Since I’m the YA author on this blog, I guess it’s about time that I say something about Young Adult novels.
One of the reason that I don’t talk specifically about writing YA very often, is that the principles of writing YA are exactly the same as writing any other genre: Stay in character and write a good story.
IMHO, the thing that makes a YA book a YA book is the protagonist and his/her point of view. Everything else hinges on that. The YA character is standing with one foot in childhood and one foot in adulthood. And she’s always looking forward toward that adult world, and figuring out (or proving) her place in it.
So, more important than the chronilogical age of the character is how she is viewed by society. In a historical or fantasy setting “adult” might be applied much younger than it is today. In the Napoleonic Wars, there were frigate captains as young as 17. Alexander the Great commanded armies at 16. A woman might have three kids by the time she’s 20.
The YA protagonist is not a general, or a king. He’s the apprentice, not the wizard. The point of view in a YA novel is often more ground level when it comes to conflict. While you may see big epic stories of the save-the-world variety, it’s from a more mano-a-mano perspective. The YA hero has to be in the trenches himself, not commanding troops. When Luke Skywalker blows up the Death Star (the first time), it’s not with a button from far away. It’s against incredible odds, a peashooter against this battle station, with Darth Vader breathing down his neck. Even though it’s in the middle of the big battle, our point of view is right there with Luke. In the trenches.
In YA books, a character is usually experiencing things for the first time: the first time she’s been away from home, or the first time she’s had a relationship (usually romantic) that challenges the familial ones, or the first time she’s had to solve a problem without the help of her parents.
I’d say the one thing that breaks the spell of a YA book is when things slip out of that point of view. That is, the heroine is thinking like an adult, not someone still figuring things out. She’s thinking about something like a grown up, not like someone dealing with it for the first time. (I have to catch this in my own writing.) She’s blasé about sex. She’s hardened or jaded about life (more than just a front she puts up). And the worst sin of all in a YA book: the voice sounds like it’s an adult talking to the reader: lecturing, soapboxing, moralizing.
So when it comes to writing YA, it all comes down to putting yourself into the shoes of a character unproven, challenged to solve problems for himself for the first time. Stay in that character’s headspace, and leave your adult ‘voice’ behind, and the rest will follow.
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“So when it comes to writing YA, it all comes down to putting yourself into the shoes of a character unproven, challenged to solve problems for himself for the first time. Stay in that character’s headspace, and leave your adult ‘voice’ behind, and the rest will follow.”
This is an excellent tip- for all writing. Just like you said, the principles are the same. I write erotic, and at times that means writing a scene, and making it hot, even when it’s not something I personally find erotic or sexy. But when I can get into the characters head, it works, and thats what matters because you want the reader in the characters head too.
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I would imagine that you’d have to be firmly in character just to write the erotic stuff at all. At least, I would. Because if I’m thinking like myself, I’d be inhibited by the idea that I was making a private act between these characters very public. (Also, that my Mom might read it. Well, probably not, but she MIGHT.) However, if you’re in your character’s head, the door is closed, and it’s just her and the hero doin’ what comes naturally.
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Great article. I recently tossed a YA hardcover that had a great premise, but the heroine sounded like she was in her 20s, not her teens. So there went suspension of disbelief.
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YUS.
I am all about making YA characters sound like a teenager, unfortunately it makes me sound like a bit of a fifteen year old myself. Anything we can do about THAT, oh wise one?
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Um… You’re on your own on that one. It’s an occupational hazard.
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Agreed. And it’s hard, sometimes to define, because it’s not vocabulary. It’s just something in the voice. I know it when I see it.
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I struggle with making the character grow–but not too much. A lot can change over the few days/weeks that a book is focusing on, but a lot needs to stay the same. I find I ‘rush’ the characters sometimes and make them reach the goal of maturity just a little too fast. Is that something others face, or just me? ‘Cause I could be a little nuts…and that’s ok.
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I think you can have growth along a continuum, without over reaching. Even adult characters grow over the course of a book, but we (adults) are never done growing. (I mean, I don’t consider myself mature. Merely responsible. More or less.)
On the other hand, sometimes your character DOES step completely into the adult world, and that’s okay. They’re still young, but they’re transformed by the experiences in the book.
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Funny, you should mention this topic, cause’ girl, I am struggling. It’s so hard for me to strike a balance between too much detail and too little characterization. This is tough stuff to master, to be sure. Not there yet…but I keep on truckin’.
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Unfortunately, there’s no magic formula for that. It’s just like music, you have to develop an ear for the balance. And get a trusted critique partner.
It’ll get there. Don’t worry.