Authentic Teen Love in YA Novels
My husband AKA my high school sweetheart recently pulled out my old high school diary and read excerpts to me from when we were dating. We both had a good laugh. I cringed a bit. Okay, a lot. But my teen self reminded me how intense it was to fall in love as a teenager.
I blog over at YAtopia, and recently shared some advice on writing teen love because I feel like some of that intensity can get lost when authors focus too much on passing the Bechdel Test and making strong, independent characters. Those things are awesome! But not at the expense of authenticity. We need badass independent young women with passions of their own...who also kind of lose their minds when they fall in love. You know?
Here's an excerpt from that post:
"This one goes out to all the YA writers, the creators of teens, and especially the writers who aren't, well, teenagers anymore. If your teen character is going to fall in love, you need to remember what it's like to fall in love at that age. If you can't remember or never experienced it, my high school diary and I are here to help."
You can read the rest, including my diary excerpts here.
-Jessie
P.S. In the comments, share your favorite YA couple!
Find other bookish things on my Facebook page.
I blog over at YAtopia, and recently shared some advice on writing teen love because I feel like some of that intensity can get lost when authors focus too much on passing the Bechdel Test and making strong, independent characters. Those things are awesome! But not at the expense of authenticity. We need badass independent young women with passions of their own...who also kind of lose their minds when they fall in love. You know?
Here's an excerpt from that post:
"This one goes out to all the YA writers, the creators of teens, and especially the writers who aren't, well, teenagers anymore. If your teen character is going to fall in love, you need to remember what it's like to fall in love at that age. If you can't remember or never experienced it, my high school diary and I are here to help."
You can read the rest, including my diary excerpts here.
-Jessie
P.S. In the comments, share your favorite YA couple!
Find other bookish things on my Facebook page.
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