Category: Insights from Popular YA Fantasy
-
How the world building in Scythe changed the way I write
I’ve been in a total book hangover since turning the last page of the Scythe trilogy. You know that feeling where the real world looks a little blurry because you’re still half-submerged in the one you just left? As a writer, I spent most of the series reaching for my highlighter—not just for the plot,…
-
Sidekicks with main character energy
As a writer, there’s a secret, terrifying, and exhilarating thing that can happen while you’re drafting: a character you intended for a minor role walks into a scene and refuses to leave. They show up with a fully-formed voice, a riveting backstory you never planned, and a perspective so compelling it threatens to derail your…
-
Meet a few of the youngest stars of YA fantasy & sci-fi fiction writing
Do you ever have a story in your head that feels so huge, so epic, that you think, “Who am I to write this?” It’s a feeling a lot of writers have, especially when they’re young. But some of the most groundbreaking, imaginative, and successful books in recent years were written by authors who weren’t…
-
Beyond the pale elf: 5 fantasy recs with representation
You know that feeling when you start a new video game and get to the character creation screen? All those sliders for hair, skills, and cool backstories? For the longest time, it felt like the character creator for fantasy novels had only one preset model available. You know the one: floppy hair, probably raised on…
-
2020 Cover Art Trends for Young Adult Fiction
The first thing you hear when you’re reading advice on how to make your self-published novel sell is to have a professional cover that fits into the genre you are writing for. But what’s left out of that advice is that cover trends change over time. Whether you’re ready to launch a new release or…
-
2017 YA Fantasy Trends
The crop of YA fantasy novels this year has been a true delight. It’s still February, and I’ve already ripped my way through hundreds of pages of adventure, anguish, and romance. As a reader, it’s been a blissful escape during a year that has been tumultuous for so many of us already. As a writer,…
-
Best YA Series Endings Ever
Maybe it’s because we, as readers, become increasingly passionate about our favorite series that we have higher and higher expectations for each book. When you think about it logically, authors like Suzanne Collins and J.K. Rowling must feel like Atlas, with the weight of all of their successful books on their shoulders, trying to keep…
-
Write an Opening Chapter that Hooks Readers
This year, I have left behind the characters who populated the series that I’ve been writing for several years. I’m embarking on a voyage to a new world, with a crew who is brand new to me. It’s fun and thrilling to be writing something completely new, but starting from scratch is also much harder…
-
How to Weave Believable Technology into Your YA Dystopian Novel (Part 1)
I’m in the process of closing my current series and beginning a new one, and I’m thrilled at the chance to create a new world from scratch. My next series will be dystopian YA, and in preparation I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the kinds of technology that I want to incorporate into the…
-
What’s Your Story’s Logline?
In the writing world, there is a lot of talk about creating stories that are high concept, especially if you’re writing YA fantasy, like I am. Basically, if your story is high concept it has a compelling idea that can be summed up succinctly. (The Writer’s Store does a great job of explaining the concept…