2 Comments
Dec 15, 2022Liked by RS Benedict

As a phonics kid I was completely unaware of the Whole Language scam. And listening to this ep I did have the “wtf do you mean they can’t sound out words????” response you described, Raquel. That’s so bizarre and fundamentally backward. Every English nerd I know has a list of words they’ve been pronouncing wrong for years because they’ve only ever seen them written, not heard aloud. But we still knew what those words meant!

I think it’s interesting how YA, romance, and fanfic authors now swim in the exact same circles and put out the exact same arguments for being high art. It’s all very defensive and insecure. A romance novel by definition has to have a Happily Ever After (or Happy For Now) ending - which means an entire range of expression is cut off from the jump. There are experiments you just can’t do and have your book still fall within such a commercial genre. Same with YA, and increasingly with the fanfics that get spit-shined into YA. Most of these authors could not write toward something more artistic (even if they had the chops for it) because then the book wouldn’t sell.

That doesn’t negate the rigor of their craft. Just like it’s not easy to write a classic blockbuster movie or a great sitcom - a lot of work goes into creating an excellent YA novel. And I wish YA authors would articulate *that* more often - that just because it’s lighter fare doesn’t mean it’s easy. That there are very particular skills that go into writing for younger audiences that you don’t need for older readers. Instead of trying to position YA as something it’s not, why not take pride in what it IS?

Also, I didn’t know you had a Master’s in Linguistics! I don’t know how much that influences your own work, but I’m always interested in how authors who were rigorously trained in other disciplines bring that knowledge into their writing.

Expand full comment

Wow, this was so eye opening and maddening. I had to stop only 10 minutes in and comment. I was raised on phonics, thankfully. But, it does connect with something my wife and I have observed watching trash TV shows like The Bachelor. I call them "close enough words." Words that seem like they might be correct but are wildly wrong. SNL's bit with former porn stars Illustrates it pretty well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw4zlvTlaI0 Back to listening!

Expand full comment