October 25th, 2005 s.e. hinton

The real secret to writing young adult fiction, according to Hinton, is the ability to connect emotionally with a character. As for the oft-quoted philosophy of “writing what you know,” well, that’s hogwash. “If you know what it’s like to be cold and can read up on Antarctica, you can do a book on Antarctica,” she said. “It’s the emotions.”

from here. maybe it’s the better way for fiction in general, since if you’re richard hell, all you write about is junkies and artists in new york. and besides, where does the (mostly disgusting) genre of fantasy come from? if i stuck to what i know, all i’d write about is chinese-australian girls who are at once pissed off at the world and overly sensitive, or mother-daughter relationships and the differences between being an immigrant and a first generation australian. but i will not. zzzzz

also, the special edition (aka ‘the complete novel’) of film adaptation of the outsiders is available…