02/12/2017

ROBIN DANIELS, FROM THE HARD TASK OF BEING A TEENAGER TO THE HARD TASK OF WRITING GOOD YA FICTION

I have an admission. This is the first time someone has asked me to write a guest post for a blog. Honestly, I have no idea if this is how it works, but this is how I’m writing it, LOL. Our host suggested I tell you about what writing for today’s young adult readers means to me. But, to do that, I need to tell you a few things about myself first.

 I was raised in a religious home and still hold those values. It’s tough to be a teenager with a moral compass. It’s not considered very cool. I was able to stand up for what I believed in without too much grief because I was cute and a little popular. Even then, my friends teased me in good nature when I used goofy replacements for swear words. Some thought it was flat out weird that I didn’t drink or watch rated R movies. Many thought I was nuts for saving sex until marriage.
But, for the most part, people respected my values and choices. Often, kids chose less vulgar language in my presence or apologized when the f-word slipped out. If I went to a party and was offered a drink by someone who didn’t know me, others would get offended on my behalf. I had a boyfriend for two years who respected me so much, that he went off to college a virgin (though it was definitely not his