Very nice. I look forward to reading more. (God, that sounds so spammy. I'm sorry - work's eaten my brain and I've nothing more to say at the moment, except that I think your approach to "metablogging" will be more meaningful to ME, personally, than all the ranking, stats, and seo blogs in the world. THIS is what I'm after.)

My point, Heather, is to worry LESS about "voice." Just let them act and react while you relax and take dictation. You may have to throw the challenges and obstacles at them - or hand them an "out" now and then (but don't just HAND it to them - make it available, see if they figure it out). Just let it happen.

I joke with people and tell them that my characters are just a socially acceptable outlet for keeping the imaginary friends I never grew out of. Don't you have all sorts of voices (not Voices) in your head? Snippets of people you've known and been influenced by? Amalgamations of some of them that your brain has tried on for size? What would the teenaged daughter of your Third Grade Math teacher and the cheeky waitress at Denny's have turned out like? Take a deep breath. Close your eyes. Visualize a setting - that's the stage. Throw someone on it. Now - something happens!! What? Train wreck? Dead body? Scream? Hysterical laughter? WHY? How does your character react? Just WATCH the movie screen in your head, and when you need to, TAKE DICTATION. Resist the impulse to pull on the puppet strings. What happens?

You're so right about trust. See, I trust your instincts, and sometimes it's difficult for me to see why you don't. And then I think back - I don't suppose I've always trusted my own, either. And even when I do, it doesn't hurt to see if others see things in the same light. Not that I'd let that stop me if my gut said "Run with this! It's PERFECT!" but if I have doubts and others echo them without my having to say what they are, I know - something's off. Maybe it's a near miss. Maybe it's just one of those odd things that had to come out, but is better left in the trunk.

It's the real Heather I enjoy reading. If I could offer ONE bit of advice, it's "Stop trying so hard, because when you just let loose and play, you nail it. It's your own natural voice that sings."

No, can't really think of anything specific offhand... I was flipping through some of the current YA books, though, at the store and at the library, noticing a definite trend towards edgy, smart-a**, "hate my awful parents who act more like teenagers than my friends and I do" - I don't know, it just seems depressing. If this is what teens want to read, I'm not sure I can do it - or that I want to do it. I'm not trying to discourage you, really. It would be just as unrealistic to try to return to Andy Griffith's Mayberry. But maybe something in between?

Ironically, I've been noticing this "voice" in a lot of YA lit lately, and I'm not sure I like it. (Makes me wonder if I dislike teens, or just the DiGrassi version of what teens are supposed to be like, or if I just loathe the adults who encourage them to be like this. ARE they like this? Do they really WANT to be?)

don't have to write like petulant fifth grader refusing to use commas and dotting i's with smiley faces and heart doodles which are not to be confused with cheese doodles

in other wrdz, wtf? fingers tarred? can't use articlez? :P

Yes. Actually, I do mind.

Oh, no - thank YOU, Roy, for writing this! It's fun to have you as a guest author in my blog. It's an important thing to remain playful and let your kids discover their passions and explore their talents.

Or you can just issue a call-out over on the Literary Death Match on Facebook... ;)