writerly queries

[ewein2412]

1) Any professional YA authors out there who have the time and energy to write an essay on Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series and/or Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance trilogy?  Borders are commissioning a couple of anthologies of critical essays aimed at young readers.  The deadlines are quite soon (the Riordan essays are due 1 Dec 07); pay is $500 plus royalties for a 3000-5000 word essay.  If you're interested let me know and I'll pass your details on to the Powers That Be.

2) Anyone know of an agent who deals with manga or graphic novels in general?  IT'S FOR A FRIEND, HONEST.  Well actually it's for my husband, whose company is considering turning a game into a graphic novel.

that's it for the moment
 

Comments

[ewein2412]

well, I should admit that *I* haven't volunteered to write about Eragon. But I do know that many of the same cool kids in Sara's class who are rabid Dr. Who fans are also rabid Eragon fans.

They are also rabid manga readers, and you can thank ME for this. Sara operates a little "Manga Library" and loans out manga by the kilo. (She has printed herself a business card with the title "Manga Librarian.") Her entire class now reads manga, but they are the only class in the school that do. There are a few kids in her little brother's class that read it as a sort of trickle-down effect.

[tiboribi.livejournal.com]

I haven't read Eragon. Is it as bad as I assume?

[ewein2412]

don't know--haven't read it. Couldn't risk reading it and hating it and then being forced to write about it, so didn't volunteer!

[firiel44.livejournal.com]

How cute! Of course, as a librarian, I have to heartily approve.

I can't speak for what draws kids to Eragon. It felt like a bad LOTR fanfic to me (all 6 or so pages anyway). I may get brave and watch the movie at some point.

[ewein2412]

I am convinced that younger brains have a much greater capacity for fluff than atrophied brains like mine. My re-read of Prince Caspian is convincing me that 1) I would not have read any of the Narnia books if I'd first picked them up at 40 rather than at 15 (and I did love CS Lewis at 15), and 2) that I would have LOOOOVED Harry Potter if I'd read it at age 11. I've always suspected this, but Caspian is convincing me of it. It feels utterly DERIVATIVE of Rowling, when of course it is the other way round! It must feel the same to kids who come to reading thru Rowling and then move on to Lewis... "What a copycat this man is. And his books aren't as long."

[tiboribi.livejournal.com]

I suspect younger brains just have less to compare the fluff to, so they latch onto the good ideas within.

[ewein2412]

well, in my experience younger people read a LOT more than I do, and faster. But if there's no style, no unique narrative voice, I just can't read it. I can no longer reader for plot alone. that's what I mean by fluff. Tons of people (and I suppose young and old alike... I mean it is a flaw in ME) seem to be able to eat up hundreds of pages of style-less plot in minutes, and I just can't do it any more. Not badly written, just not uniquely written, not artfully written. I used to be able to read it, and now it bores me. I need more than plot and character to keep me going.

sad, but true.

[tiboribi.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's something you instilled in me, then. I can turn it off long enough to read Rowling.

[ewein2412]

lots of people can!

I didn't mean to damage you.

[tiboribi.livejournal.com]

No, I really like that I notice people's writing styles. My friends who don't notice bad writing styles also rarely notice good writing styles, and I would much rather notice when prose is beautiful than not notice when it's bad.