Wednesday, August 24, 2016

YA Contemporary: TAKING ON THE TEACHERS



Author's Name: Raimey Gallant
Category: YA
Genre: Contemporary
Stage of Completion: Mostly Polished and Looking to Query
Preferred Critique Style: Straight to the Point, line and big picture editor
Cat Person or Dog Person: Meow
Tea or Coffee: Cold tea with lotsa sugar

Short Pitch

In my humourous YA contemporary TAKING ON THE TEACHERS, fifteen-year-old Addyn is that in-your-face environmentalist girl, whose teachers and classmates are fed up with her combative attitude. Likewise, Addyn is tired of arguing, and done with her outcast status. When given the opportunity to lead a green initiative at Bagshaw High, she jumps at the chance to reinvent herself. She’ll have to prove to her newly-recruited eco student group – including her crush – that she can quit fighting with her teachers and convert enough into allies for their project to get the green light.

Writing Sample

Before I quit synchronized swimming, my coach would push my team through marathon water-treading drills. “Up,” she’d repeat over and over, until our shoulders were high and dry.

Ten minutes of egg beating my legs felt like an eternity. As always, my calf would seize half way through. I’d hold my toes and straighten my knee to relieve the pressure. With my nose bobbing at the surface, I’d inhale as much chlorinated liquid as air.

“Do Olympians take leg-cramp breaks?” my coach would ask. “No, because judges don’t award high marks to swimmers who look like they’re drowning.”

Five days a week, this was my routine. After two years, I decided I liked air enough to breathe it full time and abandoned synchronized swimming along with my chances of going pro. Realistically, there were no medals in my future, and I wasn’t willing to spend my teenage years tucked into a swim cap that didn’t prevent my auburn hair from turning a greenish tinge anyway.

No, I was ready for a carefree adolescence, filled with the type of comic indiscretions I’d seen in movies, and a big group of friends to plan and execute said indiscretions with. 

These future friends would call me all the time. “Addyn,” they’d say, “Let’s fill the principal’s car with that vat of slosh the cook refers to as tiramisu, because we’re cool and carefree.” And I’d be like, “That’s a great idea, and who cares if we get caught, because consequences expire when we turn eighteen.”

4 comments:

  1. Humorous contemporary, my favorite style to read! Admittedly I've never critiqued anything like this, so I may or may not be helpful. Still, would be nice to trade chapters and find out. Mine is a [sometimes humorous] contemporary fantasy--not a whole lot of fantasy--inspired by the Chinese legend of the Monkey King. Feel free to contact me at zoedragon@yahoo.com

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    1. Thanks for connecting Zoe! Can't wait to dig in!

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  2. Love your voice! Every story I write ends up being humorous in some respect, even the dark topics. I think life is just like that. I've written 3 YA novels and usually write YA. I'm currently writing a story set in college, so if you wouldn't mind crossing over a tad, I think our styles might gel well. I'm writing a retelling of His Girl Friday (If you know the Cary Grant film? It's a screwball comedy!) set in the 90s. I'd love to send you a sample if you're interested. Write me here: jbeemills@hotmail.com since I hardly check my Google account. I usually swap chapter by chapter, but I'm open to anything. I attend the Big Sur Writing Workshop and have taken some online courses so I'm not a total newbie, but I'm not agented yet. Please pick me, lol!

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    1. I feel so much love right now. I'm actually considering an adult right now, so we may end up cross critiquing over many age categories. :) I'll email you.

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