Your Own Story

[Music]

i’m the sort of person that can read a

400 page book

faster than they can talk a mile i am

also the sort of person that loves to

write and read

to the point where i have written and

published three books and have a long

and growing to be read list

still i think we can all agree that we

have all read a book at one point in our

lives

and maybe some of you found your love

for reading then and

maybe some of you didn’t maybe because

you didn’t connect with the characters

or the story wasn’t one you were

interested in

but what if i told you that there now

more than ever

exists a world of stories out there that

can have

that story you have always wanted to

read and never found

i would first like to start by saying

that i am not here to tell you that you

should read

i’m sure a lot of people have probably

already told you that

and that you’re a little tired of

hearing it if not a lot

let’s be honest but what i am here to

talk to you about are the changes in the

ya book industry

or the young adult book industry because

it has become a place where you can talk

about

serious issues to what you might read

and write and a place

with so much more diversity in its

characters topics plotlines

and authors in the recent years so that

if you decide to pick up a book or start

writing after this stock

which would be amazing or if you decide

to do so in years to come

you know what is out there for you

books are never easy to pick especially

if you don’t know what you like reading

about

personally i love young adult fantasy

otherwise known as why fantasy and i

have loved reading since i was very

little

and that’s why i can tell you that the

young adult book industry

has changed tremendously in the recent

years

the stories that before predominated the

industry have

changed to become much more diverse and

inclusive

we might have read the story of the man

that saves stamp soul in distress

while today we read the story of the

damsel that saves herself

or even the man before we might have

also read this story

of the predominantly caucasian main

characters

while today we read about people from

all around the world as main characters

and about different cultures and sexual

orientations

stories have changed to better connect

with the new generation of young adults

take some of the ya classics around the

world in 80 days by jules byrne

frankenstein by mary shelley or even

damien by herman hess

all of those stories have caucasian male

main characters

and they help build the idea of what the

main character

and story should be that the industry is

now changing

even harry potter by j.k rowling or lord

of the rings by j.r.r tolkien

have male main characters and there’s

nothing wrong with that

but we now have more stories that have a

strong female main character

like mayer from the red queen series

written by victoria aveyard

that is leading a revolution that is

fighting for equality in this

world that is divided by blood or even

anes gaffa from the six of crows zoology

written by leigh bardugo that was

kidnapped and trafficked at a very young

age but managed to come out victorious

and participate in this

amazing heist or even the book by adam

silvera they both die at the end

and yes you heard me right they are

literally telling you the ending of the

book

in its title but it still does not

prepare you for all the wants to live

and cry that you will go through by the

end of it

and i can tell you that by experience

stories now also talk about current and

pressing issues

the hate you give is a book written by

angie thomas

that talks about police brutality and

racism in society

that before most likely would have been

censored like to kill a mockingbird by

harper lee

now it is an award-winning book for the

fictional story it tells

that is true to so many stories now

also not only show the good morals in

people but also the bad or green morals

people can have

renegades a trilogy by marisa mayer

shows us how that line between

good and bad isn’t as clear as we like

to think it is

and it does that through this world with

prodigies with powers

and normal people why books

also now talk about topics that before

most likely would have been reserved for

the adult

or neo-doll books like trauma the

journey many go through depression

thoughts of self-harm learning to love

yourself and to accept others

and to not believe everything you’re

told as a fact

reading about these topics as a young

adult can help you see that whatever

challenge you might be facing or going

through

you are not alone in it and that can

help you also feel some

comfort the ya book industry has changed

to better

show and embrace the world today one

where everyone

should be and is different and one where

you should not try to fit the single

mole

that was previously portrayed

stories aren’t the only ones that have

experienced change in the ya book

industry

others and publishing as well publishing

has become something

that does not have to be done with a

publishing house

but something that anyone can do with

their own resources

and a self-publishing service which

helps you print and edit the book that

you might have created

we also have more female authors being

picked up by publishing houses

and getting the recognition they deserve

because before

there were very few that had

best-selling novels we also now have

authors from

all around the world and with different

beliefs hafsah faisal is an american

muslim woman who wears the burka

and is of sri lankan and arab descent

and is the author of the book series

sans of arua

in which it gives us a taste of ancient

arabia

as the y a book industry changes the

community does as well

readers and authors now more openly

speak out against serious issues and

stories

denouncing stories and even authors that

are racist or that misportrayed a

marginalized community

and marginalized communities now more

than ever speak out to prevent any

misinformation or straight up offensive

information and stories

sometimes authors don’t listen and don’t

try to change and other times they do

like it happened with this author her

book raised controversy

because many people found it racist for

various reasons

like a passage in the story in which it

referred to dreadlocks in a way that

added to the stigma

that this hairstyle isn’t a good option

for hygienic purposes

later on she apologized and made sure

that the passage was taken out of future

copies of the book

and even then readers still found the

story problematic

this comes to show how racist

information can still be found in

stories

but because readers spoke out and better

educated the author and

others the spread of this offensive

passage and information

was stopped the reading community has

become

a wonderful place where you can hear

different perspectives

and opinions regarding stories both

praising them and

other times in the hopes to help the

industry further change

and to prevent any misinformation racist

homophobic

anti-semitic or any sort of offensive

writing to not be deemed as

okay or part of the art

i started writing when i was seven years

old and i can remember

every night before i went to sleep my

dad would always read me a bedtime story

but one night i got tired of hearing the

story that didn’t go how i wanted it to

go

or that didn’t have anything that i

wanted a story to have

so i took matters into my own hands by

basically hiring my dad to write down a

story that i would tell him

bit by bit every night before i went to

sleep

the next day is where he would earn his

faith by typing down in his computer

everything that i had told him since

back then i

barely knew how to tie my shoes never

mind typing a computer

i would then sit down with him and tell

him to change certain things to fit the

story that i had come up with within my

head

and that’s how slowly we published my

first book in east any other prophecies

a year later the second book of the

series was published alongside my father

elorigender crufix

and it followed a very similar dynamic

except this time

i managed to sit down and write a couple

of the pages of the book

later on i realized that my father’s

services were

no longer required and that i would have

to let him go

so i basically fired him and did the

next book on my own

sitting down on afternoons to write a

new story that had popped into my head

and it was sometimes really hard knowing

how to continue the story

or write a scene to fit specifically

what i had come up with in my head

but that taught me that you’re in no

rush to write your story

you will inevitably need breaks and you

should take them

leave the story for a few days so that

when you come back you have a fresh mind

and try it again

and don’t forget to edit edit edit and

edit some more

especially if you want to take your

writing more seriously or professionally

because there will always be small

things that you might have missed the

first time around

eventually i re-hired him and even

involved my mom for the translation and

to touch up the drawings for my third

book streaming course

that was published a year later i have

not stopped writing since because

writing for me is a way to let my

imagination go crazy and to also express

myself my emotions and my ideas through

the characters or the stories that i

might create

because it’s my story and it can be

anything i want it to be

in my more recent writing i concentrate

on creating characters from

all around the world to help tell my

stories and also talk about

issues that we as young adults might

face like not feeling like you’re enough

learning to love yourself and who you

are and the life is not completely black

and white

writing has also taught me that no idea

is too crazy or bad

so if an idea for a story pops into your

head and you’re doubting it because you

don’t think it’s good enough

stop yourself right there don’t kill any

ideas before even trying them

you will never truly know if it really

isn’t what you want

unless you give them a try make writing

your own personal channel to experience

issues and educate yourself through

research for stories you want to write

when needed and do it correctly

and speak out on things you believe in

even if you don’t share your writing

with anyone

my more recent stories i have not shared

with anyone because

i want to keep them to myself for now

and that’s another of the amazing things

about writing

it is something that you can and should

do for yourself

and yourself only whether you share what

you write is completely

up to you that’s one of the biggest

lessons that i have gotten from writing

right because it’s something that you

like and that you find a joy in

not because of external pressure you

might feel make writing a little safe

space for yourself that you can

count on and and go to whenever you want

i always read and write alone in my room

with music playing in the background

because

it makes me feel like i’m in my own

little world so make it your own little

personal bubble

we always taught how reading is a way

for us to learn more

language history or lessons and it’s

completely true

but reading for me is also a way to let

my imagination

run loose and to also learn grow and

help

understand myself and others better

yea has shown me a variety of characters

that i can relate to

on a personal level and that has helped

me understand much more of

who i am why i might feel certain things

act a certain way

because the characters and i are

sometimes driven by the same things

it is almost like seeing yourself fully

for the first time

why books have shown me characters that

vary in race

shape size belief sexual orientation

culture

and much more and issues from our world

today even through fantasy worlds that

are not even remotely similar in

structure

it have so many similar

even with all the progress that has been

made there is inevitably a gap for

growth and change

there’s still a lot of censorship around

the world and in the community which

limits the titles that young adults can

read and female authors still face a

disadvantage

compared to male authors when being

picked up by publishing houses

and diversity has gone from something

that was done to embrace the world today

and positively

to something that is done just for the

sake of being able to say the story is

diverse

because it has a character of color or

part of the lgbtq plus community

the ya book industry and the industry in

general is by no means perfect

but it has become a place that is

evolving alongside its readers to better

connect with them

especially in ya in all its genres

we have gone from having a very

established mold of what the main

character

storyline and plotline should be to one

where we can experience different

characters and stories that we can

relate to on a personal level

reading and writing can be a way for you

to express yourself

phrase your voice and grow as an

individual there can almost be a guiding

step into figuring out who you are as a

young adult

and it’s a way for you to step into a

thousand different lives and live them

as if they were your own

and sometimes even get a break from

everyday life with just a flip of a page

there have been so many times that i

have been so invested in a story

that i can help but freak out of

happiness surprise or anger

other times for the sake of my parents i

just go for the

slowly close the book because i need to

take a mental pause to process what just

happened

or the slightly more violent option

throwing the book across the room

but hey if a story isn’t causing you

that sort of reaction

is it really that good of a story

reading and writing can create amazing

roles that before the changes in the ya

book

industry we as young adults might not

have been able to experience it in the

same way

so step into that world look for books

in your local bookstore

check out booktube or booktalk which are

the book sites of youtube and

tick tock for book recommendations

search for that story you have always

wanted to read

and if you can’t find it write your own

story

you