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In today’s guide you’ll learn:
- What YA fiction is
- How to make your readers care about your story.
- The role of character progression and growth.
- How to write authentically for young adults, even if you aren’t one.
- The 1 ingredient your story’s ending MUST have.
In short: if you have a story that’s bursting to get out into the world, you’ll love this guide.
Unlike other guides to writing YA, we’ll be using detailed examples at each step.
Read on!
Contents
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About the Author
Mackenzie Belcastro is a freelance writer and the author of the low-fantasy, YA novel The Play House.
About So You Want to Write
Affectionately acronym’d SYWW, we are a member-led, professional development community of writers established in January 2017.
We partner with literary agents, editors, and published authors to create great content & workshops, and offer coaching that helps writers improve their craft and publish.
Chapter 1: The basics
While many of you may be seasoned writers, well-versed in the publishing world’s lingo, we also know that some of you are bound to be brand new to this world. If you’re part of the first camp, feel free to skip ahead.
If you’re in the second group—you’ve stumbled on this guide because you have a stellar story bouncing around in your head, but no idea if you’re even writing YA—don’t fret. You’re not alone. So many writers started where you are, in total darkness when it comes to industry terminology.Stick with us here as we pull you out, and get you crystal clear on what YA fiction means.
What The Heck Is Young Adult Fiction?
YA fiction is a category of fiction written for and about teens between the ages of 12 and 17. When compared to adult fiction, it’s quicker-paced and more plot-driven.
Young readers tend to have a short attention span. They crave immediacy. Keep this in mind with every word you lay down on the page. There’s no room for lofty contemplation here. Save any waxing and waning for your adult, literary novel.
Tip: writing in the present tense will feed that sense of urgency teens are hungry for.
As a rule of thumb, a YA book excludes any insight that a typical teen would not yet have. This is to maintain the integrity of the character.
Imagine if Leigh Bardugo wrote in Shadow And Bone that Alina Starkov had the wisdom of a senior citizen. It wouldn’t make sense, given Alina is a teenager. (Unless, of course, this was a part of her story, and she was, for example, aging backward, à la Benjamin Button.)
So, what about those novels written from the perspective of an adult protagonist reflecting back on his/her youth? Those are considered adult fiction.
Take Stephen King’s novellaThe Body,for example. This is a story about a group of 12-year-old boys that set out to find a dead body. It is told through the lens of Gordie, one of the central characters, all grown up. Reflecting back on this adventure, Gordie breaks the storyline here and there to insert thoughts from his adult perspective.
While this is appreciated by an older reader, it wouldn’t fly with a teen. Think about it. Teens do not read novels to be verbally slapped on the wrist by a “wise narrator.” They read to understand their friends, their frenemies, and, most of all, themselves. They’re looking to become empowered in their personal storiesthrough story.
YA writers take note: your goal should be to empower teen readers, not patronize them.
Now that we know what YA fiction is, let’s get clear on…
Why The Label Matters
In a nutshell: sales.
When your book goes to market, your publisher will need to be able to define your audience clearly. This is so they can go on to target it effectively, and sell your books!
Many writers say they “don’t care” about sales, that they’re only concerned with the art, and that if their books are meant to find an audience, they will.
And while that may be the case for you (how could I say otherwise?), most writers, when they face the music, do care about sales. If not because they want to be the next Victoria Aveyard, then because they want their stories to reach as many readers as possible.
Yes, there are adults that read YA, and teens that read adult fiction. But those will be the outliers—the readers that are coming to your book through recommendation, not targeted marketing.
In order to get your book into the hands of the readers that will most appreciate your story, it needs to be labelled appropriately.
A Note On Word Count
On average, YA fiction lies somewhere between 47,000 and 80,000 words. The only genres where it’s considered “acceptable” by most to write past 80K are science fiction and fantasy, because of the world-building required.
Writing above 100K is a risk, especially for debut authors. Unless you have a large platform that can be leveraged to help you sell your book, or social proof through Wattpad that your story is a page-turner, prospective publishers are going to be weary of investing in your book.
This isn’t because they’re bad people. It’s because publishers are the ones shelling out for each page printed. The lower your page count, the less of an upfront investment it is for them. Remember, you want to make your book an easy sell. So, steer clear of whoppers.
At least, until you build your cult following.
And on that note…
Chapter 2: How to make your readers care about your story
For readers to be invested in your story, they need to be able to see themselves in your characters. Books with characters that are too perfect or too flat are usually abandoned.
Why?
They don’t resonate. Teens are experiencing all sorts of difficulties in their day to day lives—from bullying, to gossip, to drugs, to assault, to deep depression, isolation, and so on. They don’t want overly polished plots and people. They want the messy, real deal.
Think of A Court of Thorns and Roses. Sarah J. Maas’s main character Feyre is far from the polished, prototypical female lead. She is tough. And not just tough in the heroic sense. Tough, too, in the I-have-a-dark-side-so-you-better-not-mess-with-me kind of way. Us readers are exposed to her underbelly. And we are drawn to it, because we see ourselves reflected in it. We’re not perfect, and neither is Feyre. We love her for this.
Avoid Stereotypes
The first step in creating characters that your readers can relate to is in the details. Dig well past stereotypes until you find traits and backstories that take your characters into the grey zone.
Here’s what that means.
Rather than paint your antagonist into a two-dimensional black hole (think: an out-and-out psychopath), give your antagonist some redeeming, even likeable qualities.
Like, for example, as Sarah J. Maas did with her character Manon Blackbeak in her novel Throne of Glass. Manon is, at the outset, ruthless, killing men to drink their blood. But, over time, readers come to see she has a rather tender heart—exposed when she risks everything to save Elide, Asterin, the Thirteen, and Dorian.
On the flip side, when it comes to your protagonist, you’ll want to give him or her deeper flaws. These will have your reader questioning their own support for your protagonist.
Look to Caroline Kepnes. She does this well in the bookYou. Readers are at once sympathetic to Joe Goldberg and disgusted by his behaviour. They can’t figure out if they’re on his side, or not. Confusion aside, it’s virtually guaranteed, when you do this, your readers will be intrigued. And glued to the page.
Quit Protecting Your Characters
If your characters still aren’t connecting to your readers, you may be “protecting” them. That is, you may be keeping them from getting too hurt. This is a problem because what that translates to is you are creating lives too shiny for readers and their gritty reality to identify with. This causes a disconnect, which leads to a lack of interest for readers.
Guilty of this? Don’t kick yourself. You’re in good company. Early drafts of Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian were, well, boring. Characters were indifferent when they should’ve been angry, and overly generous when they should’ve been selfish.
Focus On Emotional Truth
Teens want to read stories that show them they aren’t alone, but this doesn’t mean they need to lead theexact same lives as the characters in your story. They just need to see their struggles in the characters.
Look at Mateo Torrez in Adam Silvera’s They Both Die At The End, for example. Many of us can relate to his having anxiety, and his resultant decision to spend the majority of his time in the blogosphere.
And, I’d venture to bet, we can all, especially in the day and age of the Pandemic, relate to Mateo’s parallel feeling: that the online world isn’t enough, and that he needs to socialize in the real world, in spite of his anxiety.
So, while we may not all receive calls from Death-Cast telling us we’re going to die today (let’s keep our fingers crossed on that one, anyway), we can relate to Mateo’s feelings, his emotional truth.
Or, look atHarry Potter. Most of us can relate to Harry. Even if we’ll never be involved in a duel with Lord Voldemort, we can still understand his pain. We’ve all lost people we’ve loved and have, at some point or another, felt like a misfit.
Take note: most teens struggle with identity. They’re asking, either consciously or subconsciously, all the time, “Who am I?” “Who should I be?” “How should I behave?”
In sum, the key to making sure your readers care about your story lies in exposing the full spectrum of your characters’ emotional truth, and allowing them, like any good parent, to fall down, get hurt, and then get back up again.
Chapter 3: The role of character progression & growth
Personal growth is a big part of what differentiates YA and adult stories. Why? Think back to when you were a teen. For most, this was a period ofexponential growth because life was a minefield of firsts.
Don’t forget to be concise with your character’s reflections. Remember that YA is meant to be plot-driven. To ensure you’re keeping your story from getting too fatty, ask yourself of every scene:
- What does this bring to the overall story?
- Is this conversation/reflection necessary for the development of my characters?
- How can my characters develop here? What are they learning?
Chapter 4: How to write authentically for young adults (even if you aren’t one)
Embrace Your Inner Drama Queen
Most teens exaggerate. A lot. Like,one thousand times a day. Teens live in a heightened state of emotion, and exaggeration showcases that, compounded by their tendency to blurt things out before first thinking and putting them into perspective.
Say Adios To The Grammar Police
Dialogue not onlycan run, be cut short prematurely, or repeat senselessly in YA—they actuallyshould. Teens aren’t precious with their grammar. Reflect that.
Embrace Immaturity
For example, your character would likely have an emotional reaction to her friend ignoring her. She’d get angry or feel hurt. She wouldnotthoughtfully ponder what may be wrong in her friend’s life causing her to behave this way.
Choose Simple Words
Chapter 5: The 1 ingredient your story’s ending MUST have
Ah, thekernel of hope.
While no teen today wants to read a book with a boring, fairytale ending, optimismmust exist in your book’s close. For instance, while your main character may not sky rocket from an anti-social leper to being the most popular kid in school, you’ll want to give him/her a friend or two by the end.
Consider the popularSchool For Good And Evilseries. It opens portraying Agatha as grumpy, friendless, and insecure. Over time though, we see the humour in her grumpiness. We see her find a friend in Sophie. And, slowly, we witness her gain self-confidence, too.
Another example is found inThirteen Reasons Why.The story ends with Clay being unable to save the protagonist from ending her life. Although we feel his intense regret for not having tried harder to help her, there is a silver lining.
On the novel’s final page, Clay encounters another classmate that he is worried about. Unlike before, he doesn’t let the chance to help slip by. Motivated by Hannah’s story and his hope for a better outcome, he seizes the moment, and saves a life.
Chapter 6: Final Words
We hope you found this guide insightful and actionable. Now, it’s time to gather your notes and take a well-deserved break.
After that, don’t hesitate. Take what you’ve learned here and apply it to your story. If you need more direct help with your particular book, we’re here to support you.
Here’s how we at So You Want to Write? can assist:
- Enrol yourself in one of our intensive coaching programs
- Take a workshop, or
- Arrange a 1-on-1 meeting with one of our literary experts
Or, if you’re just in need of regular motivation and helpful tips, you can start simply by joining our email list.
Either way, we hope to hear from you soon.
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