Tag: YA fantasy
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The 5 best YA science fiction and fantasy books with top-tier romantic banter
Looking for the best YA science fiction and fantasy books with amazing romantic banter? Author Kristen Pham breaks down what makes dialogue sparkle and shares her top 5 favorite snarky, swoon-worthy reads.
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SIDE QUEST: From the journal of Lord Malakor the Unforgiving
Welcome to Side Quest, a series of posts I share on my blog from time to time that give you a peek into the weird ‘what if’ scenarios and playful thought experiments I use to keep my imagination fired up when I’m taking a break from my latest novel. Day 482 of the Eternal Gloom I am…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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The Pros and Cons of Cursing in Young Adult Literature
After six books that were curse free, I’ll never forget my surprise near the end of the final Harry Potter book, when Mrs. Weasley calls the woman who killed her son a bitch. I remember wondering – can she do that? Of course, she can and she did. But that’s J. K. Rowling. Should you, in…
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How to Kill the Villian in Your YA Fantasy Series (with Style)
The time has come, now that I’m wrapping up my YA/Middle Grade fantasy series, The Conjurors, to say goodbye to my favorite character – the villain. I hope it’s not a spoiler to say that he’s going to get the axe. Unfortunately, his actions have been so unforgivable that I can’t risk leaving him alive in…
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When to Include an Epilogue in Your Novel
Unlike prologues (which I covered in last week’s post) epilogues are a much less controversial concept in the writing community. Everyone from J.K. Rowling to James Dashner uses epilogues to wrap up loose ends and generally give a novel a complete finish. But I would argue that epilogues are just as likely to be abused…
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Best YA Fantasy Books for Your Book Club
One of the best parts about being a YA author is the fact that I get to read all the latest and greatest YA fiction in the name of research. As fun as it is to dive into a new world, analyzing the text afterward is even better. That’s why I love being a part of a…