I was one of the first 100 contestants for Gotham Writers’ Workshop recent YA contest and I won a copy of Writing Great Books For Young Adults. Winners to the contest will be posted February 2011. But in the interim, I read the book.
At first glance, I love love love the way the book is laid out. The font, the chapter breaks, the little inserts with insider advice. Perfect. Super easy read.
The information is arranged in a step-by-step approach to writing your YA novel from coming up with an idea to shopping the finished edited manuscript to agents and publishers. Great overview. Each chapter tackles a major area such as plot, theme, character development. And to my mind, one of the most overlooked topics: creating a satisfying ending.
This book is absolutely essential to anyone who is contemplating writing a YA novel. If you’ve already written one and been shopping it around, this book is very valuable to you because it will draw your attention to the bigger things that require attention in your novel as you revise.
Lately, I’ve been focusing on the writing craft and getting more into the nitty-gritty details of writing. This book reminded me that there are overarching issues that have to remain on your mind as you revise your manuscript.
A great, informative read for all YA novelists.
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