitable for young adult.
I don't believe in writing down to young readers. I don't avoid big words, just obscure ones that wouldn't be clear in context. I put in as much detail as the story seems to call for, and try not to get bogged down in descriptive material. But I don't tailor my stories for young or old readers either way. I just write fantasy. I'd like to think that if my story is engaging for a 14-y-o, it will also be engaging for a 40-y-o. In fact, most of my readers are at least 40, yet my few young readers love my books.
I don't write for readers much below the age of 13. I think that really does take a different approach just because so many of them are still developing their fluency, vocabulary, and stamina. For an example of good youth literature, in what I think would be called the chapter book category, I'd refer you to most of Andrew Clements's books. Somehow all my stories are too big for that medium. :-)
Hannah Allen Abbott
Writing at home with my beautiful black 17-year-old cat purring in my lap.
Hannah Allen Abbott
Assuming you're writing in English, learn the conventions. Learn the difference between "lay" and "lie," especially in the past tenses. (This is my number one pet peeve.) Learn when to use "Tom and me" vs "Tom and I." (This is my number two pet peeve, and it's all too commonly done wrong.) Learn how to punctuate dialog. Double-check your homophones (it's/its, your/you're, led/lead).
Proofread. If possible, read your work out loud to someone. This is my best form of proofing. It slows me down enough to see every character and to notice every missing word. Also, my listeners (usually my children) catch inconsistencies in the material.
Don't assume that what you hear and see in the media is correct. I'm dismayed by the increasing amount of incorrect grammar I hear and see--everywhere. Get reference materials and use them, such as "The Chicago Manual of Style," "The Careful Writer," and "Strunk and White's Elements of Style." There are free guides on line, though I prefer something I can thumb through.
Once you finish your manuscript, it won't be proofed and edited the way it would have been forty years ago, so it's up to you to get it right.
Proofread. If possible, read your work out loud to someone. This is my best form of proofing. It slows me down enough to see every character and to notice every missing word. Also, my listeners (usually my children) catch inconsistencies in the material.
Don't assume that what you hear and see in the media is correct. I'm dismayed by the increasing amount of incorrect grammar I hear and see--everywhere. Get reference materials and use them, such as "The Chicago Manual of Style," "The Careful Writer," and "Strunk and White's Elements of Style." There are free guides on line, though I prefer something I can thumb through.
Once you finish your manuscript, it won't be proofed and edited the way it would have been forty years ago, so it's up to you to get it right.
Hannah Allen Abbott
The three you refer to are Patricia McKillip, Andrew Clements, and Ellis Peters.
I have loved McKillip's ethereal, lyrical prose ever since I first read "The Throme of the Erril of Sherill" in 1979. Reading McKillip influenced me to pay more attention to the music of my words. Her success as an author gave me hope that some people out there still appreciate beautiful writing and are not afraid of words they might not have encountered before. McKillip's dreamlike storytelling also gave me the sense that sometimes letting the reader wonder what the heck is going on can be the very hook that keeps them reading.
I consider Clements my mentor in writing from multiple points of view. His stories are told primarily from the POV of the central character, but they're sprinkled with in-depth views into the psyches of parents, teachers, and friends. I don't do this in all of my books, of course. "The Black Stag" and "The Pearl Singer" are both first person, but "The Sword and the Tear" is told from multiple points of view. A lot of past history is presented in "Tear," and where dialog would have been unwieldy, I presented it through the memories of various characters. I wanted to tell only what the characters themselves would know (or believe) and weave that together.
Peters is a model for me of presenting a down-to-earth medieval world. I confess (how appropriate) that I'm still working on that ideal. Not the murder aspect, of course, but the feeling of real life and real people. I try to paint a real world yet not go overboard with detail.
These are three very different aspects of writing that I still work at. I will have to depend on my readers to let me know how I'm doing. :-)
Note: I have confirmed with this reader that these are the influences she intended. HAA
I have loved McKillip's ethereal, lyrical prose ever since I first read "The Throme of the Erril of Sherill" in 1979. Reading McKillip influenced me to pay more attention to the music of my words. Her success as an author gave me hope that some people out there still appreciate beautiful writing and are not afraid of words they might not have encountered before. McKillip's dreamlike storytelling also gave me the sense that sometimes letting the reader wonder what the heck is going on can be the very hook that keeps them reading.
I consider Clements my mentor in writing from multiple points of view. His stories are told primarily from the POV of the central character, but they're sprinkled with in-depth views into the psyches of parents, teachers, and friends. I don't do this in all of my books, of course. "The Black Stag" and "The Pearl Singer" are both first person, but "The Sword and the Tear" is told from multiple points of view. A lot of past history is presented in "Tear," and where dialog would have been unwieldy, I presented it through the memories of various characters. I wanted to tell only what the characters themselves would know (or believe) and weave that together.
Peters is a model for me of presenting a down-to-earth medieval world. I confess (how appropriate) that I'm still working on that ideal. Not the murder aspect, of course, but the feeling of real life and real people. I try to paint a real world yet not go overboard with detail.
These are three very different aspects of writing that I still work at. I will have to depend on my readers to let me know how I'm doing. :-)
Note: I have confirmed with this reader that these are the influences she intended. HAA
Hannah Allen Abbott
Not my most recent, but for The Pearl Singer:
After reading some of Gail Carson Levine's wonderful books, such as "Ella Enchanted" and "Fairest," I wanted to write a book from the point of view of Thumbelina. I thought about it for several years without much direction, but the real inspiration for making her a singer in multiple voices when I learned about the throat singers of Tuva and a friend recommended a movie called "Ghengis Blues," in which an African American blues singer taught himself throat singing and went to Mongolia to compete in the throat singing competition. The thought that real people can sing in multiple voices suddenly gave "the Pearl Singer" its complete form.
After reading some of Gail Carson Levine's wonderful books, such as "Ella Enchanted" and "Fairest," I wanted to write a book from the point of view of Thumbelina. I thought about it for several years without much direction, but the real inspiration for making her a singer in multiple voices when I learned about the throat singers of Tuva and a friend recommended a movie called "Ghengis Blues," in which an African American blues singer taught himself throat singing and went to Mongolia to compete in the throat singing competition. The thought that real people can sing in multiple voices suddenly gave "the Pearl Singer" its complete form.
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