Writing for YA Audience

Writing for YA is a lot different than writing for children. I repeat, IT IS A LOT DIFFERENT! What a writer portrays for a twelve-year-old is not what they should portray for a sixteen or seventeen-year-old. Technically, anyone under eighteen is a child. Yes, okay. I agree. But they go through so many different stages. When I was fifteen-years-old, I moved out. When I was twelve . . . the idea of living on my own was foreign. Three years makes a big difference. So while this might not apply to all pre-teens vs. teens, when I write stories for the YA audience, I have to try to remember how I thought and felt when "I" was a young adult, and then try to look at the world today and apply it.

1. TEENAGERS ARE NOT CHILDREN! Why don't people realize this when writing/critiquing a story? Yes, I get why you avoid 'triggering' your audience. If you talk about death or suicide, you don't want to allow it to be okay. What if a young reader gets ahold of your work and then decides, "Oh, well, it was okay for this character . . . " If they went on to commit suicide because of that, how would the author feel? No, you definitely don't want to wade into that pool - life is too precious, especially when they haven't even lived yet. But, you also don't want to dumb down the story, either. Teenagers will put the book down if they feel like subjects are being brushed over because they can't 'understand' them. It's the equivalent to a parent using a condescending tone and saying they'll understand when they are older. So, I guess my rant on this can be summed up nicely into the following: don't brush over topics in YA/New Adult, but do not 'trigger'. If you are going to discuss suicide, bullying, promiscuity, etc., make sure that you let it be known these are not okay, and should not be construed as the 'norm'. I love a gritty book as much as the next girl (a true story is powerful), but I remember what it's like to be a teenager, and adult problems don't wait until adulthood to arrive. Just be careful in your message. Words have a powerful influence.

2. WORD CHOICE. First, text talking is for losers. Plain and simple, it's hard to read and annoying, and nobody - not even the teenagers who love to use it - will read a story full of text talk. Should you say 'okay' instead of 'acceptable'? Yes. But they do think/talk in coherent sentences that aren't broken up with 'uh...like so and so...' and 'like, totally'. Use a few more 'likes' in dialogue, but whatever slang you think they use, don't overdo it. (Like, I totally don't, like, reading like this.) Also, there is always a difference in dialogue vs. internal monologue i.e. 'thinking'.

3. SEX. Teenagers have sex. Period. But when we write about it, remember it's not Harlequin Romance. A little petting, some cuddles, and sweet talk - that's all they need. Make it real by including the feelings instead of actions. It has been done beautifully and can be done so again... and again... New Adult novels tend to be a bit more detailed, and they should be, as most people 'experiment' in college and their 20's, but still, keep it as 'less is more'. It's classier!

4. PARENTS/GUARDIANS. These guys usually aren't so present in the character's life. At least not so much as the character should be making the decisions/realizations of their conflict on their own. While it isn't right to undermine the parental figure, it is also necessary to promote YA characters as self-sufficient as possible. They don't have to break rules or curfews or the law to do this, either. If writing for the New Adult audience, sure, there aren't parents in college - high school is different.

5. LENGTH. While the novel length should be up to 80k (normal YA) or around 100k (Fantasy/YA), you can and should keep both paragraph and chapter length minimal. This gears readers for a fast-paced ride and easily enables them to just read one more chapter (we all say that). Really, though, young readers have busy lives. They need to have stop/start points, and they need to have them often. They also (sometimes) have shorter attention spans because of their oh-so-busy lives.  The trend is longer in Fantasy, though, so use your discretion...

Hopefully this helped someone shed some light on some of the distinct aspects of writing YA fiction. Follow the links and you will find a wealth of information within each header. If you disagree on whether these are some of the top five points for YOU, please leave a comment and tell me why :)

Cheers!

Sasha Leigh

Pre-Order Fiasco

I recently published my debut novel, Fate's Exchange (Twisted Fate, #1), via Amazon's KDP Select. Initially, I was leery about their exclusivity clause, but after the free promotion, was happy with the sales. So I decided that since I would be publishing Fate's Return (Twisted Fate, #2), on October 27, 2014, I would release the novella, Pulled Away (Twisted Fate, #1.5), between the two novels to gain interest and maintain momentum.

Pulled Away Available for Purchase

5 Ways to Get Book Reviews

Let's assume that you have the next great novel that has the potential to become an overnight success for the purposes of this post. Negative reviews can and will reflect upon other novels under your name, so when asking for reviews, make sure that the content you are providing is the best you are capable of producing - your reputation will thank you for it. Use editors, beta readers, proof-readers, and cover designers when necessary. Just because we "can" self-publish doesn't mean we can't be as good as authors who are traditionally published - or better.

Book reviews are a HUGE part of a self-publishing/indie author's marketability and internet presence. Reviews posted to sites such as Amazon, Goodreads, Shelfari, Smashwords, etc., are essential to building a rapport with readers you are propositioning, which is what happens whenever you publish - a reader clicks on it (thumbnail picture, link, etc.), studies the cover, reads the blurb, and if you're lucky, checks out excerpts, if available. Is it important that your book looks good? Edited thoroughly? YES.

But good content aside, how is a reader going to know they should buy a book when they don't know the author enough to compare previously read books against?

3 Things to Consider When Picking a Title

There are title generators on the internet - even apps for phones - but how personal is that?

Aside from a great cover, choosing a title is one of the most important tools at your fingertips (for free!) that can entice readers to pick up your story. It prompts them to read the next great thing - the blurb i.e. the "short pitch" located on the back of the printed cover. But what about when readers are looking through a list which doesn't utilize images? How attractive would Twilight have been if it had been named, "The Vampire" or "Cullen: The Recluse"? Exactly!

10 Stages for Writing Your Novel

There are so many things that are involved in the process of writing a novel, sometimes it can seem overwhelming. But when you break down the tasks, it becomes more manageable. This doesn't mean that there is less work, only that you can think of it as a checklist--once one task is complete, you start another, and you can take pride in feeling good that you've accomplished something towards your goal. In other words, you stop feeling like there's too much to be accomplished for any one task to make a difference, and more like you're coming closer t the finish line.