Tips for Writing Young Adult Books and The Benefits of Buying Second Hand Novels

This is a thorough guide to writing young adult (YA) fiction, designed to help you mold your ideas into something that will keep your readers turning the pages! 

Recall your favorite books as a teenager. 

Returning to your childhood doesn't imply you have to dumb down or simplify your thoughts. Children are far more complicated and intelligent than they are sometimes given credit for. They want to deal with reality since their lives are complicated. Judy recalls that as a child, she yearned to read about real life and about children who had her experiences and were struggling with similar issues. 

Adult fiction that has been dumbed down is not what YA is. 

Accidental children's book authors are among my favorite YA novels. Francesca Lia Block, a YA pioneer and author/maven of some of the most lyrical prose this side of Gabriel Garcá Márquez, is an excellent example. Weetzie Bat was destined to be a YA protagonist for the ages, despite the fact that she did not intend to create her cult classic Weetzie Bat series as children's books. While growing up, she does and says things that would make Holden Caulfield blush, and the rest of us celebrate. 

Though your character's voice should reflect her identity and life experiences, you never have to (and should never) simplify your novel's language, story, or stylistic choices in order to appeal to young readers. YA authors should strive to write at least as well as adult authors, and there are numerous examples of YA novels that outshine even the most beautiful prose found in adult literature. 

Keep your themes simple. 

Judy avoids using themes in her writing. Themes in stories frequently smack readers in the face and fail to give them due credit. This may turn off readers, particularly children. Instead, focus on settings and characters, and let your audience decide for themselves what the story means. 

Make certain your characters are of the appropriate age. 

Your YA novel's protagonist should be between the ages of 14 and 18. Consider high school. A middle-grade novel is a children's book in which the main character is twelve years old. If your protagonist is nineteen years old, your book is either a new adult novel or an adult novel, depending on the material. 

There are a lot of adult novels out there featuring juvenile protagonists. However, because these works are produced with an adult audience in mind, they are frequently classified as adult fiction. Curtis Sittenfield's Prep and Jeffrey Eugenides' The Virgin Suicides are two notable examples of this, in which teen protagonists reflect about their juvenile experiences through the lens of an adult looking back on their teen lives rather than as a kid living that life in the moment. 

This is what distinguishes a novel about teens from one that teens will actually enjoy reading. A YA novel is a story narrated by an adolescent narrator while they are experiencing it or in the recent past. Adult literature is defined as an adolescent story delivered by a mature with more literary, adult language and topics. 

Create complex adolescent characters. 

Teenage years are terrible in real life. They're rife with internal and external turmoil. To authentically depict that age group's point of view, you must write characters that suffer, and those struggles don't always end happily. Judy points out that all children confront issues as they grow up that have an impact on who they are. The best YA authors understand this and give their characters real difficulties to overcome throughout the course of a novel. 

Emphasize authenticity. 

Keep in mind that creating a YA novel almost often implies writing from the perspective of a teen. Again, we should be experiencing your teen protagonist's reality as she perceives it in the moment, rather than with the wisdom and polished rhetoric of an adult reflecting on her adolescence. 

It's not just about a character's distinct voice when it comes to authenticity. You should also be conscious that tale development must have a distinct ring of truth to it. This is one of the most typical concerns in YA novel submissions, according to Allison Singer, Editorial Assistant at Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary: "What irritates me the most," Singer adds, "is a lack of causality, where you can see when plot developments, particularly new relationships, happen because the author wants them to, rather than because the story is intrinsically driven." 

Consider your writing carefully. 

Make time for writing and treat it as a job. Judy is unconcerned about writer's block. Instead of giving up when you face a roadblock on your first draft, switch gears and write something different or return to your notebooks to reclaim your momentum. Get out of your chair. Laundry should be done. Take a walk. But don't forget to leave some room for your personal life. Keep in mind that real-life experiences and observations are essential for keeping your idea box stocked. 

Purchasing Second hand Books 

Buying a book is like shopping for a bibliomaniac; the experience is as enjoyable as the book. Nothing beats strolling into a bookshop as a book enthusiast; we may see a number of books that capture our eye, but we only buy a few owing to a variety of causes. 

We can read a book in a variety of ways, including as an e-book, borrowing a book, or borrowing and returning a book from a library, but owning a book brings a different level of satisfaction. Few books stick with you for the rest of your life, and having them in your library is an academic achievement. You may end yourself spending all of the money set aside for a rainy day on books, despite the fact that you haven't finished many of the books on your list. We've all been there; it's not just you. We began looking for and acquiring used books at that point. 

You've been wondering whether reading old used books is as fun as reading new books. You should read this article carefully. Continue reading to learn about a few convincing reasons to buy a used book rather than a new one. 

Benefits of Buying Second Hand Novels 

1. When you buy second hand novels, you get the pleasure of reading no longer printed books - 

A few notable books are out of print, so having them in your library is a source of great pride. Going to second hand book stores is the only way to appreciate them. Finding a rare print of a book you're looking for among the dusty stacks of a second hand novel store makes you feel like you've discovered a one-of-a-kind antique exotic sculpture. It's amazing! 

2. Second hand novels are affordable and readily available - 

You may get second hand books online for half the price of new ones. You can buy other second hand novels with the money you save from purchasing them. Unlike the peaceful, gleaming book stores, second hand book stores allow you to haggle. You may use all of your negotiating talents to purchase as many second hand novels as you like. 

3. Experiencing the joys of second hand novels - 

Looking for books in a stack of old second hand novels is just as interesting as going along the bookshop aisle. In a used bookstore, you never know what book you'll come across next; you never know what you'll find. You occasionally come upon a title you had almost given up on, which adds to its originality and enriches the experience. This enormous delight in discovery is unlikely to be found in well-organized bookstores. You may leave a used bookshop without finding the book you were looking for, but you will never leave without being astonished by the weird prints you uncover. 

4. An Old Used Novel's Warmth and Allure - 

Gently used second hand noves, like wine, improve with age. Each turn of the page delivers you a fresh narrative to relish, thanks to the countless hands it has traveled through. E-books can't compare to the feel of a paperback, and new books can't compare to the delight of smelling a lightly used volume. With each page, you'll get a peek of the previous owner. This valuable relationship you have with this individual, which you can only gain with old used second hand novels, may have circled or highlighted their favorite passage, which may also be your favorite. 

5. Second Hand Novels Aid in Environmental Protection - 

With the global climate change tragedy in the spotlight, it's more crucial than ever to help the world in whatever way we can and recycle as much as possible. Buying an older, gently used second hand novel, on the other hand, reduces the number of new printings, lowering paper consumption and helping the environment. Our goal is to cut carbon emissions as much as possible, and we should all work hard to achieve it. Purchasing second hand novels and reducing the amount of new books printed can both help. 

6. Novels are still novels, whether new or used. 

Novels are novels, regardless of whether they are new or worn. You treat them the same way you treat the rest of the population. Although purchasing a second hand novel requires more effort than purchasing a new book, the two are comparable. While you spend money on a new book, you spend all of your time and effort hunting for a book that you want in a used bookstore. You don't have to treat a second hand novel as carefully as a new one, but if you love both, you'll want to take good care of it.