Writing for Teens the YA Market

In a recent Newsweek article "Generation R (R is for Reader)" they talk about the hot teen market. It's great news to know that in this generation of technology entertainment that young people are reading! While you may immediately think of Harry Potter, there's more. Here are some of their selections:

Tuck Everlasting - Winnie Foster finds adventure when she meets the Tuck family, who have drunk from a spring that gives them everlasting life.
Twilight - When seventeen-year-old Bella leaves Phoenix to live with her father in Forks, Washington, she meets an exquisitely handsome boy at school for whom she feels an overwhelming attraction and who she comes to realize is not wholly human.
The Outsiders - The author depicts the struggle of three brothers to stay together after their parent's death and their quest for identity among the conflicting values of their peers.

So what do these books have in common? They deal with topics and situations teens relate to. For today's prompt talk to a teen. Listen to them. What concerns do they have? What makes them happy? What's troubling them? What are their struggles? After talking with them, take what you learn and develop a fictional character who experiences a situation that involves what you've learned.

Bloggers Unite For Human Rights

Today bloggers around the world are uniting for human rights. It's so easy to sit in the comfort of our homes and worry about gas prices, foreclosures and things that impact our personal lives while around the world defenseless people suffer. Even though gas prices hurt us, we still have choices to make--options. We can learn to cut back or even try to find a way to make some extra money. If we lose our home we can find another place to live, and while these are not easy solutions they are better alternatives than what many others face because we still have options. We're not facing genocide or lives as slaves, and our children have hope for the future and food to eat.

For today's writer's prompt we will take human rights issues from the news. What you do with it can work for fiction or not fiction. Don't forget that fiction can be a tool to help get the message across to the masses. In fact in my fantasy novel Windwalker the book burning scene was inspired history at a time when people had been stripped of their rights. The same oppression follows my characters in their quest for a better life.

Human Rights Prompts:

• First person with an intellectual disability to speak before the UN General Assembly
• Varela Project - and the the establishment of freedom of association, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, free elections, freedom of religion, freedom to start private businesses, and amnestypolitical prisoners.
• Human Rights of an Unborn Child
• Economic Human Rights of the Poor
  

Unfortunately, there are plenty of human rights issues in the world to choose from. This is just a small sample plucked from around the world. While these issues can make for interesting fiction filled with conflict and tension as good battles evil, in real life the tension and conflict can often lead to hopelessness if people look the other way.

The Nose Can Show

After dinner I went out to water the garden while my husband cut the grass. The scent of fresh cut grass mingled with Honeysuckle on the light breeze. When I walked into the house the savory aroma of roasted chicken lingered.

Notice that I didn't have to tell you what time of year it is or what I had for dinner. Instead, your nose told you. For today's prompt we'll exercise the olfactory sense. Practicing to include details that delight or assault the nose will make your writing come to life.

Prompt:

Write a short scene that includes the sense of smell. Choose one of the following or pick one of your own:

• skunk
• burned popcorn
• baking bread
• a baby
• cologne or perfume
• apple pie
  

What Does that Book Cover Say?

I'm in the process of trying to find artwork for my novel Beyond the Fifth Gate which is due out later this summer. It makes me stop and ponder what book covers have to say to potential readers. What makes you want to pick up a book?

This question spurs today's writing prompt. Use the photo prompt here, or choose a book off your home library shelf and write a story based on the cover. This can be even more fun if you haven't read the story yet.

Also, if you're looking for a little more inspiration, check out my Writing Prompts to Promote Creativity article for more ideas.

First Steps - Relationships

Experiencing motherhood for the first is unlike any other relationship. That's because in a very personal way, the expectant mother knows the baby before it's born. And yet, meeting that little one for the first time on the "outside" brings the relationship to a whole new beginning.

It's the same with writers and characters. We know them on the inside as they pace through our thoughts, but when we see them on the outside--on paper (or the computer screen) they take on a life of their own.

For today's prompt, keep a notebook handy. Jot down notes regarding new characters. They can be unrelated to your current projects, a possible protagonist, antagonist or secondary character. Then tomorrow, sit down and watch that character take their first steps on paper.

Who, What, Where, and Why

People watching can be fun, and it can also provide plenty of ideas for your fiction. Use this photo prompt and write a short story that answers "who, what, where and why."

Pulling From What You Know

As writers we often hear we are to write what we know. I discuss how this applies to fiction writers in my book Pumping Your Muse and for today's prompt we'll play with exercising that part of our muse.

With this photo prompt, write down every thought or memory that it generates. Then take your list and chose one or more of the things you've listed and include them in a short story.

For example, one thing it reminded me of was the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy and her companions were in the field of poppies. I could apply a similar magical fate to characters in a field of flowers, though it would have to differ of course.

Have fun with this one. You may be surprised at what you discover!