Favorite Thing about Writing YA?

ZeMegwin12

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Just something I was thinking about on my way home from work today :)

What's your favorite thing about writing young adult novels? Or why do you choose to write YA?
 

Girlsgottawrite

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Fun question! Let's see...

I guess I write YA, because I like to read YA.

The main three things I like about YA are the length, the protagonists' ages, and the fact that so many of those protagonists are female.

I read mostly fantasy but so much of adult fantasy is sooooo long. I used to love getting sucked into 1000 + page epic fantasy novels, but now that I'm a working mom, I don't have the time or attention span for those long epics. YA still gives me good fantasy stories at a more digestible length.

I also enjoy reading about young people because it's such an exciting part of your life and one I miss. (I'm getting kind of old :cry:)

And, of course, I'm a woman, and I enjoy reading books from female perspectives. I'm not against a male protagonist per-se, but I got tired of the lack of strong female leads in adult fantasy books. Once I clued into the fact that YA fantasy was riddled with female protagonists, I was hooked.
 
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starrystorm

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Everything? Okay, really, I love so many things about writing (and reading) it .I love how its great for everyone to read. Middle grade can read it, adults can read it, teens can read it. I love the unique voices. I love the length of the books. I love how the parents are still in the books but the protagonists have enough freedom to do what they want.

It took forever for me to move from MG to YA, because I thought YA was all "kissing books" but once I moved in, I was hooked. It makes up 99% of what I read.
 

CoffeeBeans

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Oh, this is a great question. I've never actually thought about it before. I wrote a bunch of adult before YA, so it was never really a conscious decision as much as finding the story I wanted to tell ended up YA.

My favorite thing about writing YA is how much room for character change/growth there is. It's hard to sell so much range in an adult character without literally life-changing things happening. I love when a YA character I'm writing is really growing into someone new as I write.
 

MaeZe

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When you are 17 plus or minus a year or two, you are out to change the world. I was at that age. My characters want to change the world.

And the world still needs changing.

And there's that love thing, not a romance novel, but teenagers in love, or not, there's a lot of story potential there.

And conflict: generational, gender, society, can't leave that out.
 
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ZeMegwin12

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Yeah, it's compelling, diving into that period that where people grow into the person they are going to be -- whether that be through fighting magical creatures or falling in love for the first time or what-not. There's so much there to work through.

And it's just plain fun, the trials and adventures you write for your characters. Oh to be 17 :cool:
 

CoffeeBeans

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And it's just plain fun, the trials and adventures you write for your characters. Oh to be 17 :cool:

Haha for the record, I did not enjoy being seventeen. Also, I coach a team of amazing high school girls, and that only re-confirms the feeling. Everything is so heightened, I am happy that it's not my daily life anymore!
 

ZeMegwin12

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Haha for the record, I did not enjoy being seventeen. Also, I coach a team of amazing high school girls, and that only re-confirms the feeling. Everything is so heightened, I am happy that it's not my daily life anymore!

Oh CoffeeBeans, I hear you. I would not want to return to 17. When I say "Oh to be 17" I'm adding the long sigh, mild eye roll, and the light chuckle, haha. But I think that's what makes it enjoyable to write about. It's those heightened emotions and putting your characters in situations where that comes through that can be so fun.

Yeay for coaching! I've coached some high school volleyball, myself.
 

Lcarver

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I feel like there's so much more freedom in YA. I can write about ridiculous enjoyable, weird things and because I'm writing for teens they'll be more open to it. It feels like an audience less weighed down by preconception.
 

Cosmering

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I'm writing YA for the first time and this is a really interesting question! I think my favourite thing is that I'm writing about someone in an entirely different stage of life than I'm used to? My MC's arc is all about figuring out who she is and that's cool, because I'm kind of finding out along with her.
 

ValerieJane

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One of my favorite things about writing YA is the fast pace of the storytelling.

I also love me some teen drama. What can I say?
 

nostrovia

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I write YA because it's accessible to all ages and gives me an opportunity to explore coming of age issues (and so much more) with characters who are just learning their true measure, whether they live in a world that's real or fantastic.

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I write YA because it's accessible to all ages and gives me an opportunity to explore coming of age issues (and so much more) with characters who are just learning their true measure, whether they live in a world that's real or fantastic.
 

jdhaymore

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Yes to all the above. The range of emotion, the character growth, the desire to change the world, all that for sure!
Coming from a romance-writing background, I love that there are no...well, fewer rules in YA. I can kill people off at will. I don't have to have a happily ever after. I can mess with POV. I don't have to worry about tropes. THE FREEDOM!

Oh CoffeeBeans, I hear you. I would not want to return to 17. When I say "Oh to be 17" I'm adding the long sigh, mild eye roll, and the light chuckle, haha. But I think that's what makes it enjoyable to write about. It's those heightened emotions and putting your characters in situations where that comes through that can be so fun.

Yeay for coaching! I've coached some high school volleyball, myself.

Yeah, I hated being 17 too...

BUT--if I knew what I know NOW, I'd love to be 17 again. Heh.
 
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Ninten

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I think I like that it takes me back to a simpler time. Like one thing is that while teenagers like to think they're super dark and cynical and jaded, most of the time they haven't really been through enough yet for that to really be the case. So there's still a bit of innocence that's preserved there, but unlike children's or middle grade, it also has a level of maturity to it. So it perfectly treads that line in between. It's also a time when you think you have an idea of what the world is really like and how it works but that idea is usually completely wrong, as you haven't really begun to enter the real world yet. Something about that lends itself well to writing speculative fiction--it's that sense of potential, where it still seems the world can be one of any number of possible things. It's also a lot easier to not have to worry about things like how my characters make a living and all that.
 

MaryLennox

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It's also a lot easier to not have to worry about things like how my characters make a living and all that.

Haha! This ^^^^ I also write some adult romance and the hardest part for me is figuring out WHERE DO THEY WORK. Lol. As a thirty-something year old who has mostly worked in customer service/retail it's hard to wrap my mind around working in an office or being a dentist or a car mechanic or whatever. EDIT: Yet, I also write fantasy and have no problem making that stuff up? I guess I'm less worried about getting the little details right if it's something I'm making up.

Like others have said, it's just an interesting part of life and full of possibility. Everyone (wellm most?) loves a coming of age story. Or a first love story. Or first heartbreak. There are so many "firsts" waiting just around the corner so there is so much you can write about.
 
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