Young Adult Yearning
April 28, 2012

Bailey with the letter YHere we are, almost at the end of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge!  It’s Short Story Saturday and the letter Y, so my plan was to write a Young Adult short story. Since YA is my favorite genre, I thought it would be a snap.  But I have to admit, I’m pretty drained at this point, and my muse is whimpering in a corner and refusing to cooperate.

I’ve been going through old files lately and ran across my first NaNoWriMo novel AKA my first novel ever.  It has so many of the beginning writer mistakes in it that it makes me cringe. But in a way, isn’t that what good YA fiction is supposed to do? Make us cringe at those feelings of being a teen when we’re so uncertain about everything and what people think of us is the most important thing in the whole wide world?  

So I decided for my YA post I’d use an excerpt from this first uncertain effort.  It’s when the main character Yvonne runs into the four guys she’ll be hanging out with for the rest of the novel.  She’s a super shy gal who loves horror movies (hmmm . . . now who could my first novel protagonist be based on, I wonder?), and talking to guys makes her an awkward mess:

I knew I had to get their attention at some point, but my stomach churned.  I wanted to turn around and run home.  I didn’t think I could do this.  How was I supposed to talk to four guys? But I really wanted to see Murder Mansion and going with them was the only way.  Besides, Hayden looked so yummy in his red plaid shirt, I’d never forgive myself for running like a chicken.  I had to follow Sara’s advice.    

I squeezed my nails into my palms and said, “Hi.”  It came out a dry whisper that didn’t get their attention.  I felt hopeless.  I took a step backwards.  I’d just go home before I made a fool of myself.  I could see Murder Mansion some other time.  No!  I could do this.  I would force myself to be foolishly brave like one of the heroines from my slasher flicks.  I gathered up my courage to try again.  

A voice said, “Hello.”  I briefly thought I was having an out-of-body experience, since I hadn’t moved my lips yet.  Then I realized it was Hayden’s voice.  He’d finally noticed me!  The other guys turned around to look at me.  Rider glared while the other three stared in open curiosity.  I didn’t know how to react, so I stood there stupidly as the blood rushed to my cheeks.

Jeff recovered first, “Hey, Yvonne, you look… really nice.  What are you doing here?”

I looked at Rider.  He hadn’t told them?  “I, well, uh, I’m-”

Rider sighed with hurricane strength.  “Sorry guys, I forgot to tell you.  We’re babysitting Yvonne tonight.  She doesn’t have real friends, so she’s tagging along with us.”

My cheeks were so hot with anger and embarrassment I could have fried eggs on them.

Jeff came to my rescue again, “That sounds like a good idea with those stories on the news. We’d be honored to be your bodyguards.”

Bodie gave a wolf whistle.  “Yeah, I’d be happy to guard your body any day of the week.”  

Startled, I rocked back a half step, but when I looked at him, he gave me a small wink.  I swallowed hard.

Hayden’s forehead wrinkled.  “Yvonne, Yvonne… do I know you from somewhere?”

Oh, God, Hayden was talking to me.  I had to make myself respond.  Just force the words out. “Uh, yes, um, classes, I mean, we have three, uh, classes together.” 

Rider barked out a laugh.  “Talk about not making an impression.”

I glared at him, but Hayden said, “Guess I should have been paying less attention to the teachers and more attention to the people around me.  Glad to have you along, Yvonne.” When I peeked over at him, his whole face lit up with his beautiful smile.  My stupid cheeks got hot again.

Who knows if I’ll ever return to this first novel to try and salvage it, but it’s fun to revisit it.  Hope you enjoyed the excerpt!

Was your first novel a practice novel?  Or have you done something more with it than hide it in a drawer/folder on your hard drive?  How Yippy is Bailey with her letter Y?

Bailey with the letter YHere we are, almost at the end of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge!  It’s Short Story Saturday and the letter Y, so my plan was to write a Young Adult short story. Since YA is my favorite genre, I thought it would be a snap.  But I have to admit, I’m pretty drained at this point, and my muse is whimpering in a corner and refusing to cooperate.

I’ve been going through old files lately and ran across my first NaNoWriMo novel AKA my first novel ever.  It has so many of the beginning writer mistakes in it that it makes me cringe. But in a way, isn’t that what good YA fiction is supposed to do? Make us cringe at those feelings of being a teen when we’re so uncertain about everything and what people think of us is the most important thing in the whole wide world?  

So I decided for my YA post I’d use an excerpt from this first uncertain effort.  It’s when the main character Yvonne runs into the four guys she’ll be hanging out with for the rest of the novel.  She’s a super shy gal who loves horror movies (hmmm . . . now who could my first novel protagonist be based on, I wonder?), and talking to guys makes her an awkward mess:

I knew I had to get their attention at some point, but my stomach churned.  I wanted to turn around and run home.  I didn’t think I could do this.  How was I supposed to talk to four guys? But I really wanted to see Murder Mansion and going with them was the only way.  Besides, Hayden looked so yummy in his red plaid shirt, I’d never forgive myself for running like a chicken.  I had to follow Sara’s advice.    

I squeezed my nails into my palms and said, “Hi.”  It came out a dry whisper that didn’t get their attention.  I felt hopeless.  I took a step backwards.  I’d just go home before I made a fool of myself.  I could see Murder Mansion some other time.  No!  I could do this.  I would force myself to be foolishly brave like one of the heroines from my slasher flicks.  I gathered up my courage to try again.  

A voice said, “Hello.”  I briefly thought I was having an out-of-body experience, since I hadn’t moved my lips yet.  Then I realized it was Hayden’s voice.  He’d finally noticed me!  The other guys turned around to look at me.  Rider glared while the other three stared in open curiosity.  I didn’t know how to react, so I stood there stupidly as the blood rushed to my cheeks.

Jeff recovered first, “Hey, Yvonne, you look… really nice.  What are you doing here?”

I looked at Rider.  He hadn’t told them?  “I, well, uh, I’m-”

Rider sighed with hurricane strength.  “Sorry guys, I forgot to tell you.  We’re babysitting Yvonne tonight.  She doesn’t have real friends, so she’s tagging along with us.”

My cheeks were so hot with anger and embarrassment I could have fried eggs on them.

Jeff came to my rescue again, “That sounds like a good idea with those stories on the news. We’d be honored to be your bodyguards.”

Bodie gave a wolf whistle.  “Yeah, I’d be happy to guard your body any day of the week.”  

Startled, I rocked back a half step, but when I looked at him, he gave me a small wink.  I swallowed hard.

Hayden’s forehead wrinkled.  “Yvonne, Yvonne… do I know you from somewhere?”

Oh, God, Hayden was talking to me.  I had to make myself respond.  Just force the words out. “Uh, yes, um, classes, I mean, we have three, uh, classes together.” 

Rider barked out a laugh.  “Talk about not making an impression.”

I glared at him, but Hayden said, “Guess I should have been paying less attention to the teachers and more attention to the people around me.  Glad to have you along, Yvonne.” When I peeked over at him, his whole face lit up with his beautiful smile.  My stupid cheeks got hot again.

Who knows if I’ll ever return to this first novel to try and salvage it, but it’s fun to revisit it.  Hope you enjoyed the excerpt!

Was your first novel a practice novel?  Or have you done something more with it than hide it in a drawer/folder on your hard drive?  How Yippy is Bailey with her letter Y?

Jocelyn Rish

Jocelyn Rish is a writer and filmmaker who never imagined her cheeky sense of humor would lead to a book about animal butts. When she's not researching fanny facts, she tutors kids to help them discover the magic of reading. Jocelyn has won numerous awards for her short stories, screenplays, short films, and novels and lives in South Carolina with her booty-ful dogs.