...Words sometimes hurt.
I'm sure a lot of you have heard that old saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." To tell you the truth...I. Hate. That. Saying. Hate's a strong word, right? It's an emotion. A feeling. You'd react if someone told you they hated you, right? It may be a small word but there's certainly a fair amount of emotion tied to four little letters.
I just watched an ABC Family movie called, Cyberbully, so thought I'd share my thoughts about how the theme of bullying inspires a lot of my writing and young adult fiction in general.
Truth: I've been bullied. Isn't hasn't ever really stopped. Sure, I've stood up for myself and said what I needed to say in order for them to "stop"...but in reality, it can and probably will happen again and again. Different people come and go from my life, your lives, and we take the good with the bad. I've come to realize that bullying doesn't have an age limit because people will always find a way to be cruel no matter how young or old they are. Bullies talk behind our backs. They whisper things loud enough so you can hear them. They write things on websites. Like ants, they gather with other bullies and try to tear you down, intimidating you with their numbers. I swear this rant is going somewhere...
As a young adult writer, I always strive to include "true to life themes" in my stories, whether that be boyfriend/friend issues, parent issues, school issues, bullying, etc. Bullying just so happens to be one of my most used themes and it's no wonder why, when the world we live in is filled with so much violence.
The novel I'm currently working on actually deals with all of the aforementioned themes but specifically focuses on bullying as one of the subplots. I think it is important that young girls (and guys!) read books that show strong protagonists triumphing over peer pressure and bullying. Hatred, jealousy, and envy are three things I automatically think of when I hear the word, bully. Because I think of my characters as living, breathing beings (it's a writer thing), I always take into consideration their feelings, emotions and actions in regard to situations they encounter.
Now, even though my novel is set in the 1800's, the theme of bullying is no stranger to this time period than any other in history. I could write for days about how women were treated like property, etc., but that's not really the point I'm trying to make. What I want people to realize is simply...words are never merely words. They are thoughts, feelings, emotions, phrases and ideas written with the intent to make someone FEEL or THINK or REACT...you get the idea.
This is why I love reading and writing young adult fiction. Emotions are often raw and unforgiving and characters, namely high school aged, are wrought with decisions that will impact their futures. Words will pass between friends. Words will pass between enemies. Words will be spoken and unspoken. Bullying will exist on paper, in chat rooms, on Myspace, on Facebook, on blogs...anywhere words exist.
My wish, is for the words I write to affect positive change in the world, no matter how small that change might be.
Some books dealing with this issue include:
- Names Will Never Hurt Me by Jaimie Adoff
- The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin by Josh Berk
- Blubber by Judy Blume
- Hate List by Jennifer Brown
- The Truth about the Truman School by Dori Hillestand Butler
- Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood by Eileen Cook
- The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
- Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
- This Is What I Did by Ann Lee Ellis
- The Skin I'm In by Sharon Flake
- Shattering Glass by Gail Giles
- Sticks and Stones by Beth Goobie
- Nailed by Patrick Jones
- Girl on the Other Side by Deborah Kerbel
- Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson
- 13 Reasons Why, Jay Asher
