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

Peneloperaywrites (Winner)

Chapter by: peneloperaywrites

Hey everyone, it's me Penelope Ray. How's it going?

Wow, never did I imagine winning a spot on the top ten completed YA awards. And I'm not just saying that to sound modest. I've years of rejections and two book contract terminations to keep my expectations way below zero.

Two book contract terminations?? Yup. And they were both for a YA book called "How to Convince Zoey Cloud." Yeah, me and that book go back years. All the rewriting, editing, drafting, heartache, tears have taught me to never give up on writing, even though all the rejections from various literary agents and publishers got me down in the beginning and almost made me stop writing altogether.

But, even though I improved my writing on my own, it wasn't till I discovered Wattpad and actually used it that my writing has become more targeted to my intended audience. I had a lot to learn. I tried out several books I had written or was writing here on Wattpad, neither of them really coming out like I wanted them to. And then I read No Capes by joecool123 and, ta da, inspiration to write a superhero book was born.

Called, "Headphones." Coal's villain name, that was the first title of Big City Villain. *yikes* the cover was even worse. It only lasted about a day before a helpful reader pointed out some things, so I took it down, made a considerably better cover, rewrote chapter one and eventually changed the title to what it is now.

I had no plot in mind, but I knew Coal Black's character, I knew what I wanted his character arc to be and so I started writing. Half the twists in the book being completely unplanned since I had no outline, nothing, until another helpful reader came along and helped me out tremendously in that department.

Looking back, through the years of writing, the setbacks and the victories, I've learned that each day you write, each scene you push yourself to describe or each character you develop, you improve. You're always improving when you write, even when you think your writing is becoming lackluster, you're still growing as an author, discovering your strong points and the scenes or genres that prove to be a glorious challenge to write in.

So, if you have a story to tell, an adventure itching to be written, don't let fear stop you. Write it, because it's your story that can only be told by you.