Teenage Lexicon

Above anything else that I am, I am a storyteller. I am prone to devoting myself to the worlds in my head, as most storytellers are. Like all writers, I tend to commit my stories to words—language is my primary medium. But it isn’t my only. This is why I am enthralled by architecture: I see buildings as another medium for storytelling. But, unlike books or paintings, buildings don’t stop becoming something once they’ve been built. Once started, they continue to tell themselves.  They are a vehicle for my stories—they often help propel them in new directions I wouldn’t have otherwise deemed possible. My buildings are as much a part of The Knowers as my books.  Skylar's House - Final Enter Me, sophomore year. The Knowers is going through major overhaul. The Eminence isn’t born yet. I think I want to be a marine biologist, I have no idea how to draw, I have to take Scripture studies for my Catholic school’s religious curriculum.  Yes, the Bible can be ...

Today's Snapchat memory A year ago today, I published The Knowers . Simultaneously, it feels like it's been much longer since I sent it into the world, but also as if it were yesterday. In honor of The Knowers 's first birthday, here is why I decided to publish it. (Yes, it was my college essay!) My blood runs cold when a teacher asks for something in pen. Nothing I write ever seems solidified enough to condemn to permanence, as I’m not one for that level of commitment. There’s no going back with pen--every line you make is forever yours. A simple fix to this commitment issue: I always use pencil when left to my own devices. Add two numbers incorrectly? Erase it. Write down the wrong date? Erase it. Pencil is one of the few things in life for which you have a reset button. You can do away with any evidence that you can’t do math or don’t know how to use a calendar. So why does everyone always want everything in pen? Is it out of desire for us to be able to ...

I’ve got some hobbies that are pretty unusual. I like watercolor painting, I work at a science museum, and—of course—I’ve written two novels and a bunch of short stories. It’s great to have a character who does interesting things. In fact, it really can set your character apart from others.  However, have you ever met a character who's a little too unique? That they’re so quirky and original and not like everyone else that they just seem like a person who could only exist in YA fiction? I’m sure a couple of characters come to mind. It’s totally cool if your character is into Russian folk art. But then maybe she shouldn’t be named Magnolia Wren Davidson, have violet hair and vibrant green eyes, and burst into Emerson quotes at inopportune moments. Having too many things that make your characters special can ruin the verisimilitude.  As much as we like to believe that all of us are eccentric, it's just not true. The vast majority of us are pretty normal. Tho...

There are two reasons I didn't post this week. 1. I went on vacation with my cousins. It was amazing. 2. I sent some stuff to an agent. My heart is still pounding. I'm going to post this week's Book of the Week and Dialogue Diaries within the next few days. Everyone, wish me luck.

One of the things in writing that I'm actually good at is dialogue. Through lots of practice, discussion, and hair-pulling-outing, I've come up with lots of tips and methods for writing dialogue.  Something that happens a lot in books—especially YA and upper-middle grade—is inaccuracy or unrealism. Sometimes characters will say things to each other that people just don’t say to each other in real life.  Like, how many times in real life do you hear people say things like, “Come on, everyone, we have to put the sword back in the cave by midnight or else the world will explode!” Dialogue has to feel real to readers, or else it’s ineffective.  Here’s an example from a very, very early draft of my book, The Knowers : “Can you stop skipping already? It’s annoying.” “Oh. Sorry.” I try to make my walking more methodical, but the day is just so beautiful. We’re no longer at the mercy of the bus. Our little brothers are ahead of us, racing each other. They...