How to Write Young Adult Fiction

Introduction

London, United Kingdom - If you’re interested in writing Young Adult Fiction (YA), you may or may not have already written a YA novel or story before.

Young Adult is usually written for readers between the ages of 12-18, though many older readers also enjoy reading YA. We will focus on bringing out your inner teenager, building your characters and creating conflict.

Who Reads Young Adult and Why?

Publisher Harper Collins collaborated with Nielson Book in 2024 to find out how many adults were reading young adult fiction. As per the report, 74% of YA readers were aged 18 or older, making only 26% of YA readers being aged 0-17.

Older readers say that YA is relatable. YA stories often show conflict, realistic relationships and topics that come with coming of age. As books on the shelves become more diverse, older readers may have the opportunity to read stories far more relatable than what was available in the past.

In parallel, readers aged 18-25 feel that their transition from adolescence to adulthood was extended. They experienced that they grew up more slowly, some taking more time to explore themselves.

In the UK, the median age for first marriages has increased around 40% since the 1970’s. It is now more likely for people to get married past their 30’s than in the past, when it was more common during their early 20’s.

Another popular genre in YA is romance. Readers of YA between 18-21 say that they read YA because it allows them to experience a romance that they have never experienced before.

Exercise: Allow yourself only five minutes, to write a letter to (someone), describing a strong emotion you feel or felt for them.

Creating Your Writer's Voice

We all have something that makes us unique. We have our quirks about us that we learned from our families or upbringings. Our relationships were special to us, our hobbies and experiences. Many of us were born with disabilities. Whatever makes you original, uniqueness should be the highlight of your YA novel or story.

Let’s consider what makes us original. These are quotes by writers, and one from artist Pablo Picasso, on the idea of originality that might spark ideas.

Read “I Remember” by Wendy Cope. It may inspire you.

Exercise: Conceptualize your uniqueness and write about what makes you, you.

Create a mood board. Think about your hobbies, what vexes you, what you obsess over. Your fears, passions and interests. Also think about your relationships, including your family. You might also think about negative relationships you have had, such as a school bully. You could write your own autobiography.

Think about the past, to your teenage years, and become aware of what sticks out. What was your biggest fear as a teenager? How different is it to what you fear now?

Creating Our Characters

Characters in the YA genre are typically aged between 13 and 19 years old. Your hero or heroine should be realistic by having insecurities and imperfections. Your main character should also have their own strengths, like courage or kindness.

As YA stories tend to focus on coming-of-age themes, your character should also go through major developmental changes as they grow and learn, making decisions that shape their identities.

An example of a strong YA protagonist is Hazel Grace in "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green.

Hazel Grace is a smart teenager, who battles cancer, eventually falling in love with another teenage cancer patient, Augustus Walters. She can be witty which compared with her vulnerabilities make her a relatable and touching character.

Another example is Laura Jean Covey in "To All the Boys I’ve Ever Loved Before", by Jenny Hann. Laura Jean is a dreamy, romantic teen whose secret love letters lead to unexpected challenges and self-discovery. Her shy and awkward nature makes her relatable in many ways.

While your character might aim high, they will also have internal or external conflicts that challenge them. Think about issues they might have with their families, friends or love interests.

Consider what language your character might use. They might use specific slang, depending on their age and where they come from. Avoid taking away their authenticity by turning them into a stereotype.

Think about your character’s identity and where they fit in… if anywhere. What do they need to overcome their challenges and find their voice or strength?

YA Plotting: The Power of Conflict

The best way to begin your YA novel or story is to focus on the conflict. Focusing on the conflict in a YA novel helps us to decide what the moral of the story is. Your novel or story should focus on your character overcoming the conflict that you have presented them with.

You might choose to create entirely fictional conflict or use your own experiences to work out what conflict that your character will go through.

Using something from your own experiences, will allow you to use your writers voice more boldly. You will be able to tune into your character more and perceive how they might think or feel in certain situations.

YA Blueprint

Other things to consider when you are writing your YA novel or YA story is whose perspective you will use to tell your story. You might choose to tell your story from the point of view of a first person or a third person. You should consider how using different points of views in your story will change the mood of your story.

You should also consider what the roles of other characters will be in your story.

Wrapping Up

With only 16% of 14–17-year-olds reading daily, it is no surprise that older audiences are reading YA. Teens state that they have too much schoolwork to read books for fun.

Young Adult is a popular and enjoyed genre and if it suits your interests, then it is the perfect place to start your next story.

The Internet Café hopes that you found some useful pieces of information in this week’s article.

If you chose to write a YA story, either because you’re interested or have some time to work on your craft, then we invite you to share Young Adult stories that you create in The Internet Café territory.

If you wrote anything down for the exercises, feel free to share your writings from there as well u.u

We look forward to reading and as always, providing our thoughts on your writing.