Writing for Young Adults
Words from the Wise
There's real interest from agents in strong writing for the young adult market. It certainly helps if you've got a striking idea or a very original and distinctive voice.
And be genuine. If you fake enthusiasm in YA issues then your book will reveal the fake. Also, it may be obvious, but know your market. A few hours spent in your local Water-stones is a fine investment.
Susan Davis
YA author and WW editor
Why write for Young Adults? Do teenagers even read these days? This is the question that teachers, parents, and indeed publishers constantly scratch their heads over. The answer is, yes, they do, all sorts of stuff. However, if you want to wrest them away from the screen in this electronic age, you need to come up with a gripping storyline and a strong voice.
The `voice’ is hugely important. It’s the voice of your main protagonist or character-narrator that has to draw the reader into the story and keep them hooked.
Remember that protagonists need problems. Whether that problem is embarrassing parents, or a blood sucking vampire, readers want to identify with and care about the main character. This is what keeps them turning the pages to the end.
Dialogue plays a big part in fiction for this age group. Keep it as natural as possible, but avoid over-doing the current in-words. Too many ‘Yo Dudes’ or ‘awesomes’ will quickly date your characters and give your book a limited shelf-life.
Likewise, it pays to be sparing with contemporary references. ‘The Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ may be hot today, but teenage music tastes are transient.
A cracking pace is vital. Six page descriptions of sunsets are out, as are dull conversations around the breakfast table. You need to question every paragraph, indeed every sentence. Is it moving the narrative forwards? Is it illuminating character? If not, then it probably shouldn’t be there. Writing for Y/A can be a great exercise in economy.
Finally, if this all sounds a bit cold blooded, and technical, let’s just back-pedal a bit. The truth is that many published writers for this age group, didn’t set out to write for the Market at all. They wrote because they had a great story to tell. More importantly the voice they wanted to tell with it with just happened to be a teenage one.
It doesn’t matter how old you are. If you have vivid re-call of how it felt to 
be a teenager, with all its joys, humiliations, and agonies, then you’re off to a head start. Don’t write for Young Adults, write for the Young Adult in you!
