How to Keep Readers Engaged: Interview with Ya Author M.J. Padgett

M. J. Padgett is a YA author and co-owner of Pirate Cat Publishing and I asked her advice about how to keep readers turning pages.

DJS: So much of our time as writers is spent trying to hook a reader, but that’s only part of the task. What do you feel are the most important elements a story needs to keep YA readers engaged?

M.J.: Keeping young adults engaged is a difficult task for anyone, especially a writer. Times change quickly, but the core elements of life pretty much stay the same.

Everyone wants a sense of community, of fitting in, finding people with whom they can create strong, lasting bonds (and maybe some romance.) While slang words and phrases, societal concerns, and social climate might change, those are human needs that rarely disappear.

When writing, I try to remember those things and touch on important topics like family—both good and bad aspects, especially including examples of healthy familial relationships—friendships, and young love. Engaging their thoughts and emotions by putting characters in similar situations they might be experiencing is key, especially in true-to-life books.

In fantasy, a sense of escapism that might help readers see their problems in another light, hopefully one that is positive and aids in growth.

What keeps readers engaged is honest discussion about topics we all face. It’s important to bring a Christian perspective to common concerns, showing teenagers that their feelings are not only understandable but also something we have all faced at some point, then offering them realistic and healthy ways to manage those feelings and situations.

DJS: What are some common pitfalls you’ve seen that can cause a reader of teen fiction to lose interest?

M.J.: Recently, many of my YA readers have voiced the same concerns–YA content has become too adult for their liking. Extensive scenes where teens are sexualized and often exploited, characters that are abusive in one way or another are portrayed as desirable, and too political content turns them off. They want to feel, but they want to do it in a healthy way.

DJS: Some stories for teens and YA readers seem to be long-lived favorites. What are your favorites among older literature, and what do you think makes them so timeless? 

M.J.: The Anne of Green Gables series, Little House on the Prairie, Little Women, and so on are all classics I see resurface among YA readers from time to time. I think, even though they might contain some worrisome topics here and there, they represent a time when literature was more wholesome and realistic. They told tales people related to and in a way that people can still relate to today. I think they survived because their authors knew how to write good stories that would stand the test of time and change.

Writing is M. J. Padgett’s true passion (after raising her daughter, of course), and she writes as often as possible. When it comes to reading, she loves a book that can make her forget where she is no matter the genre. If she can get lost and feel like the characters are her real friends, she’s a happy reader.

M.J.’s latest release is the YA Fantasy, Dark and Devious.

Something dark and devious lurks in the moors around Roisin Dubh’s home, and it’s her duty to stamp it out before it gets its claws into the humans she’s vowed to protect.… even though those humans would kill her on sight if they knew she was Fae.

Roisin is bound by a vow to protect the humans of Gwenlyre from dark Fae at all costs, but now something sinister has entered Gwenlyre, and it will strain Roisin’s vows – and her heart – to their limits.

M. J.’s Website: https://www.mjpadgettbooks.com/

Instagram: @M.J. Padgett

Pirate Cat Publishing is a platform offering clean YA in consumable form along with loads of bonuses.  https://www.piratecatpublishing.com/join

Donna Jo Stone writes YA contemporary novels about tough issues but always ends the stories with a note of hope. She blogs at donnajostone.com.