About Writing For Young Adults...

strangerinchi

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1. How much sex is too much?
2. Also, if added in such a novel aimed at the YA demographic, would I have to change the age range, from, say 13+ to something like 16+?
3. Wouldn't teen readers be eager to read about 20-somethings?
4. Lastly, if 20-somethings have sex in the story, would that make it New Adult instead? LOL.
 

Sage

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1. Read a lot of YA books that have sex in them and judge accordingly
2. 13-14yo protagonists are a lot harder sell to either MG or YA, but not impossible.
3. You would think, but the market doesn't show this
4. Having a 20-something as a MC will probably make it New Adult or just adult
 
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CJMatthewson

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1. I think sex is appropriate in YA as long as it's not as explicitly stated as much as in adult novels - as the target audience myself, I'm fine with reading when characters have had sex but I don't want Fifty Shades levels of detail.
2. I think a protagonist of 16-18 is perfect for YA novels as younger readers look up to people of that age and older readers can still sympathise.
3.I'm 20 and find myself still reading books about teenagers - I think YA provides teenagers with so many young, strong characters that they don't feel the need to read about adults. Many younger readers are also turned off by adult characters as their problems (rent, mortgages and debt etc) are so alien to younger readers.
4. 16 year olds having sex with twenty-somethings might qualify for a YA novel (hell, Twilight had a teenager having sex with a 100 year old) but two twenty-somethings firmly pushes it towards adult.
 

RaggyCat

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1. Depends. If it's gratuitous and doesn't serve a purpose in the story, then it's too much. However, if it serves a purpose, then write whatever suits the story. I've seen pretty much all sexual experiences covered in YA; some pretty graphically, with named body parts and lots of information about what the characters respond to, some more tasteful. Some has been bordering on 50 Shades. Teens have sex and publishers and agents accept that. Just make sure it fits the story, and, I'd suggest if an author is not confident about writing it, veering on the side of caution/fade to black is best.

2. Your readers could be any age, but the typical age for YA protags engaging in such activities is 16-17.

3. I would have been as a teen, and so I imagine are many others. However, if your MC is over 18, it's going to be tougher to pitch your book as YA. That's just the way the market works.

4. What Sage said. I'd also add that even if the MC is 16 and the LI is, say, 20, it'll be an easier sell if the LI is aged down to 18, unless there's some really important reason for them to be 20.
 

ManInBlack

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Deleted my original draft after some thought. In general, stories about twenty-somethings are more about your Hero's Journey and less coming-of-age. Your Star Wars trilogies, Doctor Who, and a number of other series that need young, spry heroes are set here, and few give any thought to college or even earning a living. Basically, this age group seems to more popular when you're setting something farther outside day-to-day reality (war stories count as outside the day-to-day, even if they're real life). The closest crossover I can think of between this and YA is something like Red Rising, which makes use of the military academy setting to provide a sort of coming-of-age scenario.
 

Fullon_v4.0

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1. How much sex is too much?
2. Also, if added in such a novel aimed at the YA demographic, would I have to change the age range, from, say 13+ to something like 16+?
3. Wouldn't teen readers be eager to read about 20-somethings?
4. Lastly, if 20-somethings have sex in the story, would that make it New Adult instead? LOL.

1. Is it the point of the story, or just a relationship subplot?
2. It depends on the answer to question #1
3. Maybe some...? Teens especially like characters they can relate to
4. New Adult from what I've researched generally has more frequent or passionate sex, but not quite "erotica".
 

Cyia

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1. How much sex is too much?
Overly graphic, erotica-level descriptions.
2. Also, if added in such a novel aimed at the YA demographic, would I have to change the age range, from, say 13+ to something like 16+?
13-14 is young YA, for a younger audience, so if you're asking about sex in that age level, then you're going to want to dial it down. If your characters can be easily recoded as 16, then I question how you're writing your 13 year-olds.
3. Wouldn't teen readers be eager to read about 20-somethings?
That's not the point. YA is specifically a "coming-of-age" category. It's about kids on the edge of adulthood that are still technically children, and therefore under the influence/authority of their elders. 20 year olds don't have constraints in the same way a 17 year old does. If a 20 year old wants to move from here-to-there, or be out and about during school hours on their own, no one can stop them.
4. Lastly, if 20-somethings have sex in the story, would that make it New Adult instead? LOL.
Not sure why you're laughing on this one, but you're firmly in adult territory if you're at 20+
 

Fuchsia Groan

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In my possibly outdated, totally anecdotal experience, teens do like to read about twentysomethings, but they know how to find those books in the various adult sections—SF, romance, horror, general fiction, whatever. When they go to the YA section, they're specifically expecting coming-of-age books about people close to their age, and that's what they'll find.

Personally, I read lots of adult books from about age 12 on, but I still enjoyed YA books. I didn't see them as simpler or dumbed-down or anything like that, just more sharply focused on my age group. Also, I think I felt "safer" with YA books, like the author wasn't going to spring a graphic rape description or a totally nihilistic ending on me. That rule did not always hold, though, and still doesn't!

In terms of sex, I think it depends partially on your genre. In contemporary, especially "gritty" contemp, you can get more graphic. In a genre like mystery or fantasy, probably less so, but it depends on the story. I've heard that a certain very, very popular fantasy/romance series has an NA heat level.