Writing for Teens

I was recently asked for advice on writing for young adults, a question I’ve been asked many times, and I usually try to offer some nuts and bolts advice on writing and publishing, but this time this question hit me differently.  It didn't seem to come from a place of drive or desire, so I tried to think about what drives me to write for teens way down deep on a gut level because I think that is far more important than the nuts and bolts. I brainstormed quick snips about what I believe about writing for teens and these snips are pasted below.  I think this needs to be the starting place:

Find the humanity in your writing
The essence of what matters to all of us
Believe in the teen that you are writing about
Believe in teens period
Not that they have lessons to learn
Not that they need to be taught in just such a way
Believe that their stories are important enough
Life-changing enough
Heart-wrenching enough
That their story needs to be read by everyone
Be a teen yourself
Be an idealist
Believe in justice
Those are some of the best traits of being a teen that I hope never to give up
Reach deep and care
Care like it’s the first time you’ve cared about anything
Care so much that it matters not just to you but to others as well
Believe in the wisdom of teens
Believe in their faults
Believe in everything in between
Don’t give them a mass label of “teenager” and think that is enough
Teens are no more alike than adults are
Each one has their own story
A story that will change the world
Because someone will recognize it as their own
And realize they are not alone
That is the power of your story
Believe in it
And I will too.

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