Being on Junior Varsity is like receiving a gold star when
you did badly on a test or a participation trophy even though you lost. Writing
a young adult novel is like being on junior varsity. It is common opinion,
misconception, that the books are simpler. When in fact they are simply more
enjoyable. He approaches the genre as more simplistic,
which is logical as that teenagers are commonly thought of as more simplistic.
Eliot Schrefer views being on the junior varsity of literature as a compliment.
Even before the publication of his book, Shrefer knew that the young adult
audience was cruel and picky. Teenagers don’t want the author’s opinion; they
want a story, they want to be a priority. After his experience with his young
adult book, Schrefer explains “the book’s
unrelenting emphasis must be on character and event, and not the brilliance of
the author’s viewpoint.” In his editorial, Shrefer reaches out to other
authors and asks them to reexamine why they are writing: is it for themselves
or for their readers? Appealing to the commonalities
between his novel’s audience and his editorial’s, Schrefer highlights the
desires of any reader. Schrefer’s emotional appeal is evident in the second
paragraph of his essay when he describes himself after his first novel failed: “Betrayed
by the world, I locked the door and did what I generally do with bad news: I
went online and watched plane crash re-enactments.” A feeling known by his
adult, or former adolescent, audience, Schrefer connects to them in a way all
too familiar. Schrefer establishes his credibility as a writer, connects with
the adult audience, and presents logical facts to persuade the writers in his
audience they must write for the right reasons.
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