Murder. Secrets. Drugs. Gossip. Lies. Sexuality. Romance. Magic. Identity. Rumors. Breakups.
Hang out with a group of YA writers and you’ll likely hear these words, along with more provocative, dark, odd, edgy, far-out, intense, hilarious, eccentric, juicy, shocking topics. We love teens. We love big drama and conjuring a mess for our teen characters in current time or mystical worlds.
Other kid-lit writers often say we’re nuts for writing over 75,000 words. But we can’t get enough. We want to hold on to every word. No wonder our revisions can take years and years as we cut, trim, tighten hundreds of pages.
Thanks to my critique group, Story Spinners, I unexpectedly joined the YA writer “club” years ago after they nudged me to turn my coming-of-age short story into a YA novel. I was clueless and intimidated, but I couldn’t stop writing. I’m incredibly fortunate to be part of the SCBWI-Rocky Mountain Chapter’s YA community. And I’m in awe of how everyone cheers each other on at book launches and events by and for YA writers.
My fellow YA’ers and I adamantly long to be with our peers and find YA-only classes. No offense, picture book and middle grade writers. We adore you and your books! Just like our teen characters, we long to be belong; we want to be in a YA cluster. But, we’ll be the first to admit, we often feel like the misfits in writer land. Afterall, YA novels are a far cry from Middle Grade.
Perhaps that’s why our search for YA-only learning is constant and fierce. The past few months, for instance, several YA writers and I started researching YA-only workshops, courses, and other ways to amp up our learning.
Here’s what we have found so far:
Workshops/Courses:
Wordsmith Workshops https://www.wordsmithworkshops.com/
Vermont College of Fine Arts https://vcfa.edu/writing-novels-for-young-people-retreat/
Hugo House https://hugohouse.org/product/young-adult-fiction-workshop/
Writer’s Digest University https://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/courses/writing-the-young-adult-novel
UCLA Extension https://www.uclaextension.edu/writing-journalism/creative-writing/course/young-adult-novel-i-writing-x-4451
Tin House https://tinhouse.com/workshop/
From SCBWI:
YA Connect and Other Connects https://www.scbwi.org/regions/rmc/events
YA Connect is free and offered every other month by and for YA writers of all levels to learn and meet fellow YA writers. Most YA Connects are both in-person & Zoom.
Michelle Begley Mentorship – Due Oct. 31, 2023 https://www.scbwi.org/regions/rmc/RMC-mentorship-program
Weekly Podcast https://www.scbwi.org/podcasts
Most recent one featured Deborah Halverson, award-winning YA author, including Writing Young Adult Fiction For Dummies and Honk If You Hate Me
Monthly Virtual Events, hosted by chapters across the U.S. https://www.scbwi.org/regional-virtual-events
Coming soon:
Lighthouse Writers Workshop, Denver – YA workshops, gatherings https://lighthousewriters.org/
Of course, there are a lot more YA-only opportunities out there. Share your findings in the comments, please. Meanwhile, YA writers: Keep reaching out to find other YA’ers. And remember, teens can’t wait to read your stories – and drama!
I have very strong childhood memories of getting the Highlights for Children magazine in the mail. First of all, it was mail – for me! (And my brothers, but mostly for me.) I’d spot it on the kitchen counter, whisk it off to my bedroom, and immediately turn to the hidden pictures page. Then I’d search and search until I found every last rake, spoon, ice cream cone, and whatever else was listed at the bottom of the page! Today, Highlights publishes entire workbooks of these puzzles. They even have an app.
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