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Gotham FacultyStudent VoicesSIX TIPS FOR WRITING YOUNG ADULT NOVELSFaculty InsightBY NORA RALE IGH BASKI NI didn’t start out writing for children. Like many of my fellowyoung adult/middle-grade authors, I spent quite a few years(five) writing adult fiction before getting published. Then awell-intentioned woman in awriting course made the unwelcome suggestion that I considerwriting for children. Hey, justbecause I wrote about childrendidn’t mean I was relegated towriting for children.But after a good cry, I wenthome and gave it a try. I soonbegan getting my first handwritten, personal—and helpful—rejections. It took a lotof work, a couple of Societyof Children’s Book Writers &Illustrators conferences, anda children’s writing critiquegroup until I finally found theright combination of what hadbeen brewing inside me.Here are six lessons I learnedabout writing for young adults:Point of ViewGet the POV right. I don’t justmean first person or secondperson, but from what point intime is your narrator speaking?In writing for young adults, donot write as an adult lookingback. The perspective needsto be immediate. A teenagecharacter can look back on hisyounger years, but he cannothave an adult’s wisdom gainedfrom hindsight. This is harderthan it seems. It requires truly putting yourself in the teenage mind and often not caringmuch at all about the grown-upworld.AgeMake sure your character’sage suits your audience. Theage of the protagonist in YAnovels will likely be the age ofyour intended reader. Kids willread up but not down; they willpick up a book about a kid afew years older than they arebut not the other way around.Therefore, middle-grade novelstend to deal with middle-schoolage characters and young-adultnovels deal with high schoolage characters.However, most high-schoolstudents read adult books, sothe real audience for YAsis seventh-, eighth- andninth-graders. The importantthing, again, is not to have anadult perspective, not to “lookback” and reflect on the emotion or the situation. Your character needs to learn, grow, andchange during the course of thenovel from the events she is experiencing in the book. (This ishow YA novels differ from novels for adults that feature an adolescent protagonist.)Voice/LanguageFigure out the voice, and thelanguage will follow. Sentencestructure, vocabulary, andeven plot structure in a middle-school novel will be morecomplex than a chapter book,but perhaps not as complicatedas a YA.Do not dwell on this whilewriting your first draft, though.Find the right voice, and theright language will follow. Ifyou have to consider if a wordor sentence structure is right foryour book, chances are you haven’t nailed the voice yet. Don’ttalk down to your reader. Thereis very little (if any) differencein the language of a YA novelthan an adult one.Touchy SubjectsDon’t shy away from touchysubjects. Pretty much any issue goes these days in terms ofwhat is appropriate for youngadult fiction. As a general rule,middle-grade fiction will not actively involve sex or drugs. Foryoung-adult novels, there are nobounds in terms of topic; youcan write about sexuality, homosexuality, abuse, drunk driving, incest, or rape. But it is notabout finding an issue and thencreating a story around it. It isabout finding the right voice,finding the right character, andtelling his story.PreachinessDon’t get preachy. “If you wantto send a message, call WesternUnion.” This quote, often attributed to Samuel Goldwyn,says it all. Nobody wants to betaught lessons when they arereading fiction. Never is thistruer than in writing for youngadults. Writers do not need toanswer questions, only raisethem. Certainly your viewsTom Brennan teaches Gotham’s Comics & GraphicNovels One-day intensive, but much like Clark Kent/Superman, he embodies more than one identity.“What I’m teaching at Gotham is that comic booksdon’t always have to be about a superhero,” Tom says.“Action and adventure-themed stories defined thegenre because they had great designs that allowedfor the illusion of movement. But we can also makea compelling image of two people having coffee andreach a broader audience.”After his first year as an editor at Marvel Comics, theonly criticism Tom received was that he needed toimprove his presentation skills. His boss suggestedtaking an acting/improv class and so, Tom enrolledin classes at New York hotspots like Upright Citizens’Brigade (UCB) and soon bonded with a colleague hemet during one of the shows.TOM BRENNANFaculty ProfileBY BRIT T GAM BI NOThey realized they were both political animals (hiscolleague having served as a speechwriter for NewtGingrich), and decided to try out a twenty-minuteimprov show based on current news events. Theirshow, Electoral Dysfunction, became so successfulthat it became a weekly event at the Peoples ImprovTheater (PIT) in New York City. “We’re popular withboth liberals and conservatives,” Tom says. “Theshow attracts a great group of people, all from diversebackgrounds.”and opinions will peek throughyour narrative, but do not enterthis special contract betweenreader and writer with the intention of changing someone’smind or preaching. Teenagershave radar for this, and thevoice will feel inauthentic because—well, it will be.Hopeful EndingsWrite hopeful endings. For themost part, young-adult novelistsleave their readers with hope, ifonly a glimmer, despite whatever grim action came before.Adult novels, while dealingwith the same issues, can leavea reader utterly sad, even completely bereft. But in writing foryoung adults there still seemsto be a sense of responsibility—not to drill in lessons and givewarnings, but to allow for possibility. Let your readers believethat in the end the power, thechoice, is theirs.This article first appeared inThe Writer magazine. NoraRaleigh Baskin is the authorof numerous middle-gradeand young-adult novels.Having worked in the comic book industry for nearlya decade, Tom has seen many stereotypes shattered.For example, while he has edited popular series,such as the Avengers, X-Men, Wolverine, and SpiderMan, not every comic book features the classic superhero/villain trope. Now there are memoirs in theform of graphic novels like Alison Bechdel’s FunHome. He finds that comic books serve the genrewell. “Our memories are skewed. Things that weregigantic when you were a kid no longer are. Color,objects, locations, etc.—visually, everything changes.”Plus, Tom adds, “It’s terrific for the medium to getattention by people who might not have otherwiseread comics.”Fortunately, Tom has the opportunity to directly impact what’s published. After editing at Marvel for seven years, Tom went on to do a bit of freelance work.But once he got engaged, he decided to pursue a fulltime gig again, this time at Valiant Entertainment(founded by two former Marvel Comics writers/editors). As an Associate Editor, one of Tom’s goals is tocultivate a new audience, and to change up and getcreative, even on series that have built-in fan bases.As he points out, “Comics are on the same rackas the National Inquirer—and sometimes, they getdismissed in the same way.”When he’s not teaching or editing, Tom is at work“on some funny (but not offensive) marriage vows.”“I was really proud when I came up with it [thename, Electoral Dysfunction],” Tom says. “But thenI found out it was actually a book and documentary.Fortunately, the author came to our show and loved it!”“I owe all my success toGotham Writers and mywonderful instructor. Thankyou for helping to makemy dream of becoming apublished writer come true.”“The students were inspirational, fromdifferent age groups with differentbackgrounds. The class atmospherewas open and welcome for anyone toexpress his or her opinion.”—Takako Sato, real estate broker—Steve Hagood, writer“I feel ignited by what Inow know, and hopefulthat I will continue towrite and learn.”—Helen Merino, dog handler“Gotham has found the perfectbalance of freedom, knowledge, insight, and support.—Mariana Frias Vega, audio engineer“The teacher is a joyful andenergetic raconteur whoentertains, educates, andalways encourages. He isthe Big Bang of ideas.”—Michael Bennett, rehabilitation physician“The best investmentI’ve made as a writerthus far.”—Tiffany Baugh, bank tellerGOTH AMWRIT E RS .COMtwitter@GOT HAM W RI T ERSCO N TACT@GOT HAMW RI T ERS .CO M2 12–974 – 837 7

CommunityWrite NowThe Movie of Your Life ContestMOVIEOF YOURLIFEWRITE-INSDo you wish there was a place you could go for writinginspiration and practice? Where you could hang out with otherwriters? Without needing to make a long-term commitment orspend a lot of money? With food and drink involved?Gotham Write-Ins are that place.HERE’S WHAT HAPPENS: The teachergives an interesting writing prompt.Everyone writes for a while. Then,those who want to read aloud theirwork. You take a break and socialize over refreshments. Then you gothrough the process one more time.Then you socialize a little more. It’stwo hours of writer’s heaven.You can sign up in advance orjust drop in.FRIDAY EVENINGS IN MANHATTAN6:30–8:30pmWe also want a tagline to go with thetitle—a pithy sentence hinting at ortelling us what the movie is about.selors of the Galaxy or A Food CartNamed Desire. We want originality.For inspiration, here are someexamples:A Little Off the TopOne man’s struggle with malepattern baldness.Meow and I’ll Meow BackWhoever comes up with the title/tagline that makes us laugh the mostwins a free class.A story of a girl and her roommate’s cat.This will probably work better ifyour movie focuses on an aspect ofyour life rather than your whole life.And try to avoid using a spoof of anexisting title such as Guidance Coun-Another actress searches forstardom in the big city.Love Me Please!But we know you can do even betterthan this!For competition rules and online entry form,— visit —G OT H A M W R I T E R S .C O M / MOV I E L I F E 20 per sessionALITTLEPUSHSee our website for details.FREE EVENTSWe do free classes and other fun thingsaround New York City—at bookstores, bars,Bryant Park, etc. It’s our way of showcasingwhat we do and getting to know you. See ourwebsite for upcoming events.GOTH AMWRIT E RS .COMThis summer, a movie based onyour life is hitting theaters. Well,okay, pretend that this is true. Comeup with a title for this movie. Here’sthe deal, though. This is a comedy,and we want funny titles.twitter@GOT HAM W RI T ERSCO N TACT@GOT HAMW RI T ERS .CO MSometimes all you need is a little pushto write a good story. So let’s give you apush. Write a story that begins withthis sentence:THE ONE THING IN E V E R WA N T E D T OH E A R WA S . . .2 12–974 – 837 7

#storieseverywhereStories are, truly, everywhere—every placeyou look, everyone you meet, everythingyou experience. Every day is filled withhundreds of potential stories awaiting yourimagination and craft.Each month we invite you to post a story on Twitter at#storieseverywhere. Your stories (which can be true or made up) willbe inspired by what you see, know, or do, and they should relate in someway to these monthly “themes”:juneWaterjulyTorrid affair.augustA dog's life.At the end of each month, we will pick our favorite and reward thatperson with a free Gotham writing class.Your story must be no longer than 140 characters, including spaces andthe hashtag #storieseverywhere. Here is a previous winner, using thetheme Through a window:Staring straight ahead, I see his thumb raise. I reciprocate. It is the onlyway he knows I’m alive inside this ambulance. #storieseverywhere(by @Abranyc)Everyone has a story. Especially you.gothamwriters.com212–974–8377

Gotham Writers Workshop is a creative home in New York . writers develop their craft and come together in the spirit of discovery and fellowship. We’ve been teaching creative writing to students since 1993. We believe that everyone has a story to tell. . tend to deal with middle-school