Tag: protagonist

Categories
Writing for YA

Is Your Historical Novel YA or Adult Coming of Age

How do you know if you’ve written a young adult novel or an adult coming of age? What about books that have dual timelines with both a teen point of view and an adult point of view? Finding your genre can be a difficult task. Here’s a few things to look at that might help an author determine what genre their work lands in.

Age of the Protagonist

The age of the protagonist does not determine whether or not a book is young adult, but the age of the protagonist can eliminate some books from the young adult market. If the main storyline is not about how a teen character is dealing with their story world, than it’s not young adult.

The protagonist in a book written for adults can be of any age.

Topics Explored

All young adult fiction is coming of age, but not all coming of age is young adult fiction.

Coming of age written for the adult market tends to be grittier. In these books, the protagonist may be young, but is dealing with adult issues.

In young adult fiction, the teenage protagonist could be dealing with unusual circumstances, but the material is typically less graphic than fiction written for adults.

Word Count

A young adult generally sticks to a prescribed word count, whereas a coming-of-age written for the adult market with a teenage protagonist can have a wide range of word count and can be literary, upmarket, or commercial. 

Point of View

Young Adult fiction can be in one point of view or more, in either first person or third person, as can an adult coming of age. The current trend is to write YA in first person, but it’s not a defining rule.

Voice and Tone

Deep point of view is common in YA, as is an angsty bent. Teenagers are going through a myriad of changes and are focused on their feelings, more inward looking, and young adult is inclined to be written that way.

In adult fiction featuring a younger protagonist, the person is often operating as an adult, dealing with adult issues.

Vocabulary and Style

Novels written for the young adult market may use different vocabulary and language style than novels written for the adult market. Even if it’s historical young adult, the language would be slightly different to make it accessible to the targeted reader. 

Romance

In most YA Historicals I’ve read, romance is often a secondary storyline. Love triangles seem to abound, and I think readers accept that more in YA because young people are experiencing a lot of those first love emotions for the first time. Young people are often still discovering the contrasts between between a crush, an infatuation, or a possible real love, which may lead to developing feelings in two different directions.

Setting for Historical YA

The historical era is a backdrop for the issues that the mc is working through. Description and historical details will be a natural part of how the character interacts with it.

Historical for adults allows for a few short historical tidbits to be inserted into the narrative to give understanding.

In YA, this tends to only matter if it directly affects the main character in some way. Even though there will be history inserted, it only goes as far as to how the main character has to use this information to forward her own story. 

Hopefully, examining these different elements of a story will help authors decide what genre their historical fiction with a teen protagonist belongs in.  

Can you think of any other differences between historical YA and historical coming of age for adults?

Leave a comment below.

Stephanie Daniels writes Christian historical fiction for young adults and the young at heart. Her debut novel, The Uncertainty of Fire, first appeared on Amazon’s Kindle Vella platform where it was a top faved Christian story. It is now available in paperback and kindle format online at Amazon and Barnes&Noble.

The Uncertainty of Fire

Sixteen-year-old Whimsy Greathart would rather fight against Chicago’s child labor practices than attend her privileged family’s high society events. On the night of the Great Chicago Fire, her world turned to ash, she must rely on the mercy of poor relations to rebuild her future and is forced into the very labor system she wished to fight against.

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.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

Your Protagonist: The Eyes to Your Story

Choosing a perspective character is one of the biggest choices when it comes to writing your novel. There are usually several great options, but as the writer it’s up to you to choose the best option.

And that’s where the difficulty comes in.

Your perspective character is often referred to as your camera. To stay in line with point-of-view rules, your reader can only see, hear, taste, touch, smell, and know whatever your scene’s perspective character sees, hears, tastes, touches, smells, and knows.

For the sake of this post, let’s assume you’re choosing one perspective character for the entire book, rather than several and switching perspectives scene to scene.

Your perspective character sets the tone of your story.

Imagine if the classic Pride and Prejudice was re-written and told from Mr. Wickham’s perspective. The tone would not have the romantic, at times light-hearted feel the classic is known for. What if J. K. Rowling had written Harry Potter from only Hagrid’s point-of-view? It would likely have felt a little more comedic.

Ask: What tone do I want in my story? Then choose the character that will best represent that tone.

Your perspective character reveals your story.

Going back to the Pride and Prejudice example, we don’t find out what’s happened to Mr. Darcy’s little sister until quite a way into the book. Trying to discover who Darcy is and why he’s so mysterious keeps us turning the pages. But if Jane Austen had written it from Mr. Wickham’s perspective the mystery of Darcy’s character wouldn’t have been a mystery.

Decide: What do you want to hide from your reader, and when do you want to reveal it? Then choose the character whose journey of discovery matches the journey you want your reader to have.

Your perspective character learns a lesson.

Good stories have good character arcs. Lizzie’s character arc in Pride and Prejudice is one that goes from judgmental to loving. Again, if Wickham had been the perspective character the reader likely wouldn’t have walked away changed. Not in a meaningful way.

Consider: What lesson do I want to teach, and which character will learn the lesson?

Choosing a perspective character is a big decision. He or she will set the tone of your story, experience a specific journey of discovery, and learn specific lessons other characters won’t learn in the same way.

As you consider which character to tell the story through, take your time. But once you’ve made the decision move forward with boldness. It’s your story to tell, and after all, you’re the writer!

Sarah Rexford is a Marketing Content Creator and writer. She helps authors build their platform through branding and copywriting. With a BA in Strategic Communications, Sarah equips writers to learn how to communicate their message through personal branding. She writes fiction and nonfiction and offers writers behind-the-scenes tips on the publishing industry through her blog itssarahrexford.com. She is represented by the C.Y.L.E Young Agency.

Instagram: @sarahjrexford
Twitter: @sarahjrexford
Web: itssarahrexford.com

Categories
Talking Character

What Does Your Protagonist Want? (And Why Can’t He Have It?)

A protagonist without a clear goal has nothing to figure out and nowhere to go. Lisa Cron in Wired for Story

All protagonists need a goal—some force that drives them onward no matter what obstacles the story throws at them. And that goal is driven by some deep inner need—the why that motivates all they do to achieve their goal.

Since stories are not about the plot, but about how the plot affects the characters, it is really the why behind the goal that keeps us reading.

If we don’t know what the protagonist’s goal is, or why it matters to him, we can’t anticipate how the plot events affect him, or what he might do about them. Which means we will quickly stop caring, toss that book aside, and watch silly cat videos instead.

Two kinds of goals

First of all, a protagonist needs an external goal—something she wants to achieve by the end of the book. She might want a promotion, she may hope to find the guy of her dreams, or she might be determined to solve the crime and nail the bad guy.

But the external goal isn’t enough to make a great story. Our protagonist needs an internal goal, too—some deep-seated need she believes will be satisfied if she achieves her external goal.  In other words, the inner goal is the why that motivates the external goal.

Two kinds of obstacles

What keeps your protagonist from her external goal? Typically, the kind of  plot-driven obstacles that writers love to make up: Rivals, misinformation, invading warlords, sudden storms, bad luck, traitors, or the kid next door. What keeps the protagonist from her internal goal? Her very own self. Some hang-up, fear, or stubbornly held belief that is part of who she is.

And this is one of the keys of a great story: In order to achieve her external story goal, the protagonist must be forced to come face-to-face with that deep inner issue she would much rather avoid.

The climax of the story hinges on her willingness to face her inner issue. Only then can she have the revelation that will enable her to achieve the goal that will bring her what she really wants (which may or may not be what she thought she wanted this whole time).

If you know what your character wants, why she wants it, and what inner issue might keep her from achieving it, you are on the way to a great story.

[bctt tweet=”Do you know what your protagonist really wants, and why she can’t have it? #amwriting” username=””]

Categories
Dear Young Scribes

How to Choose, Develop, & Research a Setting: Part 2

Once you’ve chosen the setting of your book—which we discussed in Part 1 of this series—it’s important to spend time researching the setting so you can portray this location accurately.

 

Here’s how you can research your setting:

 

  •  Take a research trip to your setting (if feasible).
  •  Watch YouTube videos. Many times, people will 
give a “virtual tour” of a certain city. As you watch, pay close attention to the sights and sounds of the place.
  •  Research the location and its history through various online resources. (Keep in mind, however, that some websites, such as Wikipedia, may not provide 100% accurate information and should not considered a reliable source.)
  •  Read books about the location, including memoirs.
  •  Read the online newspaper of the location.
  •  Discover pictures of the place via Pinterest. (Make 
sure to pin them to your storyboard as well!)
  •  Interview people who have a connection to the location.
  •  Research the city through www.areavibes.com. This 
website allows you to explore a location and discover its amenities, housing and neighborhoods, population, economics, crime, weather, etc. It will even compare these results with another location as well.
  •  Take advantage of Google Earth and its street view feature.

 

The same amount of work must be applied to settings that are invented as well. Obviously, you can’t research the setting—but by using the above and below checklists, you can brainstorm specific location details. (If you do this, you might even be able to trick your readers into believing that your setting is an actual place!)

 

When you research/invent your setting, I recommend recording the info in an online file or notebook. As you do, take note of the following:

 

  • What unique elements does the place have that contribute toward its personality? Are there rolling hills? Willow trees that form a canopy over a certain street? Farm animals held behind fences?
  • How do people speak? What is their dialect and popular slang?
  • Where is the place located geographically?
  • What is the climate in every season?
  • What is the history of the location, and how has it shaped 
the setting into what it is today?
  • What is the most popular religion? (For instance, is it 
located in the Bible belt?)
  • What are the socioeconomics?
  • What is the atmosphere? Is it a laid back town in the 
south, where people are accustomed to a slow-­paced lifestyle, or does it take place within the hustle and bustle of NYC?
  • What are the popular fashion and hairstyles?
  • Where people shop for food, coffee, groceries, clothes, ice 
cream, etc.?
  • What are the significant landmarks and parks?
  • Where do the teenagers hangout?
  • What kind of animals can be found in the location? 
Plants? Insects?
  • If it’s a small town, what big city is it located near?
  • What are the popular street names?

 

As you research, you will collect facts about this location; however, when you write your story, these facts must be filtered through the eyes of your POV character. Everyone is going to have a unique attitude toward a specific location. This attitude is influenced by a number of factors: the person’s personal experiences, memories, personality, worldview, etc. Their perception of this setting is also a great tool to contribute to the book/scene’s particular mood/emotion.

 

For example, the following excerpt is the first page of my YA novel, PURPLE MOON:

            “Why couldn’t you just leave me alone in our apartment for the summer, Mom? I’m sixteen. I’m responsible. Mostly mature.”

            Our Camry swerves as we turn into Lakeview Estates. Three-­‐‑story homes span the landscaping that stretches for acres then tucks into the bordering lake.

            Families visit here every year for summer vacation. The majestic mountain peaks that outline the water of Lake Lure offer a refuge of seclusion to escape the stress of hectic lifestyles. No words describe the beauty of this place.

            Yet I shut my eyes and sink further into the seat, trying to wish myself away. Somewhere else. Maybe to the fairy tale land that I used to imagine when I was a kid. I would even welcome the idea of turning around and driving all the way back to Brooklyn.

            Anywhere but here.
”

(c) Purple Moon by Tessa Emily Hall – 2013 – Published by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas

 

Based on that excerpt, what would you say is the attitude that my protagonist, Selena, has toward the setting?

 

The fact about the setting, which is included in this excerpt, is that Lake Lure is a beautiful tourist location. But it’s clear that Selena is not happy to be there. She portrays this not only through internal monologue, but through her body language as well (sinking into her seat and closing her eyes).

 

Later, Selena reacts to the thick humidity of Lake Lure by mentioning how she should have brought more summer clothes. Why wasn’t she prepared for the hot weather? Probably because she was accustomed to living in Brooklyn, NY, which is a much cooler climate than Lake Lure, even in the summer.

 

Do you see how one’s memories, personality, and background all come into play when describing the setting of a novel?

 

 “I wouldn’t have thought a simple sketch of a lake could have so many emotional strings attached to it. But it does. For me, at least.” ~Selena from PURPLE MOON

 

So ask yourself: How does my protagonist connect to the setting? You can brainstorm this by asking the following questions:

 

  • What are her significant memories of certain areas of the location? What are the sights, sounds, smells, etc. that remind her of these memories, and what is her attitude toward them?
  • Is this her birthplace? If not, when did she move there, and how does it compare with the other places she has lived?
  • How has this location influenced her personality and worldview?
  • Where does your character go during her free time?
  • What street does she live on?
  • What kind of house does she live in?
  • Where does her family fall on the socioeconomics scale?

 

Remember:

 

The setting of a story should be treated as if it were another character, so make sure to research it beforehand.

Then, when you begin to write, highlight on the specific details that will breathe life into your setting. However, make sure that this is presented through the eyes of your POV (Point of View) character.

Through proper developing and portraying your setting, you will give your readers the opportunity to become transported into the story’s location . . . and they’ll never once have to leave the comfort of their own home. 😉

 

 

[bctt tweet=”How to Choose, Develop, & Research a Setting: Part 2 #amwriting #writingtips” username=”tessaemilyhall”]

 

Do you prefer to invent a location, or choose an already-existing one? What’s your favorite part about researching the setting? Let me know in the comments!