Calling The Under-16 Crowd! 'Young Adult Fiction' Questions!

[Rabble]

:D I'm attempting to write a story for the 'Young Adult' section - HELP! :eek:

What do you like to see in a story?
What don't you like to see?
Why?
Do the others your age read the same things?
If not, what do they like to read?

[Milo]

Not under sixteen...

but I usually read the adult books anyway. :roll:

[§Honeymouse§]

im just under 16, and one thing i absolutly hate is when adults try and dum things down for you, write like you would for an adult but with a more teenage directed story ( if that made sense)

[Milo]

But no mid-high school drama please. I'd have to beat you with a bdt if you did that.

[Rabble]

But no mid-high school drama please. I'd have to beat you with a bdt if you did that.
:roll: I fear the bdt... :p whatever it is. :laugh:

[Milo]

:roll: I fear the bdt... :p whatever it is. :laugh:
Blunt Dull Object :angel: http://www.valentinedistribution.co.uk/matrix_photos/Mitre%20Opener%20Bat.JPG

[Jay_Quessir]

I'm a newbie at being 16 but I look for a book that has the basic elements of any adult book. Don't censor it if there's some profanity or content because that's just stupid. Literature uses profanity as a way of expressing the deepness of the emotion being displayed. D*** is a lot more powerful in displaying exasperation than darn.

Don't write a teenage drama...maybe something that teens could relate to but not a teenage drama. Most teens just read literature. And that's only IF they read at all. Harry Potter was popular because it is written on two levels: one for adults and one for teens. Write on two levels and see if the teens are mature enough to pick up on the more adult content and see if the adults are wise enough to see more than one way of the writing. Making a comprehensible plotline but also add some that makes the reader think if he wants to see the true depth of the story.

Did that help?

[GoldriderAria]

:D I'm attempting to write a story for the 'Young Adult' section - HELP! :eek:

What do you like to see in a story?
What don't you like to see?
Why?
Do the others your age read the same things?
If not, what do they like to read?

Okay, I'm not 16 (or anywhere close now)...but I can tell you what I DID read and what I liked and didn't like before 16!

My first thought...is that there's such a huge variance in reading abilities and what those groups like under that age that it's rather difficult to make any blanket statements.

By 14 I was reading almost entirely adult fiction (other than the younger books that I reread every once in a while just for fun), or horse-related younger folk books (or the occasional fantasy, like Narnia). My big thing up until I started reading adult fiction was chapter books with a lot of animals as main characters. *grins* The Black Stallion series being a good example (or stories where the animals talk to each other as well, like Bunnicula, 101 Dalmations, Charlotte's Web, Cricket in Times Square). Anything about horses (or dogs, or cats) was good. I was reading chapter books by first grade, and did so through 8th, so I'd say that time-span at least had some consistent reading.

What I always liked to see (and still do) was really good character development, and a plot where you can't always tell what's going to happen next. A little unpredictability is a good thing! As long as the characters were interesting, and the plot was good, I was very open to reading all sorts of things.

Things I (personally) did not like to see before the adult fiction: mushy romances! Male/female interaction and attraction was fine...but it was NEVER the main part of anything I ever read. I'm weird that way I think. I never read "Teen" novels of any kind. Just kinda skipped those entirely. Why don't I like them? Well, because they tend to get very repetitive, stereotypical, and the plot tends to focus entirely on the romance...which gets boring after a while.

Most of the other girls I knew (I can't entirely give boy perspective on some of this...not once you hit the pre-teen age anyway) read the "typical" girl books: Sweet Valley High, Babysitter's Club...that kind of thing. Which I avoided like the plague after attempting to read one.

I basically jumped straight from "Thoroughbred" to Jurassic Park and The Killer Angels (the book for the movie Gettysburg, but before the movie came out) in Junior High.

And that, would be the somewhat-tom-boy girl view on pre-16 literature. ;) I still have that entire library of kid's books...they're directly behind me in my library.

Good luck on your story!
Aria

[Beisla]

Blunt Dull Object :angel: http://www.valentinedistribution.co.uk/matrix_photos/Mitre%20Opener%20Bat.JPG
I love it! :shriek: :laugh:

[Zei]

*spins around in chair*

I can help you there, Rabbleses. :D

What do you like to see in a story?

I like a few things. Fantasy's always good, as long as it's not overly complicated. I also like stories about the trials and tribulations of school, but only if there's humor and good times thrown in. If you mix the two together, it's even better. :cool:

What don't you like to see? Why?

To be honest? Historical fiction. I only like it if it's not totally and utterly boring. If you plan on doing this, Rab, make it interesting for a kid such as myself. ;) I also don't like realistic fiction if it's boring, as well. Even if it starts to get a tad boring, make a funny character to brighten it up.

Do the others your age read the same things?

The only thing I read that other kids don't is Pern, and quite frankly, I think they're all too squeamish for it anywho. :laugh:

If not, what do they like to read?

They're all obsessed with Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and all those other well known books. I think kids really like fantasy more than anything.

If you need anymore help, like a proofreader or somethin' Rabble, just ask. I'm open, and I have time when I'm done with my schoolwork. :ok: I'll make a suggestion, and that's to read a few young adult/kids books to get a good idea of what we read. A few ones I can think of now are "Saving Lily", "The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963", "Daphne's Book", and "I Am The Ice Worm". Believe it or not, they're all realistic fiction, albeit good.

[pern_queen_rider]

What do you like to see in a story?
Well thought out plots. Interestig characters.

What don't you like to see?
Things that could not happen(apart from magic, and dragons, and alt universes)

Why?

I just never have liked it.

Do the others your age read the same things?
No.

If not, what do they like to read?
I have no idea.

[Monkeysrule]

What do you like to see in a story? Good characters, imaginative and clever plotlines, subtle forshadowing (in other words, Harry Potter). I'm a fantasy nut.
What don't you like to see? Mary Sues, ripoffs, too much mushy love, black and white characters.
Why? Mushy love is sickly, ripoffs are usually worse than what they ripped off of, and in-between character are always more interesting.
Do the others your age read the same things? No.
If not, what do they like to read? They read manga. If you call that reading. I do get the occasional Hary Potter fan friend, thank goodness.