How To Write A YA Book: 4 Crucial Tips For Today’s Writers
Learning how to write a YA book can help you break into a genre that sells millions. More than 35 million copies of young adult books are sold annually. Many of these books sparked major film franchises and brought in box office numbers in the hundreds of millions.
But there is more to writing YA fiction than the financials. While some young adult books succeed as anomalies, breaking sales records, this genre is worth more than the millions it brings in.
In this article, I share how you can use your passion for writing for an even greater purpose. I first break down how to write a YA book. To use this genre well, it’s crucial to lay the foundation. Next, I dive into why writing well in this specific genre is so crucial. And finally, I cover how to execute on the lessons taught.
Writing Young Adult Books: 4 Steps
Four key steps create a standout YA book. They build progressively, so learning step one first is most helpful. Of course, like any creative process, there is no mastery. There are always ways we can improve, more lessons to implement, and different angles to take. However, studying these four steps can help you lay a strong foundation for writing your first young adult book.
#1 - Learn How To Write
I mention the importance of learning how to write because when I first started, I genuinely did not know there were creative writing rules. I took all my English classes and read the literature assignments, but I started writing short stories before I ever took a creative writing class.
Thankfully, an older mentor encouraged me to attend my first writing conference. I then began training under a bestselling author. Quickly I realized an entire world of creative writing styles existed. Before that those important moments, I had no conception of writing rules.
Before diving into your novel, consider taking action on one of the following steps:
Join a writing guild
Watch a free webinar on writing
Sign up for a digital writing course
Submit your current writing for evaluation
Hire a writing coach for a one-time crash course
Once you have feedback on where your current writing stands, you can assess what to focus on. Do you need to:
Maintain one point of view?
Avoid passive writing?
Show rather than tell?
The art of writing is subjective and an ever-evolving process. However, equipping yourself with a bit of guidance can position you as a credible writer eager to impact the writing world. Making yourself aware of writing rules gives you the ability to choose when to follow them (and when to break them).
#2 - Create Inspiring YA Characters
The second step in learning how to write a YA book lies in crafting characters your target audience relates to. For instance, middle grade readers’ lives look quite a bit different than that of high schoolers.
When you write YA, create teenage characters that feel relatable. Many of these novels focus on heroic protagonists (Katniss Everdeen and Beatrice Prior, to name a few). However, notice how these heroines often enter adulthood by the end of the novel or trilogy.
YA coming of age books often create characters with relatable flaws and inspiring character arcs. These types of characters are ones your audience will gravitate to. Whether we want to admit it or not, we all have flaws. But we often desire to overcome, succeed, and grow.
#3 - Master Point Of View
Your point of view character is the perspective, or lens, through which you tell the story. Some writers choose one character to tell the entire story. Other writers bounce between two characters, telling different sides of the same story. Still others use multiple point of view characters.
Regardless of how many angles you choose to tell your story from, mastering each one is imperative to your story success. Early on, my writing mentor taught me that a helpful question to ask is, “Who has the most at stake?”
Imagine telling Harry Potter strictly from the Dursley’s point of view. While the Dursley’s dislike magic and want to keep their nephew’s powers a secret, they don’t have much to lose compared to Harry. His destiny rests on his ability to overcome. If he doesn’t succeed, he has everything to lose.
#4 - Read Young Adult Bestsellers
It could go without saying, but choosing to read YA is one of the best teachers. Notice that this point is the last one. Confession: When I first started reading John Green’s novels, I didn’t realize what made him such a profound storyteller. However, for many years I have invested in studying:
Writing rules
How to write well
Characterization
Compelling plots
If I read The Fault In Our Stars both before I learned what makes good writing and then after my years of study, I would notice different aspects of Green’s writing. Choosing to read bestsellers after you familiarize yourself with writing rules helps you pick up on:
What writers do well
Their unique voice
Why they break some writing rules
Why they follow other writing rules
Why not spend your time reading adult fiction or biographies and writing in those genres? Every genre holds a specific influence on its readers. Biographies influence how we want to live our lives. Adult fiction inspires us to become kinder and braver individuals. So why especially write young adult books?
The Profound Influence Of YA Coming Of Age Books
If you are reading this article, it’s likely because you have a passion for YA readers. You want to learn how to write this genre well and captivate your audience. These are great goals.
However, when writing to this specific audience it’s vital to be aware of just how influential your stories are. Young adults are literally coming of age. What they read about and how specific characters act hold a profound influence.
The brain is extremely malleable. In The Consensus Study Report titled, “The Promise of Adolescence: Realizing Opportunity for All Youth,” the following is stated:
“Although the developmental plasticity that characterizes the period makes adolescents malleable, malleability is not synonymous with passivity. Indeed, adolescents are increasingly active agents in their own developmental process. Yet, as they explore, experiment, and learn, they still require scaffolding and support, including environments that bolster opportunities to thrive.”
Because of this, let’s take a brief look at two perspectives. These points have the potential to negatively or positively influence the literature scaffolding young adults build their perspectives around.
Intentionally Choose Your Subject Matter
The themes writers choose to build upon, whether in science fiction, fantasy, or dystopia, influence adolescents’ focus. While novels do not form physical environments, they do play a role in the mental environment in which adolescents choose to escape to.
Individuals have recognized storytelling as a powerful medium for centuries. Young, coming of age readers are particularly susceptible to a myriad of influential environmental and social factors. In an age of bestsellers, indie classics turned major motion pictures, and humanized protagonists, writers create a large portion of the narratives young adult readers ingest.
Ultimately, what a YA reader chooses to read comes down to their autonomous choice to sit down and open a novel. However, we should not overlook the writer’s influence in the resulting focus.
What type of characters are we crafting?
What makes a standout hero?
What themes are crucial?
Each of these questions matter, particularly as they relate to the well-being of our very malleable readers.
Treat Young Adult Readers With Dignity
Young adults are adults who are still coming of age, processing the world around them, and working to find their place in it. Authors who create protagonists that reflect both who their target audience is and who they want to become build a bridge between the present and a hopeful future.
To put it simply: Writers can treat readers with dignity by recognizing both their humanity and their potential.
When writers craft characters who bridge this gap, they pave a road readers can choose to take. Being a teenager is hard. Reading about characters who made mistakes while learning to make right choices helps instill an acceptance in the midst of this stage of chaos.
YA books hold a unique power in the marketplace. They can entertain, as they should, but they can also help a vulnerable audience find a way through a difficult period of life change.
The Theme Is Only As Clear As The Story Is Impactful
With all of the above in mind, here is one parting tip of advice: Your theme stands out when your story is clear. Consider the themes of The Hunger Games and how the unique story aspects spotlighted each one:
Power and vulnerability
Appearances versus authenticity
Personal sacrifice for family
The better storyteller you become, the more your theme will stand out. Yes, you could state your theme. But when writers show, rather than tell, their underlying message, it resonates with readers at a much deeper level. This is, after all, the art of storytelling.
Storytelling is powerful. Used well, it can impact generations to come. Used poorly, it can do the same. Cheers to studying, pursuing this important craft, and telling stories that inspire our audiences.
