'Your' #mswl

Emmet Cameron said:

-historic LGBT that isn't just "it pretty much sucked to be queer back in the day" -- something concerning a drag troupe like the Cockettes in 1970s San Francisco would thrill me to bits

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Ooohh, I would love a historic LGBT that isn't "it pretty much sucked to be queer back in the day". Although for myself I would prefer something set really far back, like OH, feudal China! But yeah, something that doesn't end tragically would be pretty awesome.

ETA: And goddammit, I swear my next book will have an unattractive heroine who snags the hot guy because fuck I'm sick of stories where the unattractive guy scores with the hot girl.

-queer stories including

• bisexual protagonists
• happy queer relationships that don't end in fiery wreckage
• established queer relationships
• queer characters in stories that aren't necessarily queer if this makes sense?
• trans and nonbinary protagonists
• also queer antagonists whose queerness doesn't factor into their villain-ness

-feel like a downer for this one but more stories about mental illness/stories with mentally ill characters?
-magical realism of all types this is such a good genre
-brothers
-and more I can't think of right now
-roadtrips!

This is a fun idea The one thing I'm definitely on the lookout for is YA historical fiction set in Asia. I haven't read a whole lot of that, and as an Asian-American myself, I'd love to be able to dig through Asian history with a fun YA story. I'd also be open for YA fantasy with elements of Asian history. (I've heard of Ellen Oh's books, and might be too curious not to read them, but I was really disappointed when I read some of the Goodreads reviews for them. But more books along those lines would be welcome.)

I'd also like to see more mainstream YA where the main characters wrestle through questions of faith and politics, among other things. I guess I see the danger of sensitive topics needing to be handled well, but I do think that more teenagers are more engaged with the world around them than would be immediately apparent in reading some YA contemporary fiction.

--QUILTBAG stories of all kinds
--anything to do with Salem, MA
--fantasy stories

My wish list:

Another Twilight (romance must span over 5 books; can be any kind of paranormal)

I'm very boring. Also any good suggestions?

Wish list--horror. Lots and lots of keep-the-lights-on-at-night because I'm so creeped out YA horror .

endearing said:

This is a fun idea The one thing I'm definitely on the lookout for is YA historical fiction set in Asia. I haven't read a whole lot of that, and as an Asian-American myself, I'd love to be able to dig through Asian history with a fun YA story. I'd also be open for YA fantasy with elements of Asian history. (I've heard of Ellen Oh's books, and might be too curious not to read them, but I was really disappointed when I read some of the Goodreads reviews for them. But more books along those lines would be welcome.)

I'd also like to see more mainstream YA where the main characters wrestle through questions of faith and politics, among other things. I guess I see the danger of sensitive topics needing to be handled well, but I do think that more teenagers are more engaged with the world around them than would be immediately apparent in reading some YA contemporary fiction.

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I also like these kinds of stories. My YA Historical is about a young noble pushing against social/religious absolutism in France. She hates the submissive role of women and fights back–by spying/reporting for a treasonous news publisher.

This is such an interesting thread. I'm nodding my head reading through it; I would like to see/read so much of this too. Curious: are any of you writing what is on your wishlist?

endearing said:

(I've heard of Ellen Oh's books, and might be too curious not to read them, but I was really disappointed when I read some of the Goodreads reviews for them. But more books along those lines would be welcome.)

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I want to say I was turned away from her book series for the same reason; though likely I'll put it on my list again. One of my favorite YA books has very mixed reviews on Goodreads--Nova Ren Suma's Imaginary Girls. It's a magical realism story involving an intense relationship between two sisters and oddities going on around them. It's very moody and different, and I'm so glad I read it despite some people saying they didn't like it!

My wish list!!

* More contemporary YA set in Africa or India that does not condescendingly portray the culturals as somehow 'backward' or involve forced marriage.
* More trans and queer gender characters in all genres. Featured in stories that are not necessarily romantic.
* Historical YA novel set in Mongolia or the Mongol empire.
* Clumsy, awkward protagonists in all genres.
* Plus-sized girls as heroines in fantasy romance.
* Really gritty, well-researched YA historical in all non-western European settings.

My tastes tend to vary based on what I'm writing, but for now:

*stories without a romantic focus--or even subplot
***ESPECIALLY contemp or urban fantasy without a heavy romantic plot

*Science-fantasy and other genre-blurring speculative fiction

*Third person, multi-POV novels

Find me a third person, genre-blurring urban fantasy and I'll find a way to personally bankroll it I swear

I thought of something else I'd love to see: a genuinely ugly female MC in YA, but only if the plot doesn't revolve around her looks, and especially not if she undergoes a "makeover." Bonus points if romance is involved, because romance isn't just for beautiful people.

Makeshift Bubbles said:

I thought of something else I'd love to see: a genuinely ugly female MC in YA, but only if the plot doesn't revolve around her looks, and especially not if she undergoes a "makeover." Bonus points if romance is involved, because romance isn't just for beautiful people.

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Sort of a YA Brienne of Tarth sort of thing? (Although a lot of Brienne's plot does revolve around her looks)

Becca C. said:

Yes! I've actually been thinking about writing something like this, but you see so much "I HATE teen pregnancy books! *scoff*" out there. Yet another example of a time when you should write whatever the hell you want to write and forget about the naysayers!

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& I think part of why people are saying they hate teen pregnancy books is that the way it's been done is a really predictable plot arc: the inciting incident is the protagonist getting knocked up; there's a series of kerfuffles usually involving the big decision whether to keep the kid or not, social standing, relationship with the father, fallout from telling their respective parents; & then the birth & either taking the baby home or passing them off to the adoptive parents. But it's that point after the child is born when the real dramatic changes happen -- ones the protagonist and the reader often *can't* predict. The ongoing relationship with the people who are raising your child, or how you handle living with your parents *and* your child while finishing high school...

Emmet Cameron said:

& I think part of why people are saying they hate teen pregnancy books is that the way it's been done is a really predictable plot arc: the inciting incident is the protagonist getting knocked up; there's a series of kerfuffles usually involving the big decision whether to keep the kid or not, social standing, relationship with the father, fallout from telling their respective parents; & then the birth & either taking the baby home or passing them off to the adoptive parents. But it's that point after the child is born when the real dramatic changes happen -- ones the protagonist and the reader often *can't* predict. The ongoing relationship with the people who are raising your child, or how you handle living with your parents *and* your child while finishing high school...

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It would be fun to take that typical teen pregnancy narrative and try to subvert all the tropes. Hmm... *squirrels idea away with the rest of the story ideas, brain looks like a tin of idea sardines*

I've had a magical realism teen pregnancy idea for years that is nothing but subversion. Except I doubt it'd be well received since it skewers conservative society and ends with the MC aborting her miracle virgin pregnancy.

Yeah, I might keep that to myself for a while yet.

endearing said:

This is a fun idea The one thing I'm definitely on the lookout for is YA historical fiction set in Asia. I haven't read a whole lot of that, and as an Asian-American myself, I'd love to be able to dig through Asian history with a fun YA story. I'd also be open for YA fantasy with elements of Asian history.

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endearing, have you read THE WALLED CITY by Ryan Graudin? It's set in a fictionalized version of the Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong and has a bit of a fantasy-ish flavor.

On the QUILTBAG train--I want to see a serious but not tragic historical fiction or fantasy about a lavender relationship. Like, in a homophobic place or time, a gay guy and lesbian pair up for appearances' sake but actually are best friends who always have each others' backs. And maybe have their own separate romantic plots.

-An american remake of Battle Royale, NOT set in a fantasy world (like Hunger Games) but in the real world, where a republican dictator like Rick Santorum or Huckabee has taken over and instituted a theocracy that inevitably leads to competitive purges in high schools.

Thought I'd contribute with my own list:

-Atmospheric, noir, with or without a hint of horror. Kind of like the game Murdered: Soul Suspect, and if it's set in Salem, a bonus.
-Artifical Intelligence. Modern contemporary SciFi like Orphan Black, Person Of Interest. Clones and stuff are welcome as well.
-Westerns! YA Westerns would be awesome.So would more Space Westerns.
-Space Opera in general. Optimistic science fiction, and Stuff like Guardians of the Galaxy, Interstellar, Battlestar Galactica etc, that kind of thing.
-Horror!
-Urban Fantasy. Fantasy in general.
-Thrillers. Jason Bourne-esque thrillers would be great. Espionage. Alex Rider stuff.
-Time Travel. Doctor Who, etc.
-Superheroes. Stuff like Spider-Man or Ms. Marvel, a kid trying to balance his/her life whilst being a superhero.

Any combination of the above is welcome as well. But as long as it's good, I'll take it. Also Diverse fiction is welcome as well.

stephsco said:

This is such an interesting thread. I'm nodding my head reading through it; I would like to see/read so much of this too. Curious: are any of you writing what is on your wishlist?

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I haven't made a wishlist yet but someone mentioned that they would want a YA retelling told from a unusual perspective and I am currently writing Snow White from the perspective of a character that's not in the original story.

The fantasy world that my WIP is set in mirrors our world geographically. With that said, the kind of YA I would rep would be:

-- Anything with romance but not 'love at first sight' romance. Slow burn, sexual tension, layered romance where the characters ACTUALLY have chemistry and you can see it happening, instead of being rushed into it.

-- I love horror and I would love to see more YA novels that are like Paranormal Activity or Nightmare of Elm Street or a YA version of Supernatural. Dude, if I were an agent, and someone sent me their query saying 'this is a YA version of Supernatural', they wouldn't need to say anything else. I'd sign with them immediately.

-- I also have a love for epic/high fantasy so I would rep any and all stories that fit that category that are based on other places outside of medievel Europe.

-- I'm all about diversity but I don't like books with 'token minorities'. I want to read about characters who don't 'struggle' with their racial/ethnic identity and just get to worry about things like how they're going to save the world or how they're going to get their crush to fall madly in love with them. The books about identity are extremely important but I think POCs deserve to have books where they get to be more than the color of their skin, so any book that's like that, I would want it. The same goes for books about people with mental illnesses, disabilities, and characters who identify as LGBTQ.

-- I'll read anything as long as the writing is good, the plot is compelling, and has some dark or romantic elements to it. Even if romance isn't the main focus, I need a lot of action scenes and adventure.

Bumping!

I'm sure people have more to add to the topic.

This is such a great topic, thank you so much for bumping it Lillith. Mine would be:

• All sorts of queer spec fic. Tragic stories, fluffy stories, femslash, slash, threesomes, coffeeshop AUs, all of it.
• All sorts of anime-inspired stories. Giant swords, multicoloured hair, weird sci-fi/fantasy mash-ups. I'LL EMBRACE IT. All of your odd, anime-inspired worlds are welcome.
• Got anything Digimon or Pokemon inspired? Kids and monsters and tragedy? I'M HERE FOR IT. GONNA CATCH 'EM ALL.
• Webcomics that want to make the leap into print.
• Illustrated stories and light novels.
• I'd love to really help talented fanfic writers who want to write original work. I'd enjoy the hell out of that.
• YA HORROR YESSSS
• Super British niche fiction. Like, disgruntled Welsh miner detectives. Irish bureaucracy dramas. Rain mages.
• Angry Scottish stuff about wanting freedooooooooom.
• Cyberpunk. Post-cyberpunk. Anything techie, especially with realistic female characters. This STEM lassie wants it.
• GIANT ROBOTS. ANYTHING WITH ROBOTS OR CYBORGS OR ANDROIDS.
• Lots of '#ownvoices' stories about lives I'm unfamiliar with. I'd love to hear people talk about their own cultures.
• Geeky girls. Stories like 'Fangirl' and 'Anna and the French Kiss' about ladies with really powerful passions.
• Feminist Lovecraftian stories.
• Weird, fun, voice-y horror like Welcome to Night Vale and The Black Tapes.
• I'd really like to see some mental illness books. Not necessarily humorous ones, either -- I'd like to see tragic ones, dark ones, angry ones. Humour is easier to read, easier to handle, but it doesn't match up to my own experiences at all.
• Foul-mouthed, unlikeable, curvy YA leads. I adored Maggie in THE AWESOME and I'd love to see more like her.
• Unlikeable female protagonists in general.
• Time travel! Always time travel.
• MONSTERS. The stranger and more unique, the better, though I also love when classics are done well.

*slams fist on table* More fat girls. More fat girls who don't even give a moment's thought to losing weight. More fat girls in SFF. MORE HAPPY FAT GIRLS!

-Byronic Heroines

Seriiously. Why do guys get to be complete bastards and still get the girl? Give me a girl who's like that and gets the girl/guy/alien being without gender or maybe doesn't get anyone.

Psychological horror, depressing realistic without a happy ending or romantic subplot, stories about major issues in the world (like cartels, homelessness, child soldiers, etc.) that aren't about the "lesson" but just about living, stream of consciousness, literary and literary classic retellings, books about drama clubs, true to form geek girls and boys without pandering, and diversity without being for the sake of diversity (meaning I just want to see the real world reflected in books - characters from diverse backgrounds and class systems and sexual identities existing beyond those backgrounds, class structures, and identities).