To celebrate the launch month of Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake, I’ve asked some of my favorite authors to share their own Nine Rules here on the blog…and today I’m so happy to have the fabulous Tera Lynn Childs (RITA award winner for Oh. My. Gods.) to give her brilliant rules for one of my very favorite topics: Writing YA. Before you even think about writing a YA novel…you gotta read these.
Nine Rules for Writing YAWriting for teens can feel like entering an alternate reality for authors of romance and other adult genres. There are a lot of preconceived ideas about the YA genre that will only get in the way of aspiring authors. But fear not, because I am here to dispel them with my 9 Rules for Writing YA!
1. Don’t try to sound teen. Stay true to your genuine voice, the one that shines through whether you’re writing historical or suspense or contemporary. Your teen character will face choices and situations that make her inherently teen. Trying harder than that will come across as fake.
2. Don’t moralize. Teens get enough rules and lessons and lectures in everyday life. They don’t need it in their entertainment, too. Do you want to read a romance in which the author is preaching the benefits of exercising four times a week? Didn’t think so.
3. Don’t let adults save the day. YA books are escapist fantasy for teens. Adults control the world they live in, so of course their fantasy in which teens rule the day. Besides, contemporary YA protagonists are strong, self-sufficient teens who don’t need anyone else to solve their problems.
4. Don’t forget the romance. Teens love a good romance story just as much as anyone. (Hello, Twilight?) The difference is that in YA, the romance can be the primary plot, a very minor secondary plot, or anything in between. Just be sure to keep it honest and believable.
5. Don’t dumb it down. Many of the teens I meet are just as smart, if not smarter, than their adult counterparts. Using a smaller vocabulary or simpler plot is insulting. Anyone who’s read Harry Potter or Hunger Games knows that YA can be as deep and complex as the author can create.
6. Don’t ignore reality. As scary as taboo topics like sex, alcohol, drugs, cutting, suicide, and school shootings can be, they are part of real life. They are part of a teen’s everyday reality. Don’t force these topics into your stories, but don’t shy away from them if they need to be there.
7. Don’t obsess about trends. Sure, there are books that derive much of their popularity by reflecting trends. But turn-around time in YA publishing is long, especially for hardcover. It’s unlikely that today’s trends will still be popular when your book comes out in two years.
8. Don’t think about the rules. Authors who haven’t read much in the YA genre since they were teens themselves, more than a decade or two ago, are quick to outline all the things you can’t do in teen fiction. They need to check out the teen section in their local library. In today’s YA fiction, there are no rules. If it works for the characters, if it’s integral to the story, then it will work. There isn’t a topic you won’t find on the teen shelves.
9. Don’t think inside the box. Teens have wild imaginations and open minds. They are willing to suspend disbelief to staggering extents. Whatever crazy idea you have in your head, if you can convey it through words, then teens will give themselves fully into your world. Don’t hold back.
Want more of Tera Lynn’s brilliance? Comment below with your favorite mythological character for a chance to win a copy of Oh. My. Gods.!
And stay tuned for the rest of the month–and a dozen more Authors Rule(s) posts from an awesome range of authors! To read more of Authors Rule(s), please click here!
March 15th, 2010 at 6:20 pm
My favorite is probably a tie between the unicorn and the mermaid!
March 15th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
I have to go with a unicorn.. I was 5 or 6 the first time I saw Legend with Tom Cruise and I fell in love with unicorns..
March 15th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
Oh my goodness, there are soooooo many. Um, how about tigris the lion who is SO big that there is 9 feet between his lungs! He could roar from far away and all the city walls of Rome tumbled down! A little closer and his roar took out the front teeth and molars of Roman men!
March 15th, 2010 at 6:31 pm
Ooh ohh, how about the Earth Mother / Mother Earth / Mother Goddess / Earth Goddess… so; Rhea / Hera / Demeter / Artemis / Aphrodite / Venus / Anu or Danu / Ninhursag / Hathor / Isis / Ashtart / Asherah / Ninsun / Inanna / Tiamat / Nerthus / Ymai / Durga / Freja / wow… I kind of go on and on huh? Basically she has many names and incarnations depending on where and when.. but that is SO cool!
March 15th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Or… for fun… what about Coyote, the Trickster. (Sometimes Evil Clown) Otherwise known as Loki / Heyoka / Raven / Juha / Puck / Gwydion / Set / Eris / Kokopelli / Kitsune / Māui / Păcală / Veles / uhh, yeah – I do tend to go on huh? So I totally love how you can compare stories of Japanese Kitsune (fox-like) to the many different Coyotes in multiple cultures, to Slavic stories of Veles to whatever… Sometimes it is malicious, like Loki, but just as often a thief, or even just a fool or clown! There are even modern incarnations like in Patricia Briggs books!
March 15th, 2010 at 8:36 pm
I would love to be original, but I do have to go with unicorns here as well :D
March 15th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
I have a soft spot for Persephone. She was just so hungry, she bit into a pomegranate (which I love) and didn't know that meant she had to marry the King of the Underworld! Poor kid. I love food, too. It will surely be my undoing.
Cari
neohippy10 hotmail
March 16th, 2010 at 1:16 am
leprechauns!!
mlawson17 at hotmail dot com
March 16th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
I just love Artemis and Aphrodite!
March 16th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
Hmmm, which one to choose…
I think I'll go with Artemis. But there are a lot of other ones too that I love!
March 16th, 2010 at 6:17 pm
I'm all about the werewolves! Do they count as "mythological"? I love them more because of writers like Maggie Stiefvater and Kelley Armstrong than Stephanie Meyer though. If werewolves don't count, I'd have to go with gryphons.
March 16th, 2010 at 9:31 pm
I so loved this book! I can't wait for her mermaid in June.
March 17th, 2010 at 5:51 am
i love unicorns !
March 18th, 2010 at 3:27 am
This is a tough one! I love reading paranormal and some fantasy – werewolves and shape shifters. But I don't really have a favorite, although Taylor Lautner is hot (I don't really like the Twilight books – too slow for me).
Molly Wilsbacher
lvsgund at gmail.com
March 19th, 2010 at 4:02 pm
TLC is so great. I love her books, and she is definitely giving great advices.
I think my favorite mythological creature is the Centaur….part human and part horse. It'll be cool to run like a horse and think as a human.
March 22nd, 2010 at 1:41 pm
Athena :)
March 26th, 2010 at 9:21 pm
I'll go with Athena and Diana.
Carol L.
Lucky4750@aol.com