Thursday, March 11, 2010

Limitations



Does anyone else find that writing YA fiction in 1st person, limits the verb usage of their novel?

Omniscient 3rd person doesn't seem to have as much of an issue with this, but I know there are a lot of factors that would limit the possibilities.

Just curious if any of you YA authors are feeling dictionarilly (is that even a word LOL)suppressed.

I mean seriously, what teenager is going to say "The premature placative tonsuring of Elios' crown did not, in my eyes, warrant the extirpation of his bond servant, but who am I to stand up to the elders' judgement?"

4 comments:

Joshua McCune said...

I'm currently working in 1st person, present tense, which has some limitations, but I never noticed those in 1st person past. I tend to shy away from big words anymore, anyway, though.

Mary Gray said...

Haha, it's nice to hear of others writing in 1st person POV. It's my FAV to read and write. Like Bane of Anubis, I've started simplifying. My editor had me strike a lot of my bigger words.

And present tense...yay! I love present tense!!

Catherine Denton said...

I write middle grade. But I see what you mean.

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

I mourn the demise of big words. They are my friends.

However, my sassy 1st person POV protag seems to find occasion for lots of fancy words. The idea that a future editor will say "sorry your MC has too smart a mouth" fills me with dread.