There are a lot of benefits to writing for a younger
audience. Adults tend to read page turners, airplane reads, and novels as time
killers. However, when kids read a book, they often really connect with that
book on a deeper emotional level. Look at the response to “Harry Potter” as
both an escape and an expression of the world around them. Judy Blume, for
example, helps kids understand their changing world through her realistic
novels. Blume is an interesting example, because even though she has sold millions
of copies, adults still want to ban her book. I read an article in the New York
Times recently about an author named Lauren Myracle, whose series of novels
written in text message style, has sold 1.5 million copies. The article starts
with names she has been called, such as a “pedophile”, “Satan” and “a corrupter
of youth.” Yet, she makes the case she is just writing honesty about things
young teenagers go through. The fact that adults want to ban young adult
literature so badly but don’t have a problem with toy commercials screaming at
kids during a commercial break is really ironic. Yet, it also speaks to the power of young
adult literature. Kids really connect to the books they read, and there are a
lot of benefits to writing for the younger crowd. One of the big benefits for a
prospective author is that kids are a really loyal readership. Unlike a
novelist for adults, who may or may not see an adult pick up the next book, kid
readers will often read an entire author’s work. Also, introducing reading to a
kid is a really great feeling. So, what does one need to know about writing a
young adult story or novel? Here’s my advice.
1.
Read Young Adult Novels- As much as I cringe at
adults who read nothing but young adult novels, because I think adults should read
everything, not just one genre. However, I do think it is important to read
young adult novels so you do get to know the language and kind of characters
young adult novelists write about. “Harry Potter”, for example, is a must read
for people who want to write for young adults. Study what J.K. Rowling did
right. She is a perfect example of a balance between what kids actually go
through and escapism kid’s love. On one end, kids love gritty realism. A novel
that reflects their actual world, but on the other hand, kids also love to
climb into a book. They love the idea of a book being a world that’s theirs,
much like their rooms at home.
2.
Your Main Character Has to Be a Young Adult-
This is kind of non negotiable. Your main character can’t be an adult. It has
to be a kid, teenager or someone who is eighteen. Eighteen is the age limit for
your characters, because a young adult novel is not a young adult novel if it’s
about adults. “The Hunger Games” is a good example. They can send anyone into
the terrain of the Hunger Games, but they send teenagers. So between the
action, and the dystopian problems of the future world, we get teen romance,
teen issues, and teenagers trying to deal with youth-based issues. If one
thinks about it, it would make a lot more sense for an adult to be sent to the
Hunger Games, but Suzanne Collins set out to write a young adult novel dealing
with these issues, so she made them teenagers.
3.
Choose a Genre- I’m all for writing in multiple
genres, but it really helps for a young adult novel to stick to one. Kids
aren’t dumb, but if you’re young adult novel is going to be a fantasy novel,
than you need to deliver a fantasy novel. Remember what I said about J.K.
Rowling. It’s important also to make the issues of the kids fit the genre. A
realistic novel about teenagers might deal with abuse, drugs, and family.
“Harry Potter” touches on abuse, in the form of the Wesley’s, Harry’s aunt,
uncle and cousin, but Rowling knows she’s writing a fantasy novel, so the abuse
isn’t overly intense. However, if you read a novel by Judy Blume, she has no
problems being realistic about the issues teens face. Rowling is, too, but in a
different way. Another thing that works with writing young adult fiction is not
just a genre, but a series. It’s easier to write a series targeted towards
young adults because they often want to follow the characters, and will often
follow them as they grow up.
4.
Write What You Knew- One of the things about
writing for a young adult audience, isn’t writing what you know. It’s writing
what you knew. Try to put yourself back into your teenage years. What did you
know when you where a teenager? Were you an alienated teenager? Where you a
popular, good looking teenager? An outcast or a nerd? What did you know? If you
where bullied, than write about that. If you where a good looking teenager who
got the girl, but had a bad home life, than write about that. If you where a
teenager who was professionally modeling in New York City or a teenager stuck
in a small town in Iowa, with nothing but a stack of books, than write about
those experiences. Sometimes the best way to write about these unique teenage
experiences is to add a twist that really makes them more intense. You might be
a nerdy kid who wasn’t popular, but that’s because you can do magic, and you
belong in another world. Really, what that is saying, is I was an alienated
teenager who didn’t feel like I belonged. If you think about, that’s what
fantasy novels are really about.
5.
Create A World- Weather that world reflects a
magical home (like Hogwarts), a scary one (like District 9) or simply a
realistic one, like the novels of Judy Blume, you need to make the book one a
kid can climb into. One of the things about young adult literature is that kids
have plenty of hours to read, as they are well, kids. An adult has a job, or a
time limit, often. They are on a plane, or reading bits and pieces between
working hours. A kid can sit in his or her bedroom, for a long time, and really
turn those pages. A kid wants to be totally engulfed in the book, because a kid
has a lot more time to kill. So, make sure you do a little world building. Make
the world the novel portrays, even a realistic one, a world the reader can
inhabit. A kid doesn’t just read a book, they climb into it.
6.
Keep Your Language In Check- Okay, this is
important on a craft level. When I read Harry Potter, I noticed that between
the made up words, and the occasional harder words, there was also a lot of
simple language. Stephanie Meyer, of “Twilight”, is very good at this too. Keep
the language at a mid-brow level, and also keep the language readable. Don’t go
all intense with your language. Don’t aim for intense prose that will be
unclear and hard to read. You are still writing for a younger audience, and
don’t forget that. I’m not saying you should write down to them, but remember,
no cursing, no intense language, and keeping language clean, straight forward
and relatable. A kid doesn’t want to read a description that goes on for twenty
pages.
7.
Keep Your Themes In Check- Kids love darker
themes. Plenty of characters die in the Harry Potter series, and The Hunger
Games takes that a step further. However, do be careful. Sex and violence
should be on the table, but knowing this for a younger audience, you do need to
temper yourself. A lot of young adult novels have more intense events happen
off camera, as they alluded to, or taken as an issue. The novel “Speak” is about
a girl who is raped, and the aftermath, yet the author is very clever. The rape
happens before the novel opens, and we see the aftermath through the main
character’s inability to speak, through her poor grades and through her
problems with her other classmates. There are ways to take larger themes, but
at the same time, not totally scare off your reader base. You are still dealing
with young people, and to an extent, a book should be a safe zone for
them. If you do have issues of rape,
abuse, violence, death and other issues, you should handle the carefully and in
a way, the reader can understand. I would say this for an adult novel; too, as
I really believe in not turning off your readership but with kids, you really
need to be even more careful.
8.
Crossover Appeal- The difference between Harry
Potter and Twilight is crossover appeal. A lot of adults roll their eyes at
Twilight (even though a lot of adults did read Twilight too) but it really
helps to have crossover appeal. As in, adults can love it too. It really helps
if an adult can use the book as a way to talk to their kids about an issue, or
a bonding experience. As in the adult and the kid both read and like the book.
To make that work, you are going to need some winks at the adult audience.
“Twilight” takes its self a little too seriously, at times, while “Harry
Potter” actually does take some time to wink at the adult audience. Sometimes, Rowling
really had a great sense of humor concerning her work. Don’t forget, you are an
adult. Don’t forget that you might be more mature than your characters. Some of
the issues your characters will deal with, you, I would hope, are over. That
being said, you still need to take those issues seriously, because your
readership definitely does. Don’t be that character from the movie, “Young
Adult”, who is a young adult author who is just as immature as her own
characters in her books. An occasional wink or a little humor helps a novel be
enjoyed by both adults and their kids. Of course, though, a good story is the
main part of the crossover appeal. Tell a good story, and even the adults can
get into it.
9.
Don’t Do It For The Money- Yes, J.K. Rowling,
Stephanie Meyer and Suzanne Collins made good money writing for the young
adults. Now, I totally understand thinking it’s a great market place for publishing,
and it totally is. A bestseller and a movie rights deal? Of course, I want that. However, if you do it for the
money, you will pander to your audience, sound like an adult trying to sound
like a kid and you will totally turn off your audience. Rowling, Meyer, and
Collins totally sound like real teenagers, and that’s why teenagers love their
work. Another thing you might notice is they didn’t write knock offs. Rowling
started the wizard trend, Meyer started a vampire trend and Collins started a
dystopia trend. Start something new. If
you write the book, because you want to contribute to young adult literature,
as opposed to just trying to make a ton of money, than your book is more likely
to be a bestseller, because you wrote a book that really transcends marketing
and connects with the kid.
10.
Don’t Forget You Are an Adult- Seriously, that’s
important. Don’t hang around a high school, trying to pick up teen slang,
unless you want to be arrested. Instead, going back to point one, read young
adult novels to get the young adult language down. However, still write well.
Don’t write a young adult novel that really sounds like a teenager up to the
point that they are using words like “Yo!” and “True that!” The book still
needs to make sense.
So, that’s my advice concerning
young adult novel writing. Good luck to all the people doing this noble
endeavor, writing a book that connects with young people. There really is
nothing better than a teenager or kid reading a book. If you can get them
reading young, than you can get them reading for life. Good luck.
So, it’s 2013, and I’m going through my new year’s
resolutions. I have a lot of bad habits as a reader that I’m going to try to
break this year. What could I do to have a better relationship with my literary
habits this year? Well, it’s time to make some new year’s resolutions as a
reader and lover of literature that I’m sure I’ll break really early on in the
year.
