Reading: Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
On the Farm: tomatoes, tomatoes and more tomatoes
Thinking About: The Apocalypse

Lev Grossman has a wonderful article on plot in today's WSJ.

I love this article for so many reason, not the least of which is because I have been thinking about just this thing for days and wondering how to turn it into a coherent conversation.

The first thought that occurred to me is to think of our own writing in terms of reviews. What if you could have the best possible review of your book, the kind that said everything you hoped your novel was, a simply glowing account of your own talents, even a surprise to you that the reviewer got everything you were striving for?

Imagine it.

What does it say?

Is your novel:

laugh out loud funny with quirky characters reminiscent of classic Tom Robbins.

deeply moving with characters so real you felt you knew them. I laughed at their tragedies and celebrated their triumphs

the best mystery I've read in a decade. Complicated, intricate, well paced with an astonishing shock of an ending

with a lyrical voice like sweet syrup, I'd let this author tell me any story just for the pleasure of her language

non stop action with unexpected twists at every turn. I was on the edge of my seat, flipping pages so fast I have a dozen paper cuts this morning

the best love story I've ever read. Such real and deeply moving characters.

the perfect blend of literary voice and an exciting plot. This author knows how to write AND keep you turning pages at the same time.

gore, fear, terror and redemption all in one perfect plot. Move over Stephen King.

Which book is yours? How many other authors can you think of that might garner the same kind of review? Are you really writing to the standard of this review?

Lev Grossman's article argues that plot is on the upswing, that readers desire entertainment, accessibility, and a book they can easily understand.

I find this particularly compelling because I want my someday reviews to call my writing literary fantasy.

Luckily, YA has always done an excellent job of crossing genres in a way that adult fiction has frowned upon. As YA writers we can much more easily write a literary fantasy and find it within the larger YA section, rather than relegated to a back, shameful corner of the bookstore under the heading FANTASY and a box of disguises nearby so no one will recognize you browsing there.

I love adult authors that have made the crossover: Lev Grossman himself with The Magicians, Michael Chabon, Audrey Niffenegger, and particularly Kate Atkinson. Mr. Grossman points to these same authors and many others in his article. They are technically "cross genre," the lucky few in the adult world that are both literary mainstream and genre based (fantasy, mystery).

Mr. Grossman sights some compelling sales evidence for his theory that the modern reader is looking for more plot in their books.

All I have to say to that is yeah! That's just I what I want to hear. Why can't we be literary and funny? Literary and packed with adventure and intrigue?

The Enchanted Inkpot is running a great TOTW right now entitled Over Their Heads: Children's Books and Difficult Matters. A great discussion about writing up or down to kids, how challenging our language can and should be, how mature our topics.

I prefer that we as authors first write to our strengths and promise to never, ever, dumb down our meaning or language for our youthful audience.

It's fine to be literary and accessible.

Lev Grossman even says so.