I Dare Ya!

Most people admire those who dare to do things that we'd like to do, but for whatever reason, don't.

We love to read adventure books where the main character does exciting things and risks everything, including self, to resolve the conflict of their journey (storyline).

So why is it we aren't daring with our writing? I thought about the people I know who would read my books and left out elements I knew they would not appreciate me writing. In retrospect, that wasn't daring of me.

We tend to write in third person, a recognized safe place, because that is what most people do. We write more or less the same stories over and over. (Oh yes, we do. There are several well respected books that recommend comparing our ms to books already published.)

While we will grumble about an injustice or the woes of the industry over a cup of coffee, we rarely dare to do much more than grumble.

This is one exception on two counts. One to dare to write about contemporary topics in YA books, and the other is the support of fellow writers.

Please read: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/07/authors-boycott-cancels-teen-lit-fest