Creative Writing: Art, Business, & Craft of Young Adult Lit

One way to think about the difference between Young Adult and Middle Grade is this: 

In Middle Grade, the protagonist retains his or her "innocence."

In YA, the protagonist changes in a way that fundamentally alters who they are.

These are, of course, sweeping generalizations, but they are good generalizations. This does not mean that MG characters can't or don't change, or that YA characters turn from good to evil (or vice versa). But most stories for teens involves a shift in morals, beliefs, ideals, or values. Usually these are changes for the better, but not always. In Zero, a contemporary/realistic YA, Amanda changes from being self-doubtful to being proactive and optimistic. In a classic MG series like Goosebumps, however, we don't see characters change at all; they are there to push the exciting plot forward.

Neither of these approaches are good or bad. There are plenty of MG stories where the characters can never go back to being who they were, but the overall focus is not on that change. In YA, no matter how plot-driven the story may be, we as readers want to see the hero go on an emotional journey as well as a plot-driven journey.

The human brain is not done developing until around age 25. Adolescence, which used to be defined as between 13 to 18, is now clinically believed to be more like 11 to 23! With that in mind, here are a few things to remember that differentiate YA from other genres:

1) Adolescents believe they are immortal and behave like it.

2) Friends, rather than family, are usually their most important relationships.

3) They have little to no impulse control.

Finally, realize that graphic sex still taboo in most YA novels, at least if you hope to get sold into school libraries. But, often, sex can be emotionally graphic. In other words, showing how characters approach, handle, and deal with the aftermath of sex is frequently more crucial than trying to depict it.