Get Started in Writing Young Adult Fiction by Juliet Mushens

Series: N/A

Author: Juliet Mushens

Page Count: 224
Published: June 18th, 2015
Publisher: Teach Yourself

5 Stars ★★★★★

I received this book in a Goodreads first reads giveaway.

In this book, Juliet Mushens, a professional literary agent, gives authors advice on writing young adult fiction. Covering everything from a novel's characters to the publishing process, this 'teach yourself' guide utilizes examples from popular novels, personal anecdotes and helpful exercises throughout.

This book came at the perfect time for me; I want to write a YA novel, I've had this idea in my head for a while but I never got to putting specific details down on paper. This workshop-within-a-book pushed me to get my ideas organized, and helped me to improve my writing skills in the process.

Exercises were suggested in each chapter, often during or after the author explained something or gave tips. These exercises, ranging from creating small lists to editing pre-written paragraphs to researching literary agents, gave me new perspectives and forced me to really delve into the world that my novel was set in and to think realistically about my goals.

One of my favourite exercises included drawing a map of the world my novel was to be set in. I hadn't really thought of doing this before as a way to organize my setting and keep things consistent, but after completing it I realized just how valuable this strategy could be when it comes to describing setting, travelling and distance.

While this is specifically oriented towards writing in the young adult genre, I feel many tips within the pages can be applied to other genres as well. I appreciated this because if I decide to write books targeted at a different age range, I'll still be able to improve my stories and navigate the world of publishing much easier.

I absolutely recommend this book to those who want advice when it comes to writing!  If you want to write a YA book and you would like some guidance, this book is for you.


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