Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Guest Post and Book Tour: Writing for Children and Young Adults

I recently was asked by a publicist if I'd host a blog tour posts, and I was like, "Heck, yeah! Sure!" It was for Marion Crook, and a book that I can really use, it's called Writing for Children and Young Adults. The blog tour blitz offered me a subject for the author to write about, and I chose:  The big difference between young adult novels and adult novels. Read what Marion Crook had to say below the break!

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Self-Counsel Press presents
WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS by Marion Crook!

About the Book:
In addition to the expert advice author Marion Crook shared in earlier editions of Writing for Children and Young Adults, in this vibrant new edition, Crook explains some of the nuances and choices about the writing world online.
As well, she revisits the fundamentals of writing: establishing character, creating lively dialogue and developing plot with updated worksheets and examples. This edition shows the writer how to begin a story, plan plot, develop and hone the work for an agent or publisher, and how to make the crucial submission for a book that agents want to represent and publishers want to buy!
Writing for Children and Young Adults helps you create the manuscript that sells!






Guest Post topic: 
I asked Marion about  the difference between YA and adult novels, since so many YA novels are crossing over into the adult market in the last 10-15 years. Adult readers are making up a huge portion of YA readers! Here is Marion's guest post and I think she had a wonderful answer!

Both YA novels and adult novels should have interesting settings, fascinating characters and lively plots. As well, YA novels need a sense of a separate society, a parallel universe to mainstream society and one that is resistant to the social pressures of the adult world. The world of the young adult is almost belligerently opposed to the adult world.   
Young adults, in their efforts to become independent, must resist the adult world to some extent. This is why every generation invents their own music, values and language. Writers of YA novels recognize this and ensure that their characters inhabit their own world, either a fantasy one or a realistic one, where the main character has some power and is not necessarily obedient to an adult. In fact, they are rarely obedient to adults.  
The young adult characters may recognize the worth of adults in their lives and may even try to become more like them, but they still maintain a separate and distinct world apart from adults. Because young adults feel this need for independence, protagonists in the novels are often isolated from society in some way: on an island, on a boat or at a camp-- somewhere adults can’t rescue them. This allows the protagonist to act independently and with power.  It’s the Clark Kent-Superman phenomenon. They can become someone important and powerful.  
Both adults and young adults may read YA novels to experience that feeling of power and competence, the feeling that no matter what life throws our way, we can overcome adversity. The protagonists do; and they most often do it without help of adults.  It is the strength of character that allows the protagonist to succeed; and they can be inspiring to all readers.
About the Author:
Marion Crook has written many books for young adult and middle-grade readers. Here, she offers advice on writing, publishing, and marketing. Crook’s background in child development education as a nurse and her Ph.D. in education give her solid knowledge, but she maintains that a keen observation of people, places, and events can be the author’s most useful tool. An experienced teacher and writer, she gives her readers clear and practical tips, with humor and obvious understanding of what it’s like to write and publish.

Connect with Marion:

Find the book on:

Writing for Children and Young Adults is available as an ebook on September 20, 2016, and it'll available in paperback in October 2016:


2 comments:

  1. We are so lucky to have creative and inspiring authors writing in this genre. The readership seems to be increasing, almost exploding.

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  2. I couldn't agree more! I love that YA is blowing up, personally! It's so nice to see, and I love the crossover into adult readership.

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