Considerations for Writing Young Adult Romance
By amy wilson
editor and writing teacher.
Many writers are curious about writing young adult romance novels and with good reason. YA romances are fun, exciting, and offer plenty of opportunity for creativity and exploration. They’re also a very hot market. But what elements make up a great contemporary young adult romance novel? What is really working if you’re interested in writing young adult romance or romcom right now? Let’s take a look.
Writing Young Adult Romance: Creating an Engaging Character Arc
The most important part of any good story is the characters and their journeys. When you’re writing young adult romance, you should focus on crafting strong character arcs that teen readers will be able to relate to and invest in. The main character should go on an emotional journey that takes them from point A to point B in terms of their relationships with others, themselves, and the world around them. This is especially important because you’re involving romantic relationships, and love interest characters. The love interest will have a character arc of their own, as will the relationship itself.
Whether your protagonist is going through an emotional transformation or learning how to navigate relationships in this new and exciting time of their lives, it's essential to create an engaging arc that readers can follow along with.
Writing Young Adult Romance: Finding Your Voice
When writing young adult romance, it's important to find your own unique writing voice and stick with it throughout the entire book. Writing in this genre and category requires more than just approximating your version of teen voice. You need to be able to craft believable dialogue between characters that feels natural and true-to-life, without relying on blanket techniques like sarcastic voice. Your own personal style will help you create memorable characters and scenes that readers won't soon forget.
Exploring Genre Tropes When Writing Young Adult Romance
Genre tropes are one of the things that make writing young adult romance so much fun. Some writers reject things like romcom tropes, but others embrace them. Romance, especially romantic comedy, is full of reader expectations, and if you’re writing young adult romance, you will want to play these elements up and offer reversals and creative twists.
From forbidden love stories to enemies-to-lovers tales, there are countless genre tropes out there that you can use as inspiration for your own book. But don't be afraid to think outside of the box when it comes to exploring these tropes—you may even find yourself creating something entirely new! And if all else fails, remember that classic tropes are classic for a reason—so feel free to draw from them. And the one trope you should never subvert is the expectation of a HEA or HFN: the happily ever after ending, or at least the happy for now. Without this kind of ending, you are not truly writing young adult romance.
Contemporary young adult romance novels offer authors plenty of creative freedom when it comes to crafting stories about love and relationships between teens. By focusing on creating strong character arcs, finding your unique voice as a YA writer, and exploring genre tropes where appropriate, you can start writing young adult romance that readers will fall head over heels for.
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