Rules for YA?? - CrimeSpace2024-03-29T11:01:15Zhttps://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/rules-for-ya?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A259830&feed=yes&xn_auth=noCJ, my focus is on writing an…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-01-02:537324:Comment:2598422011-01-02T03:36:03.735ZDave Zeltsermanhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/DaveZeltserman
<p>CJ, my focus is on writing an adult noir/horror thriller which could also turn out to be a YA book. For whatever reason this book is writing faster than most, and I'm thinking 8-weeks total. But I'm always overly optimistic.</p>
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<p>--Dave</p>
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<p>CJ, my focus is on writing an adult noir/horror thriller which could also turn out to be a YA book. For whatever reason this book is writing faster than most, and I'm thinking 8-weeks total. But I'm always overly optimistic.</p>
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<p>--Dave</p>
<p> </p> When do you think you'll fini…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-01-02:537324:Comment:2598302011-01-02T01:33:43.494Zcj forresthttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/cjforrest
When do you think you'll finish this YA book?
When do you think you'll finish this YA book? J.E., good advice, but I'm no…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-01-01:537324:Comment:2598182011-01-01T23:25:07.692ZDave Zeltsermanhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/DaveZeltserman
<p>J.E., good advice, but I'm not setting out to write a YA novel. Instead, I'm working on an adult novel with the aim being to appeal to the same audience for The Caretaker of Lorne Field (which is almost everyone except YA). BUT since my protagonist is a 15 year-old kid I figure if there are certain rules I can be aware so that my novel is also appropriate for the YA market without making dramatic compromises for what I want to do, then I might as well do that and see where the chips…</p>
<p>J.E., good advice, but I'm not setting out to write a YA novel. Instead, I'm working on an adult novel with the aim being to appeal to the same audience for The Caretaker of Lorne Field (which is almost everyone except YA). BUT since my protagonist is a 15 year-old kid I figure if there are certain rules I can be aware so that my novel is also appropriate for the YA market without making dramatic compromises for what I want to do, then I might as well do that and see where the chips fall.</p>
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<p>What I've had with Caretaker is readers telling me they were going to give the book to their children to read, probably more because they felt their kids should read it instead of that their kids would want to read it. I knew kids weren't going to get into a book with a grumpy 50 something year-old protagonist, and that was pretty much the feedback these parents would later give me, that their kids found the book interesting but they didn't connect with the main character.</p>
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<p>--Dave</p> I've always believed in readi…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-01-01:537324:Comment:2598072011-01-01T20:56:33.270ZJ. E. Seymourhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JESeymour
I've always believed in reading what I'm trying to write. Pick out similar books and see what they're like. I work in a middle school library and I know middle grade is different from YA, but I'm not seeing a lot of sex in the books we have. Darren Shan writes middle grade/YA horror. Have you read any of his? Rick Riordan's Olympian books are solidly middle grade, but more fantasy than horror. Still, getting a feel for things like language and sex would give you a good start. You going…
I've always believed in reading what I'm trying to write. Pick out similar books and see what they're like. I work in a middle school library and I know middle grade is different from YA, but I'm not seeing a lot of sex in the books we have. Darren Shan writes middle grade/YA horror. Have you read any of his? Rick Riordan's Olympian books are solidly middle grade, but more fantasy than horror. Still, getting a feel for things like language and sex would give you a good start. You going to be the next James Patterson? I was at an event recently th…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-12-30:537324:Comment:2595822010-12-30T19:44:56.710ZJohn McFetridgehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JohnMcF
<p>I was at an event recently that had a panel of YA authors and one thing they all said was that pretty much any book these days with a teenaged protagonist gets filed as YA. Some of the authors were fine with that because, like us genre writers, they're told there could be more sales but others referred to it as the YA ghetto.</p>
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<p>In your case you're already established as an adult author, so it probably doesn't make any difference.</p>
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<p>I was at an event recently that had a panel of YA authors and one thing they all said was that pretty much any book these days with a teenaged protagonist gets filed as YA. Some of the authors were fine with that because, like us genre writers, they're told there could be more sales but others referred to it as the YA ghetto.</p>
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<p>In your case you're already established as an adult author, so it probably doesn't make any difference.</p>
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<p> </p> Dave, I Googled "Rules for Yo…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-12-30:537324:Comment:2595682010-12-30T18:50:00.227ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
Dave, I Googled "Rules for Young Adult Fiction" and hit on two items on the first page. The one that starts "Five Rules" is a blog, I think, and says somewhere that mild expletives are OK. You might find more precise info if you look longer.
Dave, I Googled "Rules for Young Adult Fiction" and hit on two items on the first page. The one that starts "Five Rules" is a blog, I think, and says somewhere that mild expletives are OK. You might find more precise info if you look longer.