How to Write Young Adult (with Wattpad's Finest)

Small Tips and Tricks (That Can Make or Break Your YA Novel) - AvaViolet

Small Tips and Tricks (That Can Make or Break Your YA Novel)

By: AvaViolet

There are tons of things you can read online about writing, character development, plot, and all the big important things, but I want to tackle the small, technical things that often get overlooked, but are actually extremely important on the overall effect of the book.

I am in no way a professional, but being an avid reader and enduring the writing process of "She's With Me," there are a few tips and tricks that I've picked up from being a reader as well as an author.

Past or Present?

Every time someone asks me for writing advice, my automatic response is to keep consistent tense! The very first thing I notice when I read a book is the tense. I cannot emphasize how much of a turn off it is when the tense keeps flipping back and forth from past to present.

For example:

I walked to the door and press the doorbell, as I rocked back and forth and chew my lip in anxiety as I wait for Dean to answer the door.

I hope you picked up on the annoying back and forth in this sentence. Of course there are some exceptions, like if your character is telling a story that already happened, or if it's a flashback and you made an executive decision to change tense, (because ultimately it's your story and you can do whatever you want). But if you want tips, I say pick a tense you're comfortable with and stick to it (especially in the same sentence!). I personally prefer present tense, so that sentence would sound like this:

I walk to the door and press the doorbell, rocking back and forth as I chew my lip in anxiety while waiting for Dean to answer the door.

Slightly different and not that apparent of a difference, but reading this in a story where the rest is in a consistent tense as well makes a huge difference, and demonstrates an overall clean finish and presentation of the story.

(Pro tip: this works for school essay writing as well! Take that Ms. Morell, I was paying attention in English class!)

Passive Voice

What's passive voice, you ask?

That's a good question. I had absolutely no idea what this was until I got to University, and many other people don't either! It's often done without the writer even knowing that they're doing it.

I'll give you two examples of the same sentence, and you pick the one that sounds better:

"To the store she ran.""She ran to the store."

Did you pick one?

I hope you picked the second one, because the first one sounds ridiculous.

Passive voice, in simplest terms, is when the noun of the sentence comes before the verb. In this case, the first example is passive voice because the noun (the store) comes before the verb (ran).

Needless to say, you want to avoid passive voice.

Commas, Commas, Commas!

Other than consistent tense reading sentences or paragraphs where the author doesn't put commas in is another pet peeve of mine because it's like I'm reading this in my head but for some reason I can't breathe because I'm reading this in one breathe but I'm not even reading out loud and oh my God when is this sentence going to end I can't breathe.

See that? See what I did there?

(The urge to resist adding commas while re-reading that paragraph was real).

Commas are our friends!

It doesn't even have to be a run on sentence, even normal sentences need commas.

(See the comma in the middle of the sentence before of this one? Read it without the comma and tell me there's no difference. You can't, because there is).

I don't mean to sound condescending because that is definitely not my intention, but you'd be surprised how often I read a story and the editor in me is like, "Oh comma should go there, and comma should go there, and that comma is irrelevant, why is it even there?."

And yes, be careful, of overusing, commas. It may, seem ridiculous, but it is possible, to overuse them, as well.

(That was another example if you didn't notice... just checking in case you thought I went comma crazy).

A huge aspect of making a sentence flow properly and read fluidly is to have proper punctuation, as to not distract from the story. Wrong/no placement of commas is extremely distracting, because the punctuation indicates how a reader reads the story.

New Paragraph? New Paragraph.

Do not be afraid to start a new paragraph!

If you read my works, or even just re-read this article with a critical eye, you'll notice that I'm not one to shy away from starting a new paragraph. Some are just a sentence or two long before I start a new one.

That doesn't mean start a new paragraph after every sentence, because that gets annoying too, but if you feel it needs a new paragraph, don't be afraid to start one.

That being said, if it doesn't warrant starting a new paragraph, don't! If it pertains to the same thing, keep it in the same paragraph.

But I 100% feel that if someone is talking, it needs a new paragraph. I never have speech in the middle of a paragraph, I just feel that it's wrong. If someone is talking, they get their own line, and when they're done, start a new paragraph. (Unless you're describing an action or how they say their dialogue. I mean not to have a quote in the middle of a long paragraph, then continue on writing without starting a new line. This is a big no-no in my eyes.)

Let's use our hot, fictional character Dean as an example of how I prefer to write, shall we?

The door opens, revealing Dean's heart stopping smile and captivating grey eyes.

"Hey."

"Hi," I smile back at him nervously.

He looks really good, in a dark dress shirt that easily compliments his muscular build, and dark wash jeans. His dark hair is tousled in a lazy but stylish way, begging me to run my fingers through it.

He chuckles, noticing my blatant ogling, "You going to stare at me all day or come in?"

I blush furiously, cursing myself for being so obvious.

"Um, the second option?"

(Yes, my #Violets, if you haven't noticed by now, I do have an obsession with guys with grey eyes).

As per all these writing tips, use your discretion. I am in no way telling you what is right or wrong, but I'm simply guiding you in the direction that I PERSONALLY feel is important. This is my writing style, and this is what works for me.

Some of these tips may seem obvious, or maybe you already know them! But I think it's important to point them out, because it's never too late to expand your knowledge and learn something new that may help you improve your writing. This may have been completely obvious to you, and in that case, good for you! But I hope that this gave you something to think about while writing.

Overall, the biggest tip I can give you is to HAVE FUN.

You write because you love writing, no? You do what you want to do and enjoy the process, because the second you get so caught up in trying to perfect everything, it sucks the fun right out of it. That turns writing into a chore, and now something you love is ruined. You do you, and never let anyone dictate how you write your story, not even me!