Blog #6 Melissa Davis

This blog topic really made me take a long, hard look at my writing. I had to ask some difficult questions about myself and my work. Do I even know what my political, religious, social, sexual, and economic beliefs are and can I recognize them, hidden or revealed? After much soul searching, reading, and discussions with myself and my “readers”, I came to two conclusions: I write what I know, and I do try to diversify my writing to reach a larger audience.

I am an only child who grew up in a two-parent household. I have had times of wealth and times of poverty. I have felt totally accepted and completely shunned. I have had good relationships and horrible ones, been loved and been abused. I have experienced the joy of religious belief and the utter devastation of my faith destroyed. I have felt confident about my political ideas and understandings and completely lost in the hidden agendas of politicians. I have lived in small-town South Georgia and Atlanta and have all the diversity perceptions that come with both areas.

With that said, I do try to vary my characters, settings, and ideas in my writing. Since I write mostly for young adults, I find that my characters and plots are somewhat stereotypical. I have noticed that in reading other (YA) writers, they each try to impart some sort of moral, ethical, or thematic lesson to their readers. I do as well. I spend 180 days a year with teens and I use what I see, hear, and learn from them to imbue my characters with realistic characteristics. I am limited in my experience since I teach in a rural county; however, over the years, the diversity of my students has greatly expanded and therefore, I have a greater pool of characteristics and beliefs to pull from.

In my latest story, I have a group of teenagers who are quite different. Sophia and Samuel are twins, a sister and brother, who grew up in foster homes. Sophia is the all-American cheerleader type while Samuel is the geeky, techno expert. October is an Asian Goth-girl who comes from a single parent family (her father) who was deeply cultural-minded and religious. Rick is a wealthy, spoiled brat who was given everything he ever desired, except love and attention by his parents. Shawna is an African American girl who grew up with her older brother until he was killed by gangs. Jesse is the final character they pick up and he is a bit of a mystery to the group.

I find that my beliefs are revealed within my writing and I do so deliberately. One of the reasons for writing young adult fiction is to help them through the overwhelming experiences that come with growing up. Some of them need to feel connected with a character, some need to escape from their reality, and some need to see that, despite adversity, you can succeed. While my views might be limited, I try to use my students to expand the diversity of my characters.