Things I Consider When Writing

     First things first. Length. Whether you want to write a poem, flash fiction, short story, novelette, novella, novel. Length is important. it is how you will determine how you will write. Flash fiction is all about one moment. Short stories are too but you can do a little more writing and planning. Novelette, novellas, and novels, you can do anything you want. I write novels so there is a lot more to it.
     The second most important thing to me while writing is genre. I write YA lit which is Young Adult Literature. This includes Twilight and the like. YA is all I read and all I write. But there are many genres. The writer just needs to find what genre they love to write. A writer can write many different genres if they like. YA, Adult, fantasy, literary fiction, historical fiction, nonfiction. The list goes on.
     Then comes research. The last book I wrote and the one I plan to write next require research. I may not use the research, but I feel that it is necessary for a good foundation. But sometimes research is vital to your piece of work.
     Then I decide if I want to outline my work of just pants it. Pantsing is just writing by the seat of your pants with no real direction or plan. Some people do one or the other. Some do both. I am one who does both. I don't ever have a formal outline, but I do use notes of things I want to have happen and quotes I want in my story and so forth. But beyond the notes I have, I just let it flow and see what happens. I always know the ending though.
     Then I focus on point of view. I don't ever write in 3rd person. Just like I tend not to read books written in 3rd person. For me, it is too hard to get into the story and really have a connection with the story and characters. i always write in 1st person. Then I decide who I want telling the story. I usually go into a book knowing who the main character is and who will be telling the story. But, I really love a book that has multiple narrators. Both of the books I have written are told by 2 people, a boy and a girl. I also love when a book or story is told in the guys point of view. So point of view is very important.
     Then its all about the characters. Writing real and believable characters. You don't want the reader not connecting with the story because the characters are not believable. Just like the characters being important, I think names are important. I like to give my characters unique names, but not so crazy that the reader can't pronounce them. Also, a name should fit the character.
     I also believe having a reliable or unreliable narrator is important. A lot of people try to have reliable narrators, but personally, I like having an unreliable narrator, it makes it more interesting. Plus, I believe that no 1st person narrator is reliable. They let their beliefs and feelings get in the way of just the facts. And like I said that is very interesting.
     Then, one very important thing about writing is reading. A good writer is a good reader. I like to read in the genre of what I write because it lets me know how other people write and helps me to know how I want to write. Also, it helps with style issues, pacing and such.
     

Why YA

     I found my love of reading when I was a freshman in high school. From then on I didn't know what I liked to read. That is, until my senior English teacher suggested Twilight to me. That is when I discovered that I love YA. YA is short for Young Adult literature. So why do I love YA and why do I write YA? I will tell you.
     First of all, I was a teen only two years ago so I can still remember everything that happened to me as a teen and how I felt about everything that happened to me. Second, it's more exciting. Teen love with all their hearts. Teens jump into things without thinking. They jump into things with their whole hearts and worry about the consequences later. They fall hard, and love hard. Everything is a first for them. When they fall in love, they don't think about marrying down the road and worrying about insurance or getting a good job or anything like that. Teen live in the moment and for the moment. Teens are resilient and courageous. Teens are witty and smart and full of life. Teens are passionate. They have fears and doubts, but they do their best to work through them. Teens are just incredible people. YA literature encapsulates all of these things and brings it to life.
     So why do I write for teens? Well, I am closer to being a teen than an adult and I feel more like a teen than an adult. But I write for teens for all of the reasons I listed above. YA lit is what I love to read and what I love to write.