A recent post on the blog includes many tips regarding what you should do when writing for a teen audience. This article, conversely, is going to cover what you shouldn’t do.
There are many common pitfalls writers fall into when writing young adult fiction. As someone who has read middle-grade and YA books for a literary agent, as well as books of several genres for a film scout, I have noticed many of the same errors in YA stories over and over again. I’m hoping this post will help you avoid these issues and write the strongest YA short story you can that truly resonates with your audience.
Here are five writing mistakes that will turn off a teen audience.
1) Skip Out on the Research
Reading YA, it’s always clear when the author didn’t do their research. The story feels more like an adult writing what they think a teen would like rather than someone who really understands a teen’s perspective. The slang is out of date and the story fails to capture what young adult audiences are actually interested in.
When writing a young adult story, there are several types of research you need to undertake to write something that feels genuine. One of the first things you should do is read all the young adult novels and stories you can get your hands on. This will help you to become familiar with the tone and voice of such stories.
Another way to research your YA story is to spend time around young people to observe the way they act and talk. The easiest way to do this is if you have teenage children of your own. But if you don’t, you can still drop in on friends and family who have kids, or volunteer for youth-oriented organizations. There’s nothing worse than when kids’ dialogue sounds old-fashioned and stilted. If you can’t figure out a way to spend time around young people, you can just focus on writing the best dialogue you can, and take cues from all those YA books you should read (the more current the better).
You may be eager to get to work on your novel or story, but it’s important to take the time to do the necessary research first.
2) Talk Down to Readers
What I’ve noticed is that far too many authors writing young adult books talk down to their audience. They write too simplistically and fail to include complex themes in their stories. It’s clear that they only think their readers are interested in superficial subjects and won’t be able to handle darker issues.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make in writing young adult fiction is assuming that your reader isn’t on the same level as you are. It is pivotal that you trust your readers to be able to enjoy the same sorts of characters and themes that you do. Look back on who you were as a teen and write for that person. If you’re a writer now, odds are that you were a voracious bookworm back then fully capable of enjoying a complicated story.
Don’t try to write a story that you think will appeal to all young readers. Instead, gear your story toward the young reader you know best—your past self. There’s a good chance that there are quite a few teen readers out there who will share your taste and appreciate your book for taking them seriously and not shying away from tough subjects.
Never fall into the trap of thinking that just because you are writing for younger people, this sort of writing requires any less skill or finesse than any other genre. In fact, in some ways, it calls for even more attention to detail since you are reaching outside your comfort zone and writing for an age group different from your own.
3) Focus Too Much on Voice and Not Enough on Plot
Voice is extremely important in young adult fiction. It gives readers a friend to follow throughout the ups and downs of the story and someone to relate to. Even if your story is in third person, voice still plays a huge role in a teen reader’s enjoyment. But even if you have the most engaging voice in the world, readers aren’t going to care at all if your story doesn’t have an exciting, well-paced plot.
In the age of Instagram stories and TikTok videos, kids these days have shorter attention spans than ever (and so do a lot of us adults, for that matter). So, it’s important to move from one event to the next in your story without too much dawdling in between. Of course, you should still take the time to develop your characters and atmosphere, but these can be done while simultaneously moving the plot forward. Don’t let your story get bogged down by lengthy descriptions and scenes that drag on and on.
Creating an exciting plot may not seem as important when you’re writing a short story, but it absolutely is. No matter the length of what you’re writing, it’s crucial that you hook the reader’s attention and don’t let go. For each scene that you write in your story, you need to ask yourself, “Does this scene move the story along?” If it doesn’t, chuck it.
When they start reading a book or short story, teens are looking for something exciting and fast-paced that will hold their attention. Check out this post for advice on how to create a dynamic plot.
4) Make Teens Too Mature or Immature
I can’t count how many books I’ve read where the characters didn’t act or sound like their age. A sixteen-year-old might speak with a voice that is more akin to a twelve-year-old—too whiny and immature to be taken seriously as a proper teenager. I’ve also read about characters the same age who use absurdly advanced vocabulary and lack the heightened angst and emotion of teens.
Once you decide on the age of your protagonist and other supporting characters, you need to become familiar with how teens of that age behave. As mentioned, spending time around actual teens will go a long way toward teaching you how they talk and act. Watching TV shows and movies (again, the more current the better) geared toward young people can also help to give you an idea.
One way writers misunderstand the teen perspective is by having them say something along the lines of, “I can’t handle this, I’m just a kid!” While there are some teens who might respond to a tough situation this way, most believe themselves to be invincible and think of themselves as mature and grown up.
It is very tricky to strike the right balance when it comes to writing teens. You don’t want them to sound like children but don’t want to write mini adults either. But if you do manage to find that middle ground, teens will be able to see themselves in your story and truly appreciate it.
5) Tell Instead of Show
Teens tend to be very visual, imaginative thinkers. And we already discussed that they don’t have the most patience when it comes to waiting for an exciting scene to come along. So they are more likely than other types of readers to become bored when a story falls into blocks of exposition and little action. Young audiences want to be able to see the stories in their heads, which means you should focus on showing instead of telling.
Instead of telling the reader that a character is angry, have them slam a door or snap at a friend for no reason. Rather than explain tensions between two rival gangs, you can show members of each gang having a nasty altercation. One way to find tell-y moments in your writing is to watch out for adverbs (you can read about Stephen King’s hatred of adverbs in this post).
Teenagers don’t want to be told what to feel about a story. They want to experience those characters’ feelings for themselves. Showing instead of telling is a great way to achieve this in your writing.
This is not just an issue that comes up in young adult fiction—we all fall into telling instead of showing no matter what genre we’re writing. So whether you plan to write for children, teens, or adults, this is an important tool to apply to your writing. Check out this post for more advice on how to show and not tell.
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