Yesterday, I shared a post from the blog tour that is very close my to heart, all about strong YA heroines and why they should come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities!
And today, I have another important guest post to share--five reasons why I write YA!
When I sat down to put the guest posts together for this tour, I looked back on topics I've discussed in the past, and couldn't believe I had never written about this before! Young adult literature sometimes gets a bad rep for poor writing, as though it's a fallback genre for authors. But IT ISN'T! And I can't emphasize that enough! I absolutely love writing books for teens, I absolutely love reading them, and I would never have it any other way. I listed five reasons below, but there are so many more, and they can all be summarized by four words--because I love it!
Writing books for young adults has always been my dream, and because of all of you amazing fans, that dream has somehow become a reality!
So anyway, I wanted to share this with you all, because it's been a long time coming :)
Five Reasons Why I Write YA!
I write young adult fiction and I'm proud of it! No shame. No struggle to admit the truth. Nothing but pride in my craft and in all the other books next to mine on the shelves!
Readers and writers of YA are often met with derision, a fact I really can't wrap my head around. I've had people ask if I write YA because writing for adults is too difficult. I mean, really? There are so many stereotypes surrounding YA—that it's poorly written, not great literature, easy to read, dumbed down, simplistic, trashy, and the list goes on and on.
So today, on the last promo post of this blog tour, I wanted to celebrate this genre and the reasons I LOVE writing it :)
1) Coming of age characters! Teenage years are the most emotionally charged years of anyone's life! More dramatic! More passionate! More intense! And I love writing characters who are in the thick of self-discovery and are still struggling through the highs and lows of becoming the person they are meant to be.
2) Fast-paced plots! Personally, I prefer writing an arresting tale over a beautiful sentence any day of the week. YA novels tend to focus more heavily on enthralling plots and intriguing characters, and less on flowery prose. Whereas many adult novels have left me dragging to get to the end, I fly through most YA books. Do I want beautiful writing no matter what I read? Yes, absolutely! But I want that writing to come with an unputdownable story.
3) No need for explicit anything! Okay, I'm a total prude—I'll admit it! I don't think I could write an explicit sex scene even if an enraged fan put a gun to my head! It's just not my personality. So I love that with YA there is no pressure to do so. I write a little bit of contemporary romance in addition to my YA, and this is a huge problem I struggle with in those novels that I don’t even have to think about with my YA work.
4) Genre Blending is Encouraged! Take my new release, Withering Rose, for example—this series is a mash up of the romance, fantasy, fairy tale, and dystopian genres. And that's what makes it so much fun to write! Walk into any book store and it’s obvious that adult literature is very strictly categorized—romance over here, sci-fi over here, thrillers here, and literature here. But with YA, everything is mixed and there are no rules, allowing for much more creative freedom!
5) Constantly Evolving Trends! Similar to the above, the major trends in YA fiction are always changing and adapting. One year it is paranormal romance, and then the next gritty dystopian, then realistic contemporary. While I don’t write in order to follow trends, I do find them incredibly inspiring, pushing me to find a new way to look at a story or a genre!
What are your favorite things about reading or writing YA fiction?
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So there you go, the last guest post on this ridiculously fun tour!! On Friday, I'll be sharing a little wrap-up post with all the amazing reviews from the tour, because I just can't help myself :)
Withering Rose is available wherever eBooks are sold :) I hope you enjoy my novel!
There's only a few days left to enter the tour giveaway, so please do!!
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