How to Write for Teens Without Sounding Like an Adult Writing for Teens

 

Ask any agent and they’ll tell you the trick to nailing young adult writing is in the voice. And even though I spend my workdays with teens, I heard it countless times when I was looking for representation for my failed first YA novel. So when I finally buried that novel for good and moved on to what became DON’T GET CAUGHT, I was determined to make sure the voice was right. It took more than eight drafts and constant revisions, but ultimately I signed with an agent who sold the book in a little over a month. The trick, I’ve found, is first to get yourself back to thinking like a teenager again, and once there, writing your novel as a teenager would. Here are 10 practical tips on how to do just that.

1. Time travel.

To sound like a teenager, you need to become a teenager again. Here’s what I want you to do: Spend a week or longer solely writing out your teenage memories. Start it as a list at first—naming friends, enemies, teachers, adventures you had, successes and screw-ups, choices you had to make, etc. Next, choose the memories that stand out the most to you, and write about them. The important part here is to focus on how you felt during these experiences. This is definitely a dam-opening type of exercise of memories and feelings.

2. Relive the terror of your yearbook.

Yearbooks are essentially monsters collecting dust in your closet. Open one up and you can’t escape seeing people who didn’t want to see ever again, reliving moments it took a team of therapists for you to forget, and being filled with all of the confusing emotions high school fills you with. But it’s also a great way to get in touch with those emotions, which is essential to writing authentic voice.

3. Listen to the music.

I got this trick from fellow YA author Josh Berk who once told me when he needs to return to thinking like a teenager, all he has to listen to is Green Day’s “Dookie.” For me, I use my youthful obsession with R.E.M. To this day I can’t hear any of their songs without being transported back to my high school bedroom or cruising around in my beater of a car. Other bands also transport me to other times in my life. It’s an odd trick, but it works. If you listened to anything obsessively in high school, or if there’s a movie you watched endlessly, revisit them and see what place they take you to. Write down the feelings you get from them.

4. Contact your old high school friends.

This is a simple one: Get in touch with old friends and you’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ll revert back to sounding like you’re a teenager again. Failing that, eavesdrop shamelessly on teenagers. It’s not hard—they’re not usually the quietest bunch! Plant yourself at the places they hangout—the mall, coffee shops, school sporting events, etc.

5. YouTube it.

Teenagers broadcast their lives these days to the nth degree. Take advantage of that. YouTube is full of videos of teens talking, giving advice, and just being plain. Tuning in is a great way to pick up the flow of their language. Search: “Teen YouTube Stars” to get started.

6. Find a picture and make it talk.

Once I have a clear image of my character, I have a good idea of how that character sounds. Do this: Image search high school photography studios. Search the results until you find your character—you’ll know him when you see him. Now, what does he sound like? Copy and paste the picture onto your document and have this person introduce himself to you. This likely won’t be the finished voice of your novel, but it’ll let you get started.

7. Write for plot first.

More so with YA writing than with other genres, I suggest writing the complete story out first, then worrying about revising the voice later. This is so you can focus on one thing at a time, instead of plotting and getting the voice right at the same time. Try to write it in a voice close to what you want, but focus on getting the story down first with no pressure of getting the voice right.

8. Loosen up.

Something about being an adult just tightens you up. To write YA with authentic voice, you need to loosen up. With Don’t Get Caught, when I knew I had the story I wanted, I revised (and revised and revised) with a relaxed, devil-may-care attitude—one that eventually helped me find my MC’s real voice. Do this: Take a paragraph you’ve written and are unhappy with voice-wise. Now, stand up, walk around the room maybe while chewing a piece of gum (always good for loosening up!), and type the idea of that paragraph again, but faster and looser, telling yourself no one will ever see it but you. When you’re finished, do it again, maybe after some jumping jacks this time, or blasting a pop radio station. (Really. Try it.)

9. Overwrite.

When you’re doing your voice revision(s), it’s the asides, apparently meaningless observations, and throwaway conversations that will help you hear your characters. Teenagers have opinions on everything, so put them into your draft. Don’t worry about word count at this point; that’s for later. You can trim back an overwritten passage much more easily than you can add voice to a sparse one.

10. Shorten It Up.

OK, so your novel-in-progress is now full of lots of teen thoughts in just the voice you’ve been looking for. It’s time to cut it way back. Because here’s the thing—teenagers don’t speak in long, drawn-out monologues (hint: Don’t use “Dawson’s Creek” as an example). They generally don’t describe things that way either. Their vocabulary is common and accessible. Before you send out the book to your critique partners, cut way back on the paragraphs, descriptions, dialogue, and change any adult verbiage to more common language.

Culled from Writers Digest

7 Common Mistakes Made by Novice Novelists

 

Professional writers of all stripes will agree that writing is both easy and hard. For novelists, the challenge exceeds composing well-written content. Agents reject flawed work. It is better to create a less mistake-riddled work given the high rate of rejection by agents.

Novice novelists make a number of common mistakes. Weed out these weaknesses while drafting the novel. Keep in mind the following common mistakes made by inexperienced writers.

1. An Undistinguished Manuscript

To get out of the slush pile, the novel needs to have a concept, an angle, or a pitch that is outstanding. Think big. Develop an aspect of the novel that makes it fresh, even if you are writing for a genre in which readers expect to see certain elements in their books. If your manuscript is good, but not good enough, do not be surprised by a rejection letter.

2. Extreme or Inefficient Language or Cliché-Riddled Writing

Strong language is useful, when used with discretion. Overuse is off-putting. Make every sentence economical; make your words count. Excessive verbiage is dead weight that hampers the reader you want to impress. Descriptive language or content that is too familiar is a cliché. Keep that in mind, and you will see that agents and editors will appreciate your efforts.

3. Absent or Bland Descriptions

Readers enjoy being transported into a different world. Provide a context and setting that will engage readers.

4. Pretty Prose, Lack of Clarity, or a Literary Writing Fail

Showy language overwhelms content because the disruptive power of pretty prose impedes the flow of the narrative. Optimally, prose clearly and economically conveys meaning. Be aware that sloppy prose may signal sloppy thinking. If you aspire to write literary fiction, competence is insufficient. Literary fiction must be well written.

5. Pointless Detail and/or Distracting Research

Avoid unnecessary details to keep the reader interested. Even if you have done extensive research about the background setting of your fiction, do not smother the narrative with facts. This also applies to information about location and scenery. You are writing fiction, not a travelogue.

6. Plots, Character, and Conflict Weaknesses

Is the plot discernible? Your manuscript should not be a sequence of events affecting your characters or have bland, non-relatable characters. Add depth to your characters with insights into their inner lives or background stories. The backstory provides more information about the character. It can even just hint at the inner motivations of the character.

7. Dialogue and Pacing Weaknesses

Believable dialogue can be challenging for first-time novelists. Read each character’s dialogue to catch inconsistencies. Stick to the same points of view in a scene. Handle the transition from one character to the next carefully in a scene. Uneven pacing makes the narrative disjointed and could turn off readers.

Writing a novel is a major undertaking. The next challenge is to get past the slush pile. Avoid common mistakes to create an outstanding first novel that launches your writing career.

Culled from AIPWE 

5 Tips to Help You Finish Your Novel

 

The idea of writing a novel can be an exciting experience, but the processes involved, from start to finish, could seem like too high a mountain to climb. A lot of writers are faced with this and most times shy away from writing a novel because of it. Since you have most probably started your novel, which could be why you are reading this article, here are some tips to help you finish your work.

1. Go for a run: It doesn’t have to be a run, but you should engage in any physical exercise or activity that excites you in order to get energized to finish your work.
2. Create a realistic timeline: It is important to create a timeline for your work, but it also has to be realistic. Take note of how many pages you will write on a daily basis or on a weekly basis and stick to it.
3. Skip any passage that is slowing you down: It is possible that you have not been able to finish your novel because you can’t seem to come up with an idea for a particular passage. Rather than staying stuck on that passage, just move forward and keep writing, then you can get back to it later.
4. Avoid distractions: One of the ways to complete your novel is to go somewhere with fewer distractions when you need to write. That way, you will be able to get more done in a short amount of time.
5. Avoid perfectionism: Trying to attain perfection in writing usually takes a lot of time and is usually almost impossible to attain. So, when you are writing, avoid going back to re-write or change things constantly. Just keep writing until you are done with the whole book.

After you are done with the writing, you can now re-write and edit thoroughly.

 

It is also important that you don’t compare yourself to other writers so that you don’t get discouraged; just focus on getting your novel out of your head, one chapter at a time till you get to the end.

 

All the best.

Simbiat Bakare