
A Fresh Story Really Makes A Difference
Depending on who you believe, or believe yourself, there are somewhere between six and nine universal stories or themes. These ideas run the gamut of love found and lost to revenge. They are the universal truths that audience and readers come back to time and again. But what makes us come back? I would argue that the most successful stories present something new. This summer, I took my girls to see an off-off-off Broadway play called H.O.M.E. This near-future story features

The Scariest YA Plot Idea Ever!
You've got two children and you have to pay for their childcare, health insurance, food, clothing, and entertainment. - This could be the opening line (OK a really boring one) to the scariest YA novel ever sold. This week I chaperoned an 8th grade field trip to the Junior Achievement Finance Park Facility. This is a program that puts middle schoolers (that hot YA audience) through a simulation where they are given an adult identity complete with family status, job, salary, de