Genre Talk

The Dark New World of YA Neo-Noir Fiction Writing

Feb 27, 2017 | Genre Talk, Writing

Dark streets. Shadowy figures. Tough talk. A dead body. film noir

Have we just walked into a 1930s Humphrey Bogart film noir movie?

No, we’re stepping into one of the hot new contemporary subgenres: YA neo-noir.

Noir writing made a big comeback a few years ago, but the legendary Dashiell Hammett’s stomping ground was brought forward by 21st century writers into today’s neo-noir books. The main difference between classic noir and neo-noir is that neo-noir is set in contemporary times.

neo-noir film Now, you might be scratching your head and thinking that “YA noir” of any type is an oxymoron. After all, isn’t noir centered around vice? And aren’t vices supposed to be kept out of the tender hands of young readers?

Not anymore.

The original rules that vices like smoking, foul language and such need to be minimized or edited out of YA writing has been replaced by a “keeping it real” attitude. Because guardians and authority figures like teachers, librarians and parents were traditionally the ones making decisions on what books would be purchased for preteens and teens, authors were told to keep it clean. Or at least keep vices minimal or merely hinted at.

While it might not be a great idea to have teen characters choking down smoke after neo noir smoke like Bogart or tossing back a string of shots, contemporary characters can be more realistic to today’s teen or young adult behaviors. The key is to not make it gratuitous; don’t force vices on your characters, just do what makes sense for them, their age and their situations.

YA neo-noir can touch on other genres too, it doesn’t have to be a standard detective-victim-femme fatale mystery type of story (though you certainly can do that too). You can delve into noir fantasy, horror, sci-fi and whatever other subgenres work well with it.

So with the restrictions on YA looser, new subgenres are born and writers can flex their artistic muscle even further. If you’re writing a YA neo-noir short story or book, we’d love to hear how you’re handling the darker side of things!

Which Book Challenge is Which?

Jan 12, 2015 | Authors, Genre Talk

Ever wish you read more in a year than you do? Ever wish your reading list was more diversified? Look no further, book challenges are the thing this year. Never have we seen so many book challenges of different types or so many readers participating.

Here are some great ones to join:

Book Riot’s 2015 Read Harder Challenge

This is an extremely diverse list that will have you reading all over the world, all genres, and even some different age ranges. If you’re looking to broaden your horizons, this is the book challenge for you. 24 challenges included.

Popsugar’s Reading Challenge 2015

This challenge will get you well read in no time. You’ll read something from every category you can think of. It’s not as culturally diverse as Book Riot’s challenge, but it concentrates heavily on book settings, plots, and conversation pieces. You’ll have lots to talk about with your friends. 50 challenges included.

Goodreads’ Yearly Challenge

Every year, you can challenge yourself on Goodreads to read a certain number of books in 365 days. You can pick 20, you can pick 200, but the great thing is that it measures your progress for you. If you have an account, just enter the number of books you’d like to read throughout the year. Every time you finish a book you’re reading and enter the info into Goodreads as usual (you don’t have to do anything special, just make it as read), your count for the year will increase automatically. It plans how many books you should read per week/month/whatever makes sense for your chosen number and tells you if you’re on track or behind schedule. What kinds of books you choose to read is up to you.

Bingo Challenges

There are Bingo book challenges all over the Internet. Goodreads groups have them and so do many book blogs. The idea is to fill out as much of a card as possible and, of course, try to fill out a row to make BINGO. Many of these are themed. For example, some revolve around Victorian authors and books, so you’ll have to read books from certain years, certain authors, and about certain subjects, all from the Victorian era.

For tons more challenges from some blogs you have and loads you have not heard of, visit You, Me, and a Cup of Tea’s 2015 Reading Challenges page.

Proof Positive’s challenge to you is to make 2015 a year of indie reads, whether you read on your own, as part of a group, or as part of a challenge. Support your indie authors throughout the year, and don’t forget to leave reviews for them in as many places as possible. It helps them out a lot.

Happy reading in 2015!

Need Inspiration?

Oct 13, 2014 | Genre Talk

by Sandra Ardoin, Inspirational Historical Romance Author

The Shack, A Log Cabin Christmas, Into the Free, Dying to Read, the Left Behind series. Karen Kingsbury, Francine Rivers, Wanda Brunstetter, Terri Blackstock, Cindy Woodsmall.

What do these books and authors have in common? First, the novels are written from a Christian world view. Second, each title and author has made the New York Times Best Sellers list. And I could name more of each.

For a long time, most fiction from a Christian world view revolved around sweet romance. Then Frank Perretti (another NY Times best seller) took up where C. S. Lewis of Narnia fame ended and opened the market to fiction that dealt with stronger issues than prairie romance—namely, demons and spiritual warfare. From then on, it was no longer grandma’s Christian fiction.

Or maybe it still is.

Middle-class female adults make up the bulk of readers, and romance tops the genre list. It doesn’t matter if it’s contemporary romance, romantic suspense, or historical romance. People love love whether it’s between a fictional hero and heroine or in their own relationship with God.

I recently conducted an informal survey and asked readers why they chose Christian fiction. Here are some of the reasons they repeated over and over:

It’s clean – This was number one. Not everyone wants to read scenes with explicit sex or coarse language. These readers are not prudes or ostriches. They simply want G and PG stories that won’t leave certain images and words lodged in their minds. It’s the old computer philosophy of “garbage in/garbage out.” (The Biblical version can be found in Philippians 4:8. J)

It’s relevant – One of the biggest complaints I’ve heard against books in this market is what I call the “roses and lollipops” impression. Characters live in an unrealistic world. (See paragraph three above.)

When I asked what has changed over the last decade and what readers would like to see, I got the same basic answer: relevancy. People were happy to see that authors now tackled subjects they dealt with in everyday life—single parenting, alcoholism, divorce, etc. And they want to see more of it. But they want those topics addressed in a Biblical manner.

It has expanded its reach – Yes, sweet romance is still published because there is still a large market (check out the success of Harlequin’s Love Inspired imprint). Today, you’ll find suspense, thrillers—including medical and military—mystery, historicals set in various periods, Amish, contemporary women’s fiction, westerns, science fiction and speculative fiction.

It’s well written – In years past, these novels lacked respect writing-wise, and there was some basis for it. That’s no longer the case. Like the best mainstream authors, those who write for the Christian market are well trained. With the formation of organizations like American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) with its nearly 3,000 members in the U.S. and internationally, writers are privy to educational resources, networking opportunities, critique groups, and contests—all meant to help them improve their craft.

It speaks to readers, spiritually – Many times, Jesus taught through story. Readers want Christian authors to do the same—without being “preachy.” It isn’t just a matter of throwing out a verse or prayer here and there. Readers want to see a character whose struggle either teaches them something they can use in their own lives or brings them into a deeper relationship with God.

It’s little wonder that large mainstream publishers such as Hachette, Random House, and HarperCollins decided to join in on the growing popularity of the Christian (or Inspirational) publishing market by either starting their own imprints or buying existing Christian houses.

Remember, these aren’t your grandma’s novels. They’re entertaining, funny, and emotionally moving. They’re waiting for you to try them.

Bio:

Sandra Ardoin writes inspirational historical romance. Her Christmas novella, The Yuletide Angel, releases October 2014 and is up for pre-order on Amazon. She’s the married mother of a young adult and lives in North Carolina. Visit her at www.sandraardoin.com and on the Seriously Write blog. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Goodreads, and Pinterest.

Sex Scenes in Young Adult Books?

Jun 20, 2013 | Genre Talk

Malorie Blackman and Melvin Burgess say teenagers should read books in high school which tackle realistic sexual relationships as well as realistic sex itself. Their argument is that teenagers are going to get their information on sex and what it’s like (or should be like) from somewhere, so the information might as well be provided “within a kind of safe setting”.

You can see the whole article here: http://bit.ly/12Xoyyp.

Do you agree that young adult fiction should have explicit sex scenes in order to teach teenagers what sex is really like? If so, do you think YA novels should then include a defined set of morals and ethics and/or healthy relationships as a sort of compromise? How far is too far, or do you think, as Burgess does, that there should be no limits?

In Defense of Genres

May 9, 2013 | Genre Talk

Have you ever met a genre snob? That’s a term that popped into my head as I was talking to someone at a dinner party recently.

It was a very literary group of people, so I opened a conversation with the person next to me by asking one of the first questions any book lover asks: “Who do you read?”

Genre Snob: “Oh, I only read biographies.”

Me: “Really? But there are so many great authors, don’t you feel like you might be missing out by limiting yourself?”

GS: “You learn a lot from biographies.”

Me: “Oh I agree, they’re fascinating, but there’s so much more to experience. Every genre has its own appeal and interest. I love exploring them all.”

GS: “Fiction is a waste of my time.”

Me: “What turned you off to fiction?”

GS: “Nothing. I never bothered reading it. I don’t like wasting time.”

I hadn’t heard the term “genre snob” before, but I found it in the Urban Dictionary. In part, it defines a genre snob as:

“A person who dismisses entire genres of art or entertainment…as being uninteresting, dumb, below them, or just not what they’re into and refuses to partake of their usage.”

So this person wasn’t alone – there are enough people like him that a term was coined to describe them.

Now, I’m a great believer in the philosophy “to each his own”, so if this guy wants to limit himself to one genre, he certainly has the right to do that. But to me, that’s like cutting a diamond with only one facet. Oh, it’ll still shine, but you won’t get the benefit of a multi-faceted stone that sparkles with every color it can offer. It’s like listening to an entire concert performed with one solo instrument – it’s still beautiful music, but there’s so much more depth from a whole orchestra.

If you read different genres, you’ll most likely find that you have a preference for some and a dislike of others. But at least you’ll have tasted all the different literary ice cream flavors before realizing that you prefer chocolate. Or vanilla. Or mocha java swirl. But to have never even tried anything besides chocolate just doesn’t make sense to me. That’s like painting the whole world one color and never wanting to see the beauty of a rainbow.

Jane Austen took on genre snobbery when she wrote Northanger Abbey around the turn of the 19^th century (published posthumously in 1818). She puts a gothic romance novel spin on her story and actually defends such novels through her own personal interjection as well as character dialogue. She pointedly has a well-to-do male character admit his love of gothic romances, much to the surprise of a female character of a lower class level. The female character was embarrassed to admit her addiction to these novels, while the male character saw no reason to hide his own interest in what was generally considered by early 19^th century society as unintelligent works.

So read – read everything. Only then can you truly appreciate every color of the rainbow.

Genre Talk

The Dark New World of YA Neo-Noir Fiction Writing

Which Book Challenge is Which?

Need Inspiration?

Sex Scenes in Young Adult Books?

In Defense of Genres

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