Q&A with Nicola Morgan author of Blame My Brain about workings of teenage brain - ANSWERS BACK

[RachelMumsnet]

This week we have 50 copies of Nicola Morgan's Blame My brain up for grabs. Described as a 'carefully researched, accessible and humorous examination of the ups and downs of the teenage brain', it has chapters dealing with powerful emotions, the need for more sleep, the urge to take risks, the difference between genders and the reasons behind addiction or depression. Essential reading for parents of teens and pre-teens and for teenagers themselves.

If you're interested in reading, apply for a free copy. Come back to join the discussion and post a question to author Nicola Morgan.

Entered. I do love Nicola Morgan.

Can we ask her creative writing questions as well?

With a 12 year old who has embraced Minecraft as if his life depends upon it, I could do with some extra insights - so long ago since I was a teenager that I can not really remember what it felt like in any useful manner!

Would be most useful ATM!

Ooh, I have this book already and I absolutely love it. I like the way it's actually aimed at the monsters teenagers themselves. I'll go away and think of a question now.

have read the book and found it helpful. Does Nicola have any insight on dealing with those whose brain does not seem to develop beyond the teenage level?

As Spock might say - fascinating.

So question - when did the idea for the book pop into your own brain? Or had it been brewing for a while? Or was it suggested to you?

Entered! I have been so taken by surprise by my 12yr old DD's teenage behaviour lately I could sure do with a little insight into the workings of her brain!!!

I think I need this!!!

oooh I got one. I am so happy. Thank you mumsnet and Nicola Morgan. I am hoping this book is going to save us or at least make teenage years feel less like armageddon. Will let you know how we get on.

Oooh I got one too! Looking forward to its arrival as I have heard positive things said about it.

The 50 copies have now been allocated and we look forward to hearing your thoughts. In order to give you plenty of time to read Blame My Brain, we're keeping the Q&A open until 27th May, so please post your questions to author Nicola Morgan before then. We'll post up her answers on 3rd June.

If you haven't been allocated a copy, feel free to join the discussion and post a question to Nicola about the book.

Really happy to have won as my daughter loves this book and has borrowed it from the library several times. I will be reading it when it arrives!

My question to Nicola: My dd is 13 and has been suffering from depression for about 9 months (we've got a CAMHS referral, but it's taking ages of course). Both my MIL and BIL have had quite serious depression throughout their adult lives. Could there be a genetic component to my dd's depression, and does this make it more likely that she's going to be suffering for the rest of her life too? Also, do girls sometimes benefit mood-wise from taking a contraceptive pill (though understand that this may be something that you can't comment on)?
Thank you, Rx

So pleased to have won a copy. Not just an interesting read, but also I really liked the way it was written. It struck me that it must be hard to be able to write in a way to engage teens. So Nicola, have you always been able to talk/write to teens or did you learn the hard way?

Thanks for the copy of Blame My Brain - got it at the weekend so it's still on my "to read" pile. However as we have a 12 year old son who is turning into Kevin/Perry before our eyes, I am hoping for some illumination and will pass it on for him to read.

DS has always been argumentative but since going to secondary school he's got loads worse. Everything is a battle. He is only really happy when he is communicating 'online' with his friends, playing Minecraft? We don't think this is acceptable but getting him to be interested in anything else meets with a "do I have to?" type attitude.

He has expressed an interest in cricket and was keen to get into the school team which he hasn't because he doesn't practise enough in an out-of-school-club. However, we made inquiries about a local(ish) club but of course he doesn't want to do it. AAARGH. But then expresses regret that he's not been selected for the school team! Talk about irrational!

Is this normal and how do we find some common ground for doing things other than spending all his time in his room playing Minecraft. It is quite exasperating trying to involve a 12 year old who only seems to want to beat to the sound of his own drum!

Thanks so much for the book. Amazing read as it is not only easy to read, humorous and engaging, it is great for us oldies and young ones - teens. Although I am not so sure it was a good idea to let my 15 year old read it as she is using every opportunity to remind me of what the book says! The book has also managed to engage my 21 year old who has learning difficulties who has found my 15 year old daughter difficult to interpret many a time.

Great read, so glad that i won a copy - thank you ;) so great that now my mum is reading it so to be able to relate to her grandkids. thanks again.

Thanks for the book. Great title which of course catches both attention and imagination, I have friends queuing up to borrow it! My first question is should I tell them to buy their own?

We loved doing the quizzes and I like the way no-one is "wrong". I also like the way it sparked the whole family into several discussions throughout. As I read the part in the book about helping yourself to make the most of your sleep patterns, I began to wonder what you thought about the idea of helping teenagers by having a curfew imposed which would dictate the time they have to get off the streets? A flexible curfew put forward as a way to help them unwind and settle down at night? Various counties/countries have tried it to prevent disruptive behaviour but from what you have written, do you think it would be a good idea if it were actually put forward as a way to help youngsters on school nights? Would it help with peer pressure and help parents who are struggling with rebellion - or do you think it is something everyone has to learn to work out for themselves when the brain is ready to take it on-board? (Just for the record, I would prefer another word to curfew, as it seems so strong a word, when trying to think of positive steps.)

Lots more to ask but will leave that for others. Agree with what has already been said - love the way you talk seamlessly to the teen, the parent, the teen, both etc.

Any plans on writing for different age groups?

I received my book - so happy and Thank you mumsnet. I do so hope this book will give me an insight and help make the teenage years feel less like a drama! Will let you know how we get on.

Thanks so much for the book - not finished yet, but a fascinating read so far. My daughter isn't quite a teen yet (I'm reading in preparation!) but has enjoyed the quizzes whilst having a nose over my shoulder and I'm sure she'll also read it when she's abit older (I think its great that both parents & their children can use this book). I know this book is aimed specifically for the teenage years but my question would be if there are any hints or tips we can consider before this period to help smooth the transition. Thanks

Loving the book. Reading it together with my 10 year old - so she and I know what to expect as she grows!

Only half way through the book, finding it really interesting. First question : what would your number one top tip to parents about parenting teens be?

Thank you for my copy. Its very cleverly written, did you find it hard to find a writing style to suit both parents and teen readers?

Thank you very much for my free copy.

Right, here goes.

I wanted to love everything about this book because I am a huge fan of Nicola Morgan - her creative writing books are the best in the business and I really enjoy her YA fiction.

I loved nearly everything about this book....

It is a totally fantastic concept for a book. Nicola Morgan is known for being willing to give the harsh truth in her books on how to get published and I was delighted to see some of the crabbit old bat persona sneaking in here as well - eg her being willing to inform her teenage readers that the evidence points to bedtime being a useful thing. I wish there were more books on parenting with nice solid science underlying them. It works really well. I like the way it uses science to promote intra-familial harmony. Definitely performs a service to humanity.

The writing is brilliant. It's breezy and accessible and I loved the way she makes it interactive with quizzes. The teenagers in my family would enjoy it and the grown-ups would find it useful. My kids are still pre-teen but I think it helped me understand them a little bit better, too.

The one thing that took me aback is that the chapter on gender didn't seem to contain the openness to different theories that the earlier chapters did. It reads as a bit Simon Baron-Cohen fangirl. She seemed readier to accept this stuff, uncritically, than she was in the previous sections (one of the strengths of the book is the way she lays out different theories side by side), and that bothered me rather a lot because I've read things that have criticised S B-C for overstating brain difference at birth. And the section on evolution and gender (pp 131-2) needed to be a little bit more critical, I think. I'd be a bit wary of giving this to my teenage nephews without a chat about the cultural context of science and the problems with some widely-quoted brain sex research (eg experiments with babies where the researcher doesn't know the sex of the child but the person holding the baby actually does, or the evolutionary psychology that is really little more than just-so stories).

Now I'm going to be awful and ask Nicola a question that has nothing to do with the book (because MNHQ didn't say I couldn't )

Nicola, you've written both contemporary and historical YA fiction. Is it harder to get teenagers to read historical fiction than contemporary? There's very little straight YA historical on the shelves of my local Waterstones (though a fair bit of historical with fantasy elements) and I wonder if that reflects non-magical historical fiction being hard to sell to teens?