I'm writing a MG novel right now, but I have to admit, I miss having a YA main character.
I remember why I first starting writing YA. I liked imagining a time when a person starts to truly realize who they are, and what their place is in the world.
What choices will change the course of their entire lives?
What will that first kiss be like?
Will those annoying zits ever go away?
(As a gal nearing
Anyway, do you like writing YA? If not, will you? Or do you have a favorite YA book that you adore?
Either way, welcome to the Y-A-M-C!
Also, take a moment to stop by Laura's blog where she answers Sarah's Sisterhood of the Traveling Blog question: "How do you develop your characters?"
Great question! I can't wait to tackle that one!
45 comments:
I love writing YA for the same reason you do. It's about young people making decisions about who they are and who they will be. And I love the fast pacing and the creativity that YA allows.
I've never written MG so I'd be really interested in knowing what you love about writing MG books.
I'm currently writing my first YA novel. It's quite a feat but I'm hoping to get through it... I don't know much about the differences between YA and MG but I'm sure there are lots.
LOL I thought you said in one post that you would never write anything BUT YA. :D
I love writing YA. I was going to try my hand at romantic suspense (for adults), but it never happened. All my ideas end up being for YA. You think someone is trying to tell me something?
I love it for the same reasons as you, Lydia.
I've never written a "whole" YA book, but I do have a few chapters for something that might be fun. Maybe someday I'll finish it.
I enjoy writing both middle grade and YA. With the right idea and voice, it doesn't matter. :)
I enjoy both. My current project is middle grade and I really like my MC's voice.
YA came naturally to me, I didnt make a concious choice, its just what I did. And I love it.
I do enjoy writing YA. And MG. And apparently, I also like putting myself out there, too. Too many YA books to choose from, but I want to pump SLIDE by Jill Hathaway, which will be released next year. It's awesome!
I love both YA and MG - YA for that fun-awkward stage of trembling on the cusp of adulthood, and everything that goes with that. MG because the world is such an exciting place to kids that age, and everything is possible and nothing is too scary, and oh, how I miss that fearlessness!
I've never written YA. I do have one book that could be a crossover between YA and adult, but it's not really.
Yup. I love me some YA writing.
Kudos to you for attempting MG!! I wrote one scene for a MG idea I had but my MC kept sounding like an older teen. So I gave up and went back to what I do best.
I am working on a kids series. Its a brother and sister who find a unique way to do their science and history homework. Looking forward to having time to get moving on that.
YA is so my favorite. I dabble in adult, but YA is like sweet chocolate. I love it.
I bet it will be a great learning experience for you--one that involves wearing man hats.
I adore writing YA, but I recently had an idea for a MG novel that I'd like to try. It will be an interesting endeavor. Good luck with yours Lydia!
This is tough for me. My first novel is YA, because that's the story that happened to come to me first, but someday I would love to write Adult Fantasy. I worry that if I get my YA published, and it does well, I'll be pigeonholed.
Oh well, there's always another pen name.
YA is a genre only one of the Critique Sisters has taken on so far so she'll have to answer this one for you. However, it is a tough genre and the authors of it deserve their due!
I never planned to write YA (I like historical romance), but then an idea struck me and it was the most fun novel I’ve written to date. In the end, you have to go with what grabs you.
A YA book I just read and adored: “Born at Midnight” by C.C. Hunter.
I've never tried an MG and I don't expect to anytime soon. The voice seems really tricky to get right and it isn't anything that comes naturally to me.
Seriously, the zits! Why didn't anyone ever warn me? They never go away!
Absolutely, and ditto! I love YA, and I wrote everything from short stories to picture books before I figured that out. Once I did, I stayed! It's my "spot," my niche. :)
Zits never go away. Never! Seriously never! LOL!
My favourite YA read is SE Hinton's The Outsiders. Seriously amazing read! Classic! Take care
x
I had never discovered YA - either as a reader or as a writer. Then my grandkids reached that age and I started shopping for books for them. Wow, a whole new world.
I LOVE writing YA! When I discovered how much it had changed since I was a YA I knew it was for me. Teens are brilliant, edgy, and on the cusp of everything which is why I enjoy writing for them so much.
I like writing YA because it's something I can associate with. I don't know what it's like to be an adult, and I don't remember being a little kid. I can feel closer to my characters when I write YA, because they are a version of me.
Lydia, sorry to ask a question off topic in a comment but-- what area of a hospital would a victim of a stabbing wound stay in if he'd sustained enough blood loss to require multiple transfusions?
Thanks,
-Suze
hi miss lydia! yikes! ZITS!!! thats what i got to look forward to gettin??? ack! im gonna stay a mger for sure. but im thinking lots of us kids are geting grown up way fast cause of tv and all that computer stuff.
...hugs from zitless lenny :)
I like reading the fast-pacing of YA and how it can cover so many different things. I like writing in the YA range because of the huge changes and it allows for both maturity and immaturity. :)
MG means a sports car to me.... so I guess I don't write it.
As for YA. It's been a long time since I was one.
I love writing YA. I love writing about younger and older characters, too. They all have their own sets of advantages, disadvantages, and challenges.
I love your ability to switch from YA to MG. I don't think I'd be good at anything other than adult fiction.
And yeah, okay, what's up with zits in your 30s? Wrinkles or zits, pick one. But both? SO UNFAIR.
I love writing and reading YA, but I also love MG. I seem to hop back and forth.
Ack! Exactly with the zits. Grrrr.
I've been gone for the month of August, so I'm glad to be catching up on blogs. Good to 'see' you again, Lydia. :)
I thought I enjoyed YA but I tried PB and adult and like them even more.
Have a good week.
Them hormones like to keep the zits coming. Dang things.
I write mostly adult fiction, although most could be read by younger folks. Nothing offensive in them yet. And I like reading the adult stuff more. I guess because I find it more relatable at this point in life.
I love YA so much, though I might want to write a college-aged or twentysomething protagonist at some point. Lots of stories there!
I love writing YA (lately) because characters are allowed to be so much more sarcastic than in MG. Great post!
Interesting that YA has become much more mature. Our city library has just recatalogued The Book Thief from Adult to YA probably because they heard that it was now on the Year 10 reading list. Groovy.
Denise
I love writing YA! I used to write MG, but I gave it up when I realized I need romance in every story I write - for me that's the most fun part of the book.
I adore YA for the same reasons you do. Every decision a YA makes seemingly defines their future, and there are so many firsts: first kiss, first love, etc. There's just something very heedy about that.
I love writing YA - I love including romance and self-discovery. But MG is great fun, too. Finding one's place in the world, a sense of adventure. Childhood is awesome!
-Vicki
I love writing YA too, for the same reasons as you and also because it's so fun to write about characters who are going through so many firsts in their lives.
I know, right. I think my complexion got worse AFTER my teen years. LOL
I really enjoyed the Hex Hall series.
LOL! I like YA for the emotional turmoil. I like MG for the fun.
Hey Lydia! Got my post up for today, directing people to visit you. Thanks again for the opportunity.
I love reading and writing YA. I'm so excited my first YA novella is being released soon. I love it for the same reason. That first life changing events happen in those years.
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