Jerry
Minstrel
Have a work of adult fiction and thinking of converting it into YA. Set in a non-descript medieval era, it does contain violence and a dark, philosophical, religious tone with some satanical elements. Basically, it's dark fantasy. What, if any, is the level of violence acceptable and tone in a YA novel? Of course, a work must be read to judge and see if I go too far... but I suppose, in example, one could say The Exorcist in its darkness could work as a YA, but would need to be trimmed and edited to fit the genre, but I wouldn't wish to remove the core pace and tone, or language. Simply, my work has its dark share of medieval warfare and violence, dark imagery, and philosophical musings.
Any examples of very dark fantasy that I may refer to that may be just on the edge? One that comes to mind for me is Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, straight from the opening scene which can be quite an unsettling image for young minds, yet... I want to go that route and push it, sprinkled with a philosophical message. By YA, I'm assuming 12-15 year old.
Any examples of very dark fantasy that I may refer to that may be just on the edge? One that comes to mind for me is Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, straight from the opening scene which can be quite an unsettling image for young minds, yet... I want to go that route and push it, sprinkled with a philosophical message. By YA, I'm assuming 12-15 year old.