28
votes
Accepted
Referring to different instances of the same character in time travel
I think it may be solved using the same term consistently.
From what you wrote:
"the man", "his older counterpart", "his future self", "his older self", "Older Adrien", and "his other self".
...
- 15.9k
22
votes
Accepted
What can I do if I hate my own protagonist?
You may have story problems, too. As Mark says (I have to say that a lot) she needs to want something, bad. You say she is "quite determined" but mousy: She can be usually mousy, but when it comes to ...
- 103k
19
votes
Why is young adult romance now being written primarily in the first person?
Young adult generally is written in first person for the strong voice and the closeness of the POV. It has almost become industry standard, likely because it sells well for the target market. You can ...
- 7,610
19
votes
Accepted
Using footnotes in fiction: children's book which can be enjoyed by adults
I don't think this is the right way to go about it.
I have to say I'm not a fan of explanatory footnotes in fiction, it's far too much of an immersion breaker. In fact I'd go so far as to say they ...
- 7,293
16
votes
Accepted
How to describe an angry voice in dialogue?
Your trouble in finding a word is that it does not exist. You will need to use adjectives and other descriptions to properly describe it.
My first piece of advice would be to find a good example of ...
15
votes
Referring to different instances of the same character in time travel
Pick a name and go with it.
If the fact of the new character being future Adrien isn't a secret from the reader, you don't have to worry about names that spoil the surprise.
Use whatever name ...
- 32.4k
12
votes
Does my book need to have a love triangle in it?
Writing SE often gets a lot of questions in this vein:
"Should I include [thing] in my story, since so many other books in my genre have it?"
"I don't feel super comfortable writing [...
- 8,772
11
votes
Accepted
How to write a board game scene?
The interest, I think, will be in the context around the game:
What's at stake for her? What makes this game so important to her? What makes it so important now?
Who is her opponent?
What's at stake ...
- 24.1k
11
votes
Accepted
Describe illustrated characters?
Think about people who may use a screenreader (or like audiobooks)
E-Books are very important and a lot of books are sold as hard-copies and as e-books alike. This allows people with a disability to "...
- 5,686
11
votes
Using footnotes in fiction: children's book which can be enjoyed by adults
You don’t say what age of children you want to address and I’m not sure whether your use of the young-adult tag indicates older children or if that is intended to cover your ’adult’ audience.
If you ...
- 903
10
votes
Referring to different instances of the same character in time travel
If it were me, I would pick a name with a common, well-known nickname, and then call the younger version exclusively by the nickname, and the older version by the full name --for instance, "Andy&...
- 56.5k
10
votes
Wanting to write a gay kiss... for young audiences
I feel like advice that was given to me about writing characters of the opposite gender also applies here. Just write it as if it were a regular kiss with individuals of separate genders. Of course ...
- 718
9
votes
Accepted
What are some clear differences in theme/story between children's, middle grade, and young adult fantasy?
There are no clear-cut distinctions. Children are different. One child might be reading at 6 what another wouldn't touch until 12. For example, King Matt the First is explicitly written for children (...
9
votes
Crossing the line from Middle-Grade to Young-Adult
Aged 10-12, my understanding of sex was "that's how you make children". It didn't sound like fun, so my understanding of why people would do it, other than to make children, was rather in the "adults ...
9
votes
A flower's head or heart?
Putting scientific definition aside, "Flower head" works better since it's a personification. The human reader has no trouble associating the upper part of a body with the upper part of a flower.
On ...
- 15.9k
9
votes
Referring to different instances of the same character in time travel
The Magic 2.0 series by Scott Meyer has this situation with a core character (so it's not a passing situation). The narrator and the characters identify the two as Brit the Elder and Brit the Younger....
- 21.5k
9
votes
Should I stick with American terminology in my English set young adult book?
If you're writing for an American audience, with an American publisher, then use an American dialect for your narration.
But... your character is living in England. Whether she's British or an ...
- 32.4k
9
votes
Accepted
Are My Novels Middle-Grade or Young Adult? Having Trouble Figuring It Out
You haven't really provided enough details to make definitive calls for these, and to be honest you'd probably struggle to do that in the context of an SE question anyway. What I can do is give you ...
- 7,293
7
votes
Accepted
Is mild sexualization of minors allowed in writing?
It is absolutely certainly legal for what you describe to appear in literature. Consider, for instance, that Juliet was 14 when she married and had sex with Romeo. A more modern example: Song of Ice ...
7
votes
Is there a market for all-ages novels?
The marketing environment for books has become immensely more complicated and crowded than it was in the past. Partly due to the ongoing information explosion (which lets you and discuss this at all), ...
- 103k
7
votes
Accepted
Who decides how to classify a novel?
Young adult vs adult fiction isn't about the age of the characters (though that usually does vary too), it's about the age of your readers.
If you're writing for adults, then write for adults and ...
- 32.4k
7
votes
Accepted
A flower's head or heart?
A few alternatives:
She dived into the flower.
She dived into the zinnia's flower.
She dived into the petals.
She dived into the zinnia's center.
Or, simply:
She dived into the ...
- 32.4k
6
votes
How far can insults go in a "Young Adult" novel?
This isn't a general rule, but perhaps one that might be useful to you. Teachers, like myself, don't really want swearing or explicit sexual references in the texts we teach. Reading them out loud can ...
- 7,936
6
votes
Accepted
Fantasy Series - YA or Adult protagonist?
I don't think there is a strong commercial reason. YA with YA protagonists is a commercial audience, but note it is also an audience heavily influenced by parents, that want fantasy for their "coming ...
- 103k
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