A Beginners Guide To Wikipedia

It’s a misconception that Wikipedia is some free for all. The editors of Wikipedia are a very fickle group, actually. For all the criticisms of Wikipedia, it’s actually a very well protected site. Yes, anyone can edit it but the truth is that’s not as easy as it sounds. Often a page will have a lock on it if it’s a very important topic or person, and only certain people can edit the pages. Also, every page of Wikipedia has a “talk” page behind it, a kind of message broad where the editors and writers of that page talk about what’s missing and reasons of why or why not something is added or removed. Wikipedia is a lot more complicated than people give it credit for.  A lot of professors and teachers, rightly so, say it’s not a good research tool for a paper, and that is true. You should never cite Wikipedia as your source. Even though Wikipedia has put protections in place, it’s still too much of a risky, everyman kind of website that anyone can edit to do so. That being said, it you just need information for personal use or just curiosity, than it is a great resource. Just to show how diverse Wikipedia is, one of my favorite pages is when they make a whole page for a fictional character. Do we really need a whole Wikipedia page for Sheldon Cooper? Of course not! Is it still kind of cool? Yes, it is. In a way, Wikipedia celebrates all sorts of knowledge, but how do you get started as a Wikipedia contributor? There are some useful tips to do so.

Set Up A Account- Wikipedia warns you that if you edit the page, without an account, you will have your computer address recorded and posted publicly on the backlog. The backlog is a list of people who have added and contributed to the page. While it’s unlikely anything will happen to your computer, your computer address number is still personal information and you do not want to have that published on a public log. So, set up an account, and make up a screen name. 

 Edit What You Know- Save stuff you have to research for later. As a beginner on Wikipedia, you will want to show people your knowledge. Don’t be ashamed if your first Wikipedia edit is of Harry Potter’s personal Wikipedia page. People will appreciate whatever you contribute, because it shows you at least know something. I edit a lot of pages of stuff I didn’t even know I knew about. The last page I edited was of Chevy Chase, adding the amount of episodes he appeared in of “Community” (81 episodes). This information isn’t important, per say, but is a way to start. It feels good using what you know, adding to what you know, no matter what the topic.   

Back Up What You Say- Not for every single fact, but a good amount of them, if you can find a source, add it. The source on Wikipedia appears as a little number like [8] in a little box like the one I just wrote next to the fact. The little box will lead to a link at the bottom of the page, which lists all the links that back up facts. Often if a fact isn’t backed up with a source, a senior editor will remove the added fact even if it’s true.

Look For Pages That Need Help- Often a page on Wikipedia will have a notice on top of it saying there is something bias about the way the page is written or it has a ton of facts that aren’t backed up or it says something mean about the person or it’s just incomplete. Those pages are good starting projects for a new contributor on Wikipedia. These pages need help of some kind. They need to be edited and re-written up to the point that Wikipedia points it out in a top banner on the page. So, those are good places to start. One can become a senior editor fairly quickly on those ones if a good job is done. A senior editor is someone who can edit the page, even if a lock is placed on it.

Start To Expand To Other Topics- Once you master Wikipedia and the stuff you know, you should start to work on other pages. Sometimes it’s cool helping putting together a page as a news event unfolds. When John Edwards admitted he was having an affair, they where already putting together a page about the affair, and I contributed to it. Affairs of politicians are not something I am an expert on, but I was sick of editing pop culture pages and this led to an afternoon of research. I’ve contributed to many pages of topics I do not have any business really knowing about, but research can be fun and educational and that is why I expanded to topics that are out of my comfort zone.

Keep Your Language In Check- Like writing a newspaper article, Wikipedia is not interested in how beautifully you write. Make sure you are writing facts; even if it’s something you are passionate about. Straight forever writing is something Wikipedia values. Write to the point (excuse the pun) is something Wikipedia is all about.

And that’s how you can start contributing to Wikipedia. It’s a great hobby, and a place to share your useful or useless knowledge, depending on what you know. Wikipedia has a mind for everyone’s mind.

Explaining The Cursed Mary Sue

A lot of authors write mary sues. Mary sues was a term which first became popular in the fan fiction world. If you wanted to attend Hogwarts, but knew that was impossible outside of a book, you could write a fan fiction where a new student attends Hogwarts, and this character sounds a bit like you, expect prettier, and attracts all the hot guys at Hogwarts without lifting a finger. A lot of people have accused Stephanie Meyer’s “Bella” of being a mary sue, and she probably is. Bella isn’t super attractive, or super talented, or has anything really special about her. She is described, to a painful extreme, as plain and clumsy. Yet, this perfect guy, Edward Cullen, seems to be very attracted and in love with her. If that wasn’t enough, another hot guy, Jacob, also seems to be totally in love with her. Heck, they start a supernatural love triangle and war over her. It’s a perfect example of wish fulfillment. What teenage girl wouldn’t want this to happen? I’m not talking about the 18 and over set; I’m talking about the 14 and over set. However, I don’t blame older women if they don’t kind of think it sounds kind of cool. If grown men can look at magazines of beautiful women and think to themselves, if only I had five minutes with Emma Watson, I could impress her, then women are allowed to have a bit of fantasy too.

However, the problem is writing whole novels and works around a mary sue can become a bit much. People see right through that hot, young guy or girl with magical powers who’s perfect, or that really plain guy or girl who happens to attract the hottest guy or girl around. It might make for a bestseller, but people do grow tired of people who write wish fulfillment. To an extent, all fantasy novels are wish fulfillment. Harry Potter and Twilight are both wish fulfillment, as are other countless clone books. However, how do you make sure you aren’t writing just wish fulfillment, and are focusing on stories that are good stories. Just because you wish it doesn’t equal a good story.

Mary sues aren’t new. You can say they’ve been around for a long time. Scout from “To Kill A Mockingbird” is obviously Harper Lee; Paul from Hunter S. Thompson’s novel, “The Rum Dairy” is obviously Hunter S. Thompson. Kilgore Trout from Kurt Vonnegut’s books is obviously Kurt Vonnegut. However, the thing that is a bit different from today’s mary sues from mary sues of the past is that they aren’t just autobiographical. They are close to perfect. They are a perfect version of the author or the audience, and if they aren’t perfect, they sure as heck attract the perfect guy or girl despite that.

There are different kinds of mary sues. Sometimes the mary sues is the author and other times it’s the audience. Penny, in “The Big Bang Theory” isn’t only the love interest across the hall. She is the audience surrogate. She represents the audience’s flustered reaction to the world of nerds and science she, along with the audience, is encountering.  On the other hand, Leonard represents the nerdy people watching the Big Bang Theory, making him a male Bella in a way. Despite him not automatically winning Penny, he does over time win her over, representing a mary sue-ish fantasy for many nerds in the audience. Last guys finish last, and it’s worth waiting for, according the laws of the CBS sitcom, The Big Bang Theory. Harry Potter was a big success because of his role as an audience surrogate. He’s every boy, and is new to this wizading world he has never encountered before.  He, along with the books audience, is discovering and peeling away the secret world of wizards in training. Now, this does start to fade with later books, as he becomes more used to that world, and becomes less the audience and more his own character.

Early Harry Potter has a lot in common with “every boy” Cory Matthews from “Boy Meets World”. One of the reason the show has become a smash in syndication long after it probably should of gone the way of many hit 90s sitcoms, and be remembered by a select few but mostly forgotten. Creator Michael Jacobs was smart to make Cory Matthews such an audience surrogate that we feel like we are Cory Matthews. He isn’t a totally developed character, but the audience feels like they are in his shoes.

However, if we are looking for a character in the Harry Potter books that is a pure Mary Sue, that character is obviously Hermione Granger, whom J.K. Rowling says openly is based on herself as a little girl, except better. While not breathtaking and beautiful in the books, like her movie counterpart is in Emma Watson, the character is a brilliant person. She gets great grades, raising her hand for everything. She’s sort of like Tracy Flick, from the novel and movie, “Election” but she isn’t nuts. She is insecure, sure, but she’s also got what it takes to be at the top of her class.  Being only a half-blood, she is half muggle. That gives her even more to prove. J.K. Rowling is kind of a half blood herself, as you can argue as the creator of the universe, she is half wizard. So, Hermione Granger really is J.K. Rowling’s alter ego.

In a way, the alter ego is mary sue. Mary sues have a shelf life, though. People started to get sick of Bella as Twilight went on, as she never developed out of her mary sue shoes. People want to see their characters evolve from mary sues into their own. Mary sues tend to work better on TV shows, because the format is 22 minutes and also they usually will stop around 200 plus episodes. People get sick of reading thousands of pages of a character obviously fulfilling the fantasies of the author. That’s why there is a rather big backlash after everyone started to analyze Twilight.

Mary sues, though, work better in young adult literature than in adult literature. Adults are more likely to want to read a good piece of literature, or if not that, simply a good page-turner. Kids want to step into the shoes of those characters. That’s why an adult novel can be written about a kid but a kid novel can never be written about an adult. With the exception of romance literature, which is often mary sue central for the author and the reader. Ever look at the back cover of a romance novel? Most romance novelists are nerdy people who write great looking characters and want to be held in the arms of a great looking guy. That also doubles as an audience surrogate.  There are two kinds of mary sues in romance literature. The kind that is a better looking heroin or hero getting together or simply a person like the reader and the writer, a nerd who somehow wins the heart of the supermodel.

Some rules of mary sues are as follow. Mary sues have to be fiction. If you are going to write a memoir, you need to be honest. No making up anything about yourself. Hugh Grant, for example, has played mary sues of the screenwriter Richard Curtis. “Notting Hill” is a great example of mary sue. The Hugh Grant character is obviously the screenwriter, who imagines he scoring a movie star.

Mary sue is a new term but not a new idea. A lot of people write for the sake of living in the shoes of someone with their qualities, except a little better. A lot of fictional character resemble their creators but they have something a bit better about them or they are exactly like their creators but somehow score a perfect mate, than you are probably reading a mary sue character. Some ways of identifying a mary sue includes the book being in 1^st person. A lot of mary sues are at the movies, actually. A lot of screenwriters are nerds typing away an action hero at their laptops, imaging themselves as the heroes, and finally, if the book is titled “The Nerd and The Showgirl”, you should probably know this romance paperback is a mary sue. 

Orson Scott Card: Were Do You Stand?

Recently Orson Scott Card, the bestselling science fiction author of the modern classic, “Ender’s Game” has been in the news. With the movie of “Ender’s Game” coming out, and his gig writing a couple issues of“Superman”, people have been crying foul because Scott is an active campaigner against gay rights. He is also on the board of the National Organization of Marriage. Often, when I read Dean Koontz, for example, I roll my eyes at the“morality” he slips into his books. However, I still really admire him as a good storyteller. So, I’m wondering if anyone here thinks an author’s moral stand and politics should stop a person from enjoying the work of this author. There’s a saying the personal is political and what’s more personal than writing? We’ve all seen Clint Eastwood embarrass himself as the RNC as he yelled at a chair, but does that mean we shouldn’t bother with his films? He is a really good filmmaker. However, back to Orson Scott Card, who people are crying foul at his involvement in writing Superman comic books.

 

DC Comics has been under such pressure from activists that they have put Orson Scott Card’s story on hold, and the artist quit. I understand Orson Scott Card’s politics are way out of line with mine. He is a devout Mormon, and has spoken out against homosexuality on the internet, columns in his local paper and on his website. However, when Orson Scott Card writes about writing, he is right. His views on using accessible language, and his belief that J.K. Rowling was wrong to go after a guy publishing an unauthorized encyclopedia fall in line with my views. However, I do not agree with his views on politics. He is very outspoken about everything and his political comments have left people scratching their heads, asking how could a homophobe and right winger write such great science fiction? Well, the question I have to ask is what does a science fiction novel and a Superman story have to do with personal beliefs?

 

Science fiction is well, fiction, and so is Superman. So, do I have a right to protest Orson Scott Card's books, upcoming movie and Superman script because his political views are not in line with mine? Well, I’m not a big fan of political correctness myself. If someone is a racist or homophobe, why make them pretend they aren’t? We will just not hang out with them. His novel, “Ender’s Game” is bestselling, beloved and has a Hugo and Nebula Award. However, when “Ender’s Game” came out, it was before Orson Scott Card could blog about his views or his local newspaper columns would spill out on the internet. It was 1985. That being said, Orson Scott Card’s involvement in the Superman comics and his upcoming movie adaptation is causing a stir on the internet. He says that his book signings have become protested by local activists.

 

“Ender’s Game” is a science fiction novel, and not a political rant. I believe we do not have a right to deny Orson Scott Card employment because his views do not fall in line with many people. Some people share his views and some do not. I do not but I will not let his political views make me boycott his involvement in“Superman” comics or a movie adaptation. If this was J.K. Rowling instead of Orson Scott Card, would we throw out all the good work she has done to get kids to read because of a personal view? J.K. Rowling, let me be clear, has been very supportive of gay rights, but what if she wasn’t? Rowling’s work has done a world of good, but should we turn a cold shoulder to that if her personal views were not in line with ours? Personally, I am not a fan of political correctness, as preached by people on the left who often say they support free speech. If someone isn’t in favor of equality, than why make them pretend they are? Using the right words is silly. People have a right in this country to be politically incorrect, if that’s how they really feel.

 

However, Orson Scott Card's politics aren’t the same as his work. Yes, some of his fiction has gotten political but not all of it. “Ender’s Game” is a science fiction novel, and it sounds silly to boycott “Superman”. I think we shouldn’t go after D.C. Comics for hiring what is really just a popular science fiction author to write a couple of issues. His book, “Ender’s Game” has been a bestseller for a lot of years, and a movie adaptation was bound to come. So, his politics aren’t in line with mine, but we shouldn’t throw away his good work as a science fiction writer because we think his views should be fictional too. Orson Scott Card has a right to his views, and I have a right to mine. However, Orson Scott Card is not running for office. He is a talented guy who writes science fiction novels. His talents should not be overlooked because of his personal and political views.

My Literary New Year's Resolutions

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.

1.       I Will Finish A Series of Books- In the Time Magazine profile of George R.R. Martin, as the author last year on the Time 100 list, they claim that if you didn’t read A Game of Thrones, you should be ashamed of yourself. I guess I am ashamed of myself, because I’ve had a paperback of A Game of Thrones with the old fantasy cover (not the cover George R.R. Martin repackaged it with, you know, to make the public feel less ashamed that *gasp* they are reading a fantasy novel), you know, the cover with the good looking guy on a horse, for years even before the HBO series made the series hot. It’s a long book, and I have kept putting it off. I don’t know, but often I have a problem caring about people who lived hundreds of years ago in a fantasy land. However, my goal this year is to make my reading more popular.

2.       I Will Read More Popular Books- This isn’t to say I don’t read bestsellers, but I never keep up with the popular books. Often, by the time I get to the book of year, the year has passed. I guess I don’t read the water cooler book that everyone is going ga-ga over at the moment. It took me awhile to get to Harry Potter, The DaVinci Code, Twilight and The Hunger Games which isn’t to say I didn’t read them. I did. However, I’m always late to the party on the hottest books. I honestly, am also cheap, when it comes to books, and that’s why I guess I’m so late to the party. I buy most of my books used, and a lot of these books have a million holds on them in the library, so by the time I read them, people have moved on from vampire novels and are now reading books about people with weird sexual hang-ups acting out their fantasies (I’m looking at you, 50 Shades of Grey).

3.       I Will Quit Dean Koontz- Too late, I’m already reading the 3^rd Odd Thomas book.

4.       I Will Start To Get Angry At Authors People Say I Should Be Angry At- I know a lot of literary people I know take out their anger on Stephanie Meyer, and maybe I should start to deeply analyze her work and take out my anger on her too, but when I see a 14 year old reading a book the size of a doorstop, I could really care less if the book is about sparkly vampires or dueling wizards.

5.       I Will Read John Green- I know, “The Fault In Our Stars” is probably brilliant and people worship author John Green but…this Dean Koontz book is titled “Velocity!” The title alone promises well, Velocity!

6.       I Will Start To Hang Around Barnes and Nobel- Until I look at the price tag on a brand new book and realize I could buy the same book for less, used, online. Oh, and browsing the paranormal teen romance section makes me uncomfortable, even if it’s just for research.

7.       I Will Read Another Stephen King Novel- 2011 was the first year I didn’t read a Stephen King novel, which just feels wrong.

8.       I Will Be More Mature- In all seriousness, I know John Green’s book is about a hard topic (teens with cancer) and I really need to give it a shot. Author John Green is considered like brilliant.

9.       I Will Write My Own Book- Easier said than done.

10.   And Finally, I Will Continue to Update My Book Blog- To tell you all about my criticisms, thoughts and stuff concerning the book world and writing. I have a large stack of books, ready for a new year. I will re-read some classics (Pride and Prejudice), I will read some new ones, and I will read some used paperbacks I bought cheap. So, pretty much like last year. It’s year two of Neverland’s Library, so let’s make it a good book year. Cheers!

11.   And oh, let me add one more thing- This really isn’t about books but because this is the New Year, I want to say this: why does my life resemble The Big Bang Theory more than Girls? These shows are both about twenty something’s and my life is nothing like Girls. I know, off subject, but maybe that will change this year.

How To Write For A Younger Audience

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.