David Levithan and Jennifer Niven on YA conventions: As long as it feels true to the character, it isn’t cliché
Working as co-authors for the first time, with the book Take Me With You When You Go, David Levithan and Jennifer Niven talk about writing for young adults, their favourites in their latest book and more.
When David Levithan and Jennifer Niven, two prominent names of the Young Adult (YA) genre collaborate, one can’t help but be thrilled about the outcome. And they were equally thrilled to be writing a story unplanned — without discussing the plot and without knowing what their co-author was going to throw at them next. It comes as another surprise when they reveal that it was a random tweet by Niven which caught Levithan’s attention, that set things into motion. And led to the birth of their first epistolatory novel, Take Me With You When You Go.
Teaming up as co-authors for the first time, they navigate some heavy subjects in their book. At its core, the novel — written in the form of email conversations between siblings Bea and Ezra — remains a story about hope, self-acceptance and the true meaning of family. We talk to the best-selling authors of All the Bright Places (Niven) and Boy Meets Boy (Levithan) about writing for young adults, their favourites in their latest book, dealing with disagreements and more.
What compels you keep telling stories about young adults? Do you ever feel it’s a struggle to not resort to cliches of the genre?
JN: I feel David and I both write from the heart with honesty, feeling, humor, and hope about issues that are important to young people. David once described young adult authors as “ambassadors of empathy,” and I feel that phrase could describe both of us because not only do we value writing about real-life issues, we care deeply about the readers we’re writing for. I feel that if you write honestly and tap into your inner teenager (mine is very much alive and well!), you can avoid clichés. So much of it comes down to just feeling it in your bones—if dialogue or characters or moments ever feel false to me, I work on them until they don’t.
DL: I think that once both Jennifer and I slip into the lives of our characters we’re not thinking of them in terms of YA conventions – we’re thinking of them in terms of their lives. As long as it feels true to the character, it isn’t cliché.
Where did the idea for Bea and Ezra’s story come from?
JN: A reader asked me on Twitter who I would most like to write a book with and I said David Levithan. He happened to see my tweet, and one week later he sent me Ezra’s first chapter of the book and the message: Be careful what you wish for…
DL: I’d always wanted to write an epistolary novel – and I instinctually felt Jennifer and I would be good at writing siblings. But honestly, when we started, all I knew is that Ezra woke up and found his sister Bea missing. I had no idea why Bea was missing. So I waited for Jennifer’s chapters to try to figure out what was going on.
The story is told in the form of an email conversation. What made you go with this particular format? Did you face any significant challenges brought on by this choice?
JN: David and I both—unbeknownst to the other— had always wanted to write an epistolatory novel. In some ways writing this way gave us the freedom to take our characters where they wanted to go. He wrote Ezra, I wrote Bea. And we never discussed the plot with each other.
DL: I think I had to give in completely to the uncertainty of where Bea was and why she’d left.
This is your first time working together as co-authors. What are you taking away from the experience?
JN: It’s wonderful knowing there is another person to share in the creation of the story, the characters, and the world you are crafting. It’s also very fun. Writing can be such a solitary endeavor, and while I enjoy that, it’s stimulating to collaborate. I usually do a lot of character work before I start writing, but in this case I just wrote on instinct. David sent me that first Ezra chapter, and through his eyes and his email I suddenly saw Bea. She just came to life and I tried not to overthink her but instead go with my first instinct of who she was. I’m going to take that practice with me into my solo books!
DL: Even though the book navigates some dark places, I have to say the word that first popped into my mind is delight. It was a thrill to me to share a book like this with Jennifer. In many ways, this mirrors what our characters are going through – it is always best to navigate the dark places when you have someone you trust by your side.
Authors are often possessive about their stories. So it’s not a reach to assume co-authors would have their moments of disagreement. How do you get over those or find the middle ground?
JN: I know it may be hard to believe, but we never had a moment of disagreement. We wrote the book without discussing the plot and without knowing what the other was going to do. I loved the moments when we really surprised each other. As in big twists and scenes that came as a complete shock to the other! In the same way Ezra and Bea were discovering, via emails, what the other was doing, David and I were discovering, via chapters, what the other’s character was doing. It was a thrilling way to write!
DL: I think one of the great things about collaborating like this is you go into it knowing you’re going to share, and that you are in charge of your own character. But honestly, Jennifer and I were on the same wavelength throughout – even when she threw me some plot curveballs, I knew I had to swing. Even when it came to the title of the book – we each brainstormed individually, and when we went to share our lists, Take Me With You When You Go was on both of our lists.
What do you do when the uninvited guest named writer’s block comes calling?
JN: I try to look at it not as writer’s block, but as a signal to myself to step away from my desk for a while. To clear my head. To maybe revisit what I’m trying to make my characters or the plot do because maybe that block means that I’m forcing them in a direction they shouldn’t go. Or maybe I just need to recharge and rest my brain and my creative self. I’ve also learned to write my way through with music. I put on a playlist (I almost always create them for my characters and my stories) and just try to lose myself in the music and remind myself that writing is play. More often than not, this frees me up and allows me to keep writing forward.
DL: Send the story off to my co-author, of course!
Your favourite character in the book.
JN: I have a real soft spot in my heart for Bea. Not just because I wrote her but because she has always felt she lets everyone down. She has always felt she was never enough. No one has ever believed in her, except Ezra. I love the way she discovers herself.
DL: The true answer is that I’d give it to Bea and Ezra in a tie.
Your favourite quote from the book.
JN: “It’s wonderful when someone else sees you, the real you, but maybe the most important thing is seeing yourself.”
DL: I never answer this question, because I want the reader to discover it while they’re reading the book, not while they’re reading an interview with me!
If Ezra and Bea made a playlist, which songs or artists would feature on it?
JN: Funny you should ask! I actually have a playlist I made for Bea when I was writing her chapters. Here’s a link.
DL: Ooh – I’m going to leave this question to Jennifer, because she made the actual playlist. . . .
What is one message you hope your readers get from Take Me With You When You Go?
JN: Always remember that you are unique in all the world, that you are important and necessary and enough, that you are deserving of love and that you matter. And you are not alone.
DL: That it isn’t selfish to put your own safety and well being as priorities over the people who would like you to live in an unsafe or unsupportive place. I want teenagers to understand that the idea that you must automatically respect your parents is a false construct. They have to earn that respect by treating you well.
Author tweets at @TheMissCurious