Writing Young Adult Fiction For Dummies

by Deborah Halverson

  Thanks to the secondary character’s input in this scenario, readers discover that the girls’ commitment to winning has them up earlier than any other human on a Sunday (setting, context, and goal revelation), that the main character is klutzy but still focused (personality building), that the big race is in three weeks (fact), and that the heroine is awkward about Tristan and his appearance totally blows her focus on her goal (plot advancement, increasing conflict). The best friend accomplishes her duties as a secondary character while revealing that she is confident with Tristan and has a flair for drama. She could’ve easily called up the main character the night before to convey the news. This secondary character’s other appearances in the story would reveal whether her bomb-dropping tendency is a flaw or a strength. Is she setting up the protagonist for failure or preventing her from chickening out? That depends on what the secondary character’s personal goal is.

  Because secondary characters don’t get as much screen time as main characters, you have to do many things with them simultaneously. Instead of just having them talk with the protagonist on the phone or in the safety of one’s bedroom, put both characters in situations that reveal their personalities and relationship through action and in settings that allow them to reveal moods using props, as I do with the bushes and sidewalk cracks in the running scenario. If you were to flesh out that scene, you could reveal physical traits of both characters. Perhaps you’d compare the length of their strides or the way they carry their bodies as they run. Again, the focus is on the action even as you reveal something else entirely. This is showing instead of telling, and it’s making your secondary character earn her I ♥ my BFF button.

  Steering clear of stereotypes

  Stereotypes are the stock characters everyone’s familiar with, like the snobby cheerleader captain, or the cocky, dim-witted varsity jock, or the nerd with a protractor in one pocket and D&D dice in the other. Usually stereotypes are what editors are referring to when they use the term flat characters in rejection letters. Stereotypes move through the story with all the depth of paper dolls, doing exactly what you’d expect them to do, with nary a surprise in sight.

  Writers use stereotypes as shortcuts, relying on familiarity instead of doing the work necessary to flesh out the character. This tactic undermines the novel. A book peopled with characters whom readers already know doing just what readers knew they’d do is a disappointment even to kids.

  If you use stereotypes, abuse them — that is, use the stereotype to set up expectations in readers, only to defy those expectations by having the character do something different. How’s that for insidious fun? This is a great tool for teen fiction because so many teens are image-conscious, constantly judging each other and feeling judged. Play on characters’ misinterpretations of each other and the images they’re trying to project. Characters may be hiding certain traits (such as the brilliant blonde cheerleader who doesn’t mention her calculus prowess because her friends are more interested in the football game), and they may choose to advertise other traits (like the nerd who adopts the geek-chic look, knowing that looking smart will get him a tutoring gig with that hot popular chick). What happens when the hidden traits come out and mess up those carefully constructed images?

  Give your readers complex people who do unpredictable things. That’s exciting reading! Setting your readers up for surprise sets you up for surprise, too.

  Exercise: Create secondary-character thumbnails

  Draw up character thumbnails for each secondary character to push them beyond stereotypical friend/family roles such as the fat-but-witty BFF (see the earlier section “Exercise: Create your main-character thumbnail” for general info on thumbnails). Include a section on the history of that character’s relationship with the teen lead, the current state of that relationship, and the purpose of this character’s inclusion in the story (for example, “to help the protagonist overcome shyness so he can date the girl of his dreams” or “his kidnapping gives the protagonist a reason to fight his way into the enemy’s stronghold despite the dangers”).

  Although the thumbnails should cover the secondary characters’ goals, you needn’t include the consequences of failure; the story is about the main character completing an arc, not the secondary characters. The secondary characters’ goals may be part of a subplot, or they may not play into the plot at all, but your knowing them gives secondary characters a reason to behave as they do, making them believable characters instead of convenient tools.

  If a new character happens to pop into your story as you’re writing it, let him hang out a while to see whether he fits in. Secondary characters have a way of arriving before you even knew you needed them, providing support or vital nudging to get your protagonist around his obstacles. Just remember to go back later and work the new character into the beginning of the story if that’s appropriate.

  Offing the old people

  There’s a really good reason young adult literature is filled with orphans, absent parents, and inattentive caretakers: Old people try to take control. They insist on solving kids’ problems, and readers don’t want that. Kids want to read about kids empowered to solve their own problems because that makes readers feel empowered, too.

  YA fiction keeps grown-ups out of the decision-making and problem-solving parts of the plot. Leave that to your young protagonist and her peers. Don’t let grown-ups control the plot; delegate them to supporting roles.

  If you want an adult character who is present, attentive, and eagle-eyed, then turn him into an antagonist, with your teen lead going out of his way to avoid that person. Think of it as a rebellion of sorts as the teen struggles to take control of his life, to prove himself. That’s a very valid teen theme, and it doesn’t require you to rub out all the adults like some literary Al Capone.

  Be wary of the adult minor character who clearly knows everything but only trickles it out. Those guys are just illogical pains in the keister. If you know what’s wrong and how to solve this, then tell us already! Playing coy frustrates readers and reminds them that an author is pulling the story strings. Let the kids — readers and characters, both — figure it out for themselves.

  Bringing Your Characters to Life

  Young readers don’t fall in love with character profiles; they fall in love with walking, talking (albeit totally imaginary) people. It’s time to breathe life into your cast. This section tells you how to let readers know what your characters look like, how they move, and what their attitude toward the world is without pulling the plug on your great action to do it.

  Revealing character through action

  Show, don’t tell is a pithy writer mantra that advises you to reveal character qualities through action instead of relying on exposition (narrative statements, descriptions, or summaries). This idea is particularly important for YA fiction. Kids don’t relish long bouts of exposition about someone’s hairstyle, eye color, and personality. Here are two ways you can use action to reveal character qualities:

  Body language: Body language is an excellent show, don’t tell tool. It reveals things about the character, underscores what she’s saying, and sometimes deliberately contradicts what she’s saying. Using body language is a dynamic way to approach a scene. For example, someone who’s lying may turn her head or body away from her accuser, or she may place an object between herself and that person.

  Just as many writers eavesdrop to enhance their characters’ dialogue, you should eavesdrop with your eyes to enhance your characters’ nonverbal dialogue. Spend some time studying body language in everyday interactions.

  Prop manipulation: A lively way to reveal a character’s mood is through prop manipulation. Props are your character’s tools for interacting with a place. How she handles objects gives readers great insight into her psyche. Punching pillows, slamming snooze buttons, yanking loose threads . . . what a fun way to convey a character’s mood! And you
can give great attitude tip-offs with actions such as digging a staple out of a desk while Teacher Man lectures her, or slow-sipping a Slurpee while Big Bro revs his engine at the curb and yells, “Hurry up!” Prop manipulation is powerful, teen-friendly stuff.

  Be sure to think creatively about your setting and the props that are available in the locations you choose. Setting is a powerful but often overlooked characterization tool. Unusual settings lead to unusual props and unusual behavior — and fun reading. Chapter 8 goes into depth about how your setting choices illuminate and influence your characters.

  Try putting the same prop in several settings and let the character react to it each time, showing that character’s tendency to behave a certain way over the long haul. Then have her handle the prop differently at some point to demonstrate that her experiences have changed her.

  Revealing character through dialogue

  In Chapter 10, I give you the full rundown on writing natural, realistic teen dialogue. Here I give you ways to use dialogue as a characterization tool, letting your characters reveal their personalities and moods through their word choice and delivery style. Consider the following:

  A character who is inherently intelligent may talk in a slow, thoughtful manner that addresses multiple sides of an issue. One who is well-educated may use impressive vocabulary. One who is from a high socioeconomic class may use complex and impressive grammar.

  A character who is cool, casual, or of a low socioeconomic station may fragment his sentences as he speaks or get lax with his grammar.

  An outgoing character may blather on and on — often revealing too much in the process.

  A naïve character may lack self-censoring mechanisms and inadvertently blurt out things that he would’ve been better off keeping to himself.

  A shy, secretive, or reluctant character may speak only when spoken to and answer only in short blurts.

  A character who plays his cards close to his chest may hedge when he talks, mix his messages, or deliberately mislead.

  A rude, intolerant, or impatient character may interrupt people.

  A character who lacks confidence may talk in questions, mumble, whisper, stutter, or let his sentences trail off.

  A character who’s self-confident and independent may make statements or deliver commands when he speaks.

  Every character should have a usual, most comfortable way of talking, and readers will form opinions about him based in large part on his dialogue. There will, of course, be temporary changes to a character’s speech habits depending on his circumstances (such as when he’s talking to a teacher versus when he’s chatting with a friend). And some characters’ speech habits may shift over the course of a story as the character evolves or works through his issues. Of course, any one of these delivery styles could be a ruse, with the character feeling just the opposite. Let readers make that call by judging what your teen says against what he does and how he does it.

  Getting physical

  Select unusual and evocative physical traits and then convey those by using physical action instead of description. Reporting a character’s hair and eye color is nothing more than reporting her eye and hair color. Far more revealing is the quality of those eyes (shifty, innocent, alert) and the state of that hair (greasy, tangled, smelling of shampoo). Not only do those details give readers something to picture (or smell), but they also give insight into the character.

  Choosing physical traits

  Here are some things to consider as you look for unusual physical details for your characters:

  Social judgment: Kids care about what others think about them. That’s a huge part of teen angst. Consider how you want your character to be perceived and influenced by the world. Fat Kid has a different world than Skinny Kid. White Kid has a different world than Hispanic or Black Kid. How will your character’s world manifest in her physical presentation?

  Personal history: A kid’s past determines how he carries himself, his facial expressions, and his clothing and mannerisms. Is his expression always angry? Is he always hunched over, hugging his folder to his chest? Does he walk tall, feeling confident because of his past — or perhaps defiant against it? Are his arms covered by scrawly tattoos he’s scratched in himself? Are piercings visible . . . or present but not visible to the general public?

  Fashion sense: How a person dresses says a lot about her personality. Consider giving your character a standard item of clothing, such as a leather jacket or a cami or maybe a ball cap that her dad gave her — something that reflects a certain style or attitude.

  Role model influences: A kid who idolizes his dad may copy Dad’s appearance. Role models, celebrities, and sports icons affect a teen’s fashion and physical demeanor.

  Personal likes, dislikes, and bugaboos: Character interests can manifest themselves physically in ways that influence the plot and the character relationships. For example, a character whose favorite color is black may wear all black, leading to others’ mistaken belief that he’s part of the school Goth crew. A macho straight boy may always wear something pink to defy homophobia in his school.

  Setting factors: A girl dresses and fixes her hair differently for school than she would for church or for a slumber party in her cousin’s garage. For a twist, the character can deviate from expected protocol on purpose. Fuzzy slippers at church? That would surely tick off her preacher dad.

  Socioeconomic factors: Money matters, as does social standing. Depending on which side of the tracks a kid lives on, he may have gnarly teeth or bleached ones. He may walk as if his knees were permanently locked because of uncomfortable pleated slacks, or he may walk like a child with a full diaper because of baggy jeans belted below the hips. (Yeah, you know that style — at the merest hint of normal walking, those jeans are going down.)

  Faith, race, and ethnicity: Reaching beyond the obvious skin coloring and facial feature opportunities, faith, race, and ethnicity offer opportunities for unusual physical details that are ripe with symbolism and event-sensitive meaning. Use ethnic or faith-based jewelry, for example, or clothing and personal decorations such as Mehndi decorations (henna tattoos) or ashes on a Catholic’s forehead during the first day of Lent.

  The character’s goal: Your character’s goal and role in the plot can influence physical traits. Antagonists are often pictured as unattractive or even abnormally attractive. Religious kids who are being set up for a fall from faith may dress primly early in the story. Beware of stereotypes here, though. If you use stereotypes, use the images to set up expectations and then defy them. Physical traits can be a powerful bait-and-switch tool for storytellers.

  Choose physical details that illuminate characters rather than just let readers visualize them, and strategize unusual opportunities to reveal those details. Make your descriptions short and memorable, and patiently pepper them in as scenes move along. Don’t try to paint an exhaustive picture. Give your characters room to fill in the blanks the way they want. Engaging the imagination is a major thrill of reading, after all.

  Showing physical traits

  After you choose your characters’ physical details, you can use one of the following four techniques to convey them:

  Show the character in action. Show, don’t tell, remember? Get that body moving — let readers find out that he’s tall from his long strides or that she’s a lefty from her battle with righty scissors. Use body language and props to reveal physical details as well as personality ones.

  Describe the character. Hey, it’s not totally illegal. In fact, description adds nice variety when combined with the other techniques. Just keep the description short and the details interesting.

  Describe the character via associations. Compare and contrast traits among characters. Example: “The girl towered over me, and her dark skin made me look like Snow White’s eighth dwarf, Whitey.” That’s a zippie
r approach than simply describing your character as pale and short.

  Have another character describe him. Example: “Joseph Mulgrew, get your skinny little keister over here. I swear, if you was a fish they’d toss you back. Hurry up, boy!” Or: “You’re not wearing those ripped pants again. It’s all I can do to keep you clothed, child. As a baby you just ran around naked and wild . . . at least we’re spared that travesty now.”

  The beauty of flaws: Creating a not-so-perfect character

  Nobody’s perfect, especially teenagers. Their days are all about messing up and learning from their mistakes — that’s how they learn and mature. Believable teen characters, therefore, have flaws and internal contradictions to lead to mess-ups and conflicts galore. Teens may judge, assume, overstep, exclude, disrespect, and put their own interests ahead of others’. They may say one thing and do another, believe one thing one day and the opposite thing the next, and contradict themselves left and right. Mix that in with those teens who’ve learned to be more assertive and thus more willing to disrupt and displease, and you have all kinds of angst and conflict at your fingertips.

  Author Karen Cushman: It all comes down to character

  The most fun I have with my books is dreaming up interesting, compelling characters, inventing a world for them, and letting them loose. The actual writing is much less fun. What little plot I have in my books grows from character. I have to know as much as possible about my characters before I know what they’ll do or say. A lot of the character development that I do is unconscious, but I tried to re-create some of it for you here: