When I wrote The Virgin Suicides, I gave myself very strict rules about the narrative voice: the boys would only be able to report what they had seen or found or what had been told to them.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Sick children, if not too shy to speak, will always express this wish. They invariably prefer a story to be told to them, rather than read to them.
A story is told as much by silence as by speech.
I've always been interested in writing about people, including young children who are not able to speak for themselves. As in my novel 'Black Water,' I provide a voice for someone who has died and can't speak for herself.
There's nothing wrong with a male's point of view, obviously, but it's just a different way of telling a story.
I wanted to write something from a child's viewpoint... Five of the characters I have played in movies have either been abused or became abusers, themselves, and I just kind of felt like there was a need.
Stories are different every time you tell them - they allow so many possible narratives.
I'm not a lawyer, but I do know this: we need to protect our ability to tell controversial stories.
I write the story as it comes to me - YA is my natural voice, not a conscious choice.
As cliched as it sounds, if you have an original voice and an original idea, then no matter what anybody says, you have to find a way to tell that story.
I want young readers to know that to tell their own story is the most important thing they'll ever do.