Article on The 8 Habits of Highly Successful Young Adult Authors

I found this article and I thought it was a great reminder of paying attention to aspects of writing beyond just creating exciting sentences and characters. It also solidified some of my own thoughts, such as the use of slang.

I particularly liked the observation: "One of the enduring misconceptions about YA fiction is that it’s dumbed down, that writing for young readers means writing in a way that’s easy for them to comprehend. Cohn estimates that about 60 to 65 percent of YA fiction is written in the first person and present tense, but not because YA readers can’t handle complexity—take a look at the average high school or AP English reading lists for evidence to the contrary—but because the simplicity and immediacy of that particular style helps writers develop the voices of their characters."

Read the article in the Atlantic.