WRITING REAL TEENAGERS FOR REAL TEENAGE READERS (AND ADULT READERS, TOO!)

It’s hard to deny that realistic teen fiction is having a moment.  In recent years books like John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars and Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor & Park have captured the hearts of teenage readers as well as readers whose high school years are long behind them.  But how can an adult writer craft an authentic teenager as protagonist?  How do we, as grown-ups, write stories full of the tension, excitement, longing and frustration that come with being 16?

This four-hour workshop focuses on writing realistic contemporary fiction for young adults.  We’ll spend time in class studying two mentor texts and discussing how and why they work, including analyzing the voice, characterization, setting, structure, pacing and plot.  Participants will have time to write in class, applying our conversations to an existing work in progress, or they may choose to respond to an exercise or two.  Sharing is optional but encouraged.  Participants will leave with a reading list of some of the best contemporary young adult fiction from recent years as well as resources on the querying and publishing process.