II. I have also been developing my YA paranormal romance original fiction idea. There may be a post with details soon, all locked up and under a cut in case anyone doesn't want to be bothered by that stuff. So far it has themes of agency and free will; a protagonist who starts out passive and resentful but undergoes significant character development; a sexy but evil cursed ghost as the antagonist/"fated love interest"; a mysterious clairvoyant boy with a secret as the actual love interest; the obligatory black best friend (who is less obligatory and more natural in this case because it's set in Baltimore and several of the characters, including the love interest, are black); Passover symbolism to accompany the Jewish protagonist; and a used bookstore as the heroine's safe refuge. The actual plot is somewhat murky, but I know something of the beginning, details of the middle, and something of the end, so once I get the characters more developed I can go from there.
It's somehow freeing to just give in and decide to write YA, because I don't have to worry about complex themes and originality, just making something fun and appealing to teenage girls that has better relationship models than what's out there. Of course, there's actually getting it published to consider, but...I can worry about that when I've written it. Besides, if I do finish something remotely publishable, my parents will be really excited and help advocate for me to get it published.
III. Meme from
The masterlist is here, as always.