5 Things I’ve Learned from Writing a YA Novel
By Guest | May 8, 2015 |
Please welcome today’s guest Sandra Gulland—an internationally bestselling author of biographical historical fiction set in France. She is known for the depth and accuracy of her research, as well as for creating novels that bring history vividly to life. Published by Simon & Schuster and Doubleday in the US, and HarperCollins in Canada, she is now writing two Young Adult novels for Penguin in the US and Canada. The popular Josephine B. Trilogy about Napoleon’s wife Josephine has been published in over fifteen countries. Mistress of the Sun and her latest novel The Shadow Queen are set in the mid-17th century French Court of Louis XIV, the Sun King, and are published internationally as well.
I am writing two YA novels about Josephine Bonaparte’s daughter Hortense. Exploring this new genre after decades as a writer of adult historical fiction is enlightening and creatively invigorating. The explosive renaissance in YA fiction right now is both thrilling and inspiring.
Connect with Sandra on her blog, on Facebook, and on Twitter.
5 Things I’ve Learned from Writing a YA Novel
I have been writing adult historical fiction for over thirty years. After publishing The Shadow Queen, my fifth novel, I got an offer out of the blue from Penguin to write two Young Adult novels.
This was a serious swerve for me: I had never considered writing a YA novel.
[pullquote]Just because a novel is written for teens does not mean that it’s going to be easier to write. Writing YA is fun, but it certainly isn’t easy. I don’t believe it’s any different than writing an adult historical novel. The same standards apply.[/pullquote]
In retrospect, I don’t know why. I read and enjoyed YA. Before becoming a novelist, I had been a book editor—and the lion’s share of my work for over a decade had been editing a series of YA novels for reluctant readers. As an editor, I had explored the idea of developing a series of YA biographies. Researching this idea, I read a YA biography: it happened to be the story of Josephine Bonaparte.
Bingo! I got hooked on Josephine. Years later, I sent a book proposal to a publisher for a YA novel about Josephine. The publisher declined, but I persevered, and much—much!—later, my Josephine B. Trilogy was published. I wept finishing this amazing story. Josephine had been an important part of my life for over a decade. Sad and depleted, I plunged into the 17th century Court of the Sun King, selling my Napoleonic research books to make room for this new era. I was finished with Josephine’s world.
Or so I thought…
One of the YA novels, Penguin stipulated, was to be about Josephine’s daughter, Hortense.
I gave this offer a great deal of thought. Over the following months, I mapped out Hortense’s teen years, to see what her story might be. It was all there—enough for the two novels, in fact. I got excited.
Furthermore, I recognized that YA really was very much in my blood. It wasn’t such a stretch. In fact, I would be coming full circle. And so I agreed to the proposal, and immersed myself in the teen world of a girl in 18th century France.
It has been an adventure. Here is what I have learned so far:
1. Just because a novel is written for teens does not mean that it’s going to be easier to write.
Writing YA is fun, but it certainly isn’t easy. I don’t believe it’s any different than writing an adult historical novel. The same standards apply.
2. The fact that YA is a bit shorter in length does not ensure that it’s going to come together faster.
Blaise Pascal is credited with writing: “I have made this [letter] longer than usual because I have not had time to make it shorter.” Writing a short novel entails many, many revisions.
Tish Cohen, YA author of Little Black Lies, suggests: “It’s a good idea to make sure you have conflict and interest on every page, because teens are used to sophisticated stories that are intended for adults. And they love characters with great depth.”
Basically, you are writing more with less. That’s not easy.
3. Assume that your reader is super-smart.
Tish Cohen also says, “Teens these days are whip smart and highly sophisticated.”
The teen years are intense in every way: physically, spiritually as well as intellectually. There is nothing simple or straightforward about their world. They are trying to figure everything out, the meaning of life as well as their place in the world.
4. Treat your reader as an equal.
Even a hint of condescension turns any reader off.
At the same time, it’s important to respect differences. Katherine Howe, New York Times bestselling author of the YA novel Conversion, adds: “Teens have their own language and set of preoccupations, and as adults it’s important to remind ourselves of those preoccupations.” Too, a historical reference that would be understood by a 50-year-old may well be a mystery to a teen.
5. Aspire for the novel you are writing to be your best one yet.
Aim high? You bet.
Many authors are turning to YA today because it is one of the few genres that is growing—and at an astonishing rate—but that might well be because the quality of YA today is so very, very high.
Do you write YA novels? Have you written adult novels, too? What can you share about writing differences (and similarities) about writing for YA and adult audiences?
Many thanks to today’s guest.
You can read more WU guest posts by visiting this link.
Thanks for the reminders and the suggestions, Sandra. I’m deep in the revision of a medieval YA, and it’s certainly not easy. But there’s nothing I’d rather be doing.
Thank you, Judy! “Deep in revision” is a challenging place to be … but yes, so ultimately rewarding. I’m deep in revision now myself, so I understand!
Great advice, Sandra, for writing MG, YA, NA, or Adult. Universal. Thank you.
Dee Willson
Author of A Keeper’s Truth and GOT
Thank you, Denise! Yes, universal, I agree.
How lovely to discover your books! I write almost exclusively for children from PBs to YA, fiction and NF and agree with all you’ve said. Children are inquisitive and a part of me has never really lost that sense of wonder and awe. Children are some of the most honest readers. You can’t fool them. They won’t read a book unless they enjoy it, or unless it’s for school, and they’ll tell you so.
Thank you, Vijaya! That is so very true.
Interesting post. Thanks.
Thank you, David!
One thing I have found in writing YA novels is that the character’s voice has to be realistic. I saw it mentioned a lot that my main character, Landry, was very realistic when my reviews started to come in. I also noticed that other YA books with unrealistic characters were really called out on that. I love reading (and writing) YA. I always find myself going over to the YA section first in the bookstore.
Krysten, that’s a very good point. When I was working with the teen group, reality was often a factor. It could be fantasy, but it had to be real. I found that they were very literal readers.
Given that so many agents are looking for YA and the market has been hot in recent years, a lot of writers are writing YA. Since I have a teen who is an avid YA reader, I sometimes think I would/should have a leg up. But I see first-hand that today’s teens are continuously evolving at a rapid rate, especially in their use of language and what they think is “cool.” Did it simplify anything for you that you were writing from a historical perspective, maybe when times were less complex and roles were more clearly defined? Do you have any thoughts on writing contemporary YA? Is there a lot of historical YA on the maeket because I hadn’t heard of it before.
Excellent question, Cathy. I would be entirely out-of-my-depth writing contemporary YA, but I’ve long been curious about what the life of a teen would have been like historically. Writing, for me, is a way into that past.
I don’t think it was any less complex being a teen 100, 200 or 300 years ago, but it certainly is easier for me as a writer because it’s something I can research and about which I can gain some measure of confidence. At least in terms of the subject. Crafting a story that will appeal to teens is another challenge entirely!
There is historical YA, but I really don’t know what the market is. I suspect it depends entirely on the book. THE BOOK THIEF by Zusak and BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY by Sepetys come to mind.
I’ve got a novel that crosses genres, and one of the genres is YA. The other is Women’s Fiction, maybe even UpMarket Women’s Fiction. It’s primarily being marketed as Women’s Fiction, (although I’ve gotten excellent reviews from men!). I have begun reaching out to the YA market via schools. So far so good, it’s early yet. But in the writing of it, I did definitely write the best novel I could write. I wasn’t really intending it for the YA audience, but once it was written, I realized that it could also go there. My publisher agrees with me. I’m really glad that I wrote it as an adult novel because my perceptions of YA .. and some of the YA novels I’d read did feel to me like they were over simplifying or talking down to the reader. In the end I found a voice that definitely treated the reader (and God!) as an equal; even as it is definitely the voice of a 12 year old. Somehow, this resonates with adults.
I love Writer Unboxed. Variety of voices; not always telling me what to do, but sharing. Even though it’s sometimes overwhelming, as the stuff keeps coming every day . . . !!! So thank you Sandra!
Thank you for this, Caitlin, and bravo on your publication!
I’ve always thought the quality of YA was very high, not just the new stuff written today. From the 60’s onward, and just looking at fantasy/SF alone, we’ve had:
Ursula K. Le Guin
Lloyd Alexander
Robin McKinley
Patricia A. McKillip
Peter S. Beagle
Diana Wynne Jones
Tanith Lee
Sylvia Louise Engdahl
Eloise McGraw
Meredith Ann Pierce…
I see I’m in danger of running on. :P These are just a few big names and a handful obscure ones, and I’ve left out seminal people like Tolkien (often put in the adult section) and C.S. Lewis (often found in children’s). I’m glad to see that YA is gaining popularity now, but it’s always been a strong subgenre.
1. Just because a novel is written for teens does not mean that it’s going to be easier to write.
I think writing for teenagers even harder. Because when you’re writing for adults, you understand them better, know what exactly they want to read, because you are an adult.
Oh my gosh, I did think writing YA would maybe be easier but not sure why I thought that! I write lots of stuff, just not books…books are so hard for me. I like humor flash fiction and little personal essays but no clue how to get into that market or where to start. I have so many stories on my thumb drive but no clue what to do with them lol.
Sandra, what made you want to write YA? Did I miss that part lol? Scatter brain that I am.