Author Topic: I need bad supernatural YA - really, i do.  (Read 2577 times)

hubay

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I need bad supernatural YA - really, i do.
« on: August 02, 2010, 11:46:33 PM »
I've had an idea for a short story, about a kid who thinks he's fighting evil in highschool, and believes his classmates are secretly vampires, witches etc.. but is in fact just crazy and murdering everyone in his class. I'll add a disclaimer that this is exactly what
I thought I Am Not a Serial Killer was about when I first heard of it. I'm happy it wasn't, but now that I have the idea I want to write the story myself.

I'm not sure if it's been done before – let me know if it has – but I'm really hoping to nail the voice that those kinds of novels would use; that is, the kind of story my killer imagines himself to be in. Not having read much YA for a while now, and certainly not bad YA, I was wondering if anyone could recommend a story or two that I can model after – and no twilight. That's one voice I'll never want to model.

Thanks!

hubay

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Re: I need bad supernatural YA - really, i do.
« Reply #1 on: August 02, 2010, 11:48:09 PM »
Ah, sorry, cat stepped on my ethernet cable. Didn't mean to start two threads. If a mod could delete one that would be great.

Ruthie

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Re: I need bad supernatural YA - really, i do.
« Reply #2 on: August 03, 2010, 08:26:37 PM »
Hahaha, this story sounds awesome! I can't help you with the bad supernatural YA, though. I didn't read any of that when I was a kid (I was into Nancy Drew, Lloyd Alexander, and horses then), and I don't really like that genre now either. If it were me, I'd go to my local library and ask the same question. I'll bet the librarian would know.

Recovering_Cynic

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Re: I need bad supernatural YA - really, i do.
« Reply #3 on: August 03, 2010, 08:45:24 PM »
Believe it or not, your story sounds *very* difficult to write.  If you want your MC to be sympathetic at all, you are going to have to hide from your reader the fact that there are no vampires or witches, which means you are going to have to have an unreliable narrator and that isn't easy (I've tried).  You are also going to have to have a huge reveal/twist.  It's doable, but you're going to need to study up on your Shayamalan and other such directors/authors.  You might look at Edgar Alan Poe's Tell Tale Heart as well.

As to tone, I'd go watch Donnie Darko.  The tone of your story would be somewhere along those lines, maybe a little darker.
this is the way the world ends,
not with a bang, but a whimper
~T.S. Eliot

ErikHolmes

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Re: I need bad supernatural YA - really, i do.
« Reply #4 on: August 03, 2010, 10:48:23 PM »
I guess I don't understand what you mean by bad YA, do you mean poorly written? Why would you want to emulate poorly written crap?

If you are talking about dark ya I'd suggest starting with Holly Black's Modern Faerie Tales books. They are great imo and sound like the sort of thing you are going for.

I'll agree with Recovering_Cynic though in that this could be tough to write.

Of course, if the protag really thinks throughout the whole novel that he's fighting the forces of darkness and you can pull off a 6th Sense like reveal at the end where he discovers that the entire things was really just some LSD someone slipped him while playing D&D then this might be the best novel of all time. :D
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hubay

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Re: I need bad supernatural YA - really, i do.
« Reply #5 on: August 03, 2010, 11:16:24 PM »
I guess "bad" was the wrong word to use. I guess I'm just thinking of the generic "teen fights evil while dealing with high school" sort of story. So maybe more cheesy than bad? I'll probably just take Ruthie's advice and ask a librarian.

And yes, I can see myself failing spectacularly at this, so I plan on spending a lot time researching books where something similar is pulled off. I haven't decided if I should put in a big reveal at the end, or just slowly let the reader figure things out as the MC becomes more and more crazy. What do you guys think?

ErikHolmes

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Re: I need bad supernatural YA - really, i do.
« Reply #6 on: August 03, 2010, 11:49:26 PM »
That's a tough call. I think its the kind of thing where you might want to let both ideas simmer in your head and see which one creates the coolest scenes in your head.

As for what YA to look at Holly Black is still my #1 recommendation.

Your idea kind of reminds me of a Buffy The Vampire episode. The one where a monster traps her in a dream where she is a patient in a mental hospital and all of her slayer stuff is a lie.

Buffy novels might actually be your best bet to look at. But the sort of thing you are talking about is very popular right now. Go to the YA section at Walmart and you'll find half a dozen. I can't remember the names of them but they are the big sellers at walmart right now.
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Sigyn

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Re: I need bad supernatural YA - really, i do.
« Reply #7 on: August 04, 2010, 07:40:33 PM »
Gah, I've read too much of this stuff.  These are all supernatural high school stories, though they aren't necessarily about fighting the supernatural.

Marked by P. C. Cast (House of Night Series)
Vampire Diaries by L. J. Smith (I think the first book is The Awakening)
Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Fallen by Lauren Kate
Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves
Spells by Aprilynne Pike
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey
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sortitus

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Re: I need bad supernatural YA - really, i do.
« Reply #8 on: August 07, 2010, 12:16:08 AM »
If I understand you correctly, what you're wanting to do is let the audience know that it's murder, and go over the top with the humor and horror. If the audience doesn't know that the kid is murdering people, it reduces the potential for funny (IMO).

As far as similar fiction goes, I don't know anything. Sorry.
« Last Edit: August 07, 2010, 12:18:08 AM by sortitus »
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