Questions tagged [young-adult]
This tag should be used for questions about writing intended for readers between 12 and 18 years old. (Often abbreviated YA.) For readers ages 8-12 use [middle-grade]. For readers under 8 use [children]. For questions about characters, use [child-characters]. For questions about children or teens who are writers, use [young-author].
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Can I change tenses in my first person YA novel?
I'm half way through a YA science fiction novel that is told in 1st person, past tense.
Currently there are two chapters in different tenses.
One is 2nd person, present tense - the p.o.v. of an AI. ...
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Genre conventions: Which end do readers expect?
I need help with the concept of my story:
My protagonists live in a mild dystopia. Think of your own country today ;-) They have the opportunity to kill about 20 persons, which will cause a ...
user5645
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How to fill novel if you have just some moments prepared?
I read some of my old novels and realized that I often filled them with unnecessary info and pseudojokes so I could quickly rejoin my favourite moments in the planned plot. I found those moments more ...
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Referring to different instances of the same character in time travel
I am writing a story that involves time travel, and I have a chapter where a character from the future interacts with his present-day self. This chapter is written from the present-day self's POV.
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How can I accurately represent young adult dialogue?
There was a recent question that caused quite a stir around here, not so much for the question itself, but more the purpose of the question. That aside, there was a valid question being asked, and it ...
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How to go about breaking up a looooong YA story?
A while ago, I played around with a short story idea in a genre I don't normally write (Young Adult fiction). The story took on a life of its own, growing quickly to a novella, and now is definitely ...
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How explicit can violence and sex be in a YA novel?
Many of the most popular YA novels are pretty brutal, rape and murder are a common ingredient. Many show teenagers having sex. But how far can you go, before you cross the line into adult fiction, ...
user5645
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How explicit should a YA novel be?
For a romance YA novel, how explicit can it be? Are there certain descriptions or words that shouldn't be used?
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What are some clear differences in theme/story between children's, middle grade, and young adult fantasy?
At the moment I'm trying to write a fantasy novel, and I think it's leaning more towards middle grade rather than children's or young adult fantasy, but I'd like to know if there are any particular ...
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Using footnotes in fiction: children's book which can be enjoyed by adults
I would like to write a children's story which is appealing to both children and adults. However, the world in which the story takes place requires the use of higher vocabulary and slang (it is a real ...
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Is there such a thing as using too Many "I's" in a first person novel?
For example, would you say this section of copy has too many "I's" or even "my's"?
I woke in a daze. A drug induced daze.
I recognized it instantly, the feeling of being disconnected from my
...
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Fantasy Series - YA or Adult protagonist?
I plan on writing a fantasy series at some point. Based on what I've read, my automatic assumption was that the protagonist of such a series would be a teenager, probably around the 17-18 year range. ...
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How do I handle teenage sex in books for teenagers?
I am writing a book, in which the protagonists are two teenagers. They fell in love and it is time they were alone and had sex.
As long as the book is destined for teenagers from 15-19, I would like ...
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Why do Popular Fantasy Novels of Today Feature Teenagers?
This could be a misconception of mine, but I've noticed that the popular fantasy novels of today seem to nearly all have main characters who are children or teenagers. I have a list of some off the ...
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How to write for a certain audience?
I'm busy writing a book that I've been putting off for years. In this book the main character starts off as an 18 year old but grows up to be a young adult, sometimes she will think about when she was ...
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How to choose ideal number of main characters?
As I already mentioned in my previous question, I'm writing a novel with personages both that I created and some already created by others (well, I wrote that when I was younger and now I just ...
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First person from the point of view of a child
Is it ok to use first person when the one speaking in the narration is a child?
I guess it doesn't matter too much when the narration is about things that the child hears from other people or he is ...
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What are some rich but respectful ways to describe various skin colors?
Say I have a kid's book with children of varying skin tones: a boy with British/Germanic background, a girl with Indian parents in the middle point of Indian skin tones, a girl with a Germanic ...
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Need help titling my book? [closed]
So... I'm writing a book that takes place in an alternate world. In this world, there are a bunch of islands that align with the star sign constellations (Ex: Gemini, Sagittarius, etc.) the island ...
