Thanks for the info, how many words roughly on each page though? LOL like 300 maybe? Wow if I could write that much it would be great, be I want to be nice work.
I have relatively 'normal' handwriting (about the size of 12-point Times New Roman when I write on lined paper). I get 330 words to a page of wide-ruled paper, slightly more on college-ruled. 720 words to the page when I write on computer-sized scrap paper. A typed page of Times New Roman, size 12, single-spaced, is around 500 words. Doubled spaced is about 250. Your average published book leaf (or a computer page with 1.5 inch margins, TNR size 12 single-spaced) has about 460 words. Yes, I have calculated all of this. Yes, that makes me a geek.
approx. 250 per computer/typed page in the ms standard 12 pt, double-spaced, 1" margins all around... that makes the old standard that harks back to the typewriter days around 2,500 words per day... but that's what pros aim for, as i said... and when you have another 'life' to lead, besides writing, that changes things, doesn't it?
I am finally beginning to find something to write about and it's short and sweet so I hope to be done with it by next month. lol Took long though just to find something to write about...it's like my mind turns off when I get home.
Then carry a notebook or some scratch paper and writing utensil with you and jot down ideas whenever you get them.
Or a voice recorder. There are some nice portable units, smaller than a cell phone, that can hold hours of voice. You can even play them directly into documents with speech-to-text software, and then you can edit out the transcription errors without typing everything in from scratch.
Thank you both...I found myself thinking at work about it especially in the middle of listening to music while I worked. I am so glad you replied because I need to work on some of my dialogue Cogito...you just reminded me.
I keep a small notepad and a pen handy to jot Ideas. Sometimes just writing the dreams from the night before help.
Okay, guys, I'm struggling a little bit here. My WIP is a non-European fantasy, based on the ancient, indigenous desert cultures of the western US. It features two MC's, and POV alternates between them. The plot runs from when they are 12 until they are 18. I've kind of broken the story up into three chunks, based on ages and the rising/falling action. The problem is, now I really don't know how to market this. If part of the story takes place when they're 12-14, can I really call it YA? I've thought about cutting that part out and focusing just on the later years to make it more traditionally YA, but part of MC1's major arc is that he has an intellectually deficient father, and while that was fun as a kid, part of puberty means he becomes increasingly aware of his father's shortcomings and they start to affect him more. Part of that whole painful perspective that comes with growing up. That begins in the early stages of adolescence. And the main catalyst for the whole plot shows up when the MCs are 12. I've thought about handling these early scenes through flashbacks interspersed, but flashbacks are controversial too. So, I guess I'm just caught between the two schools of thought which often get hurled at writers: know your audience, and just write the story you want to read. So far I've been following the latter advice, but now I'm worried about the former since I'm not sure how to pitch this when I'm finished.
What is more important to you; sticking to the idea you have now, or being able to market this effectively to readers? I want readers, so I think about marketing. I still write what I want, but I choose the more marketable of two palatable ideas. Another option would be to make this a series and have your readers grow up with your MC, like Harry Potter. The first book would be marketed to 10-12 year olds and things would go from there. You might also be able to write it as it is and manage to appeal to both 10-year-olds (who would uaually read about 12-year-olds) and 16-year-olds... but that's a tall order. Personally, I'd pick a target audience and write accordingly.
That's not so easy if more than half of the readership of YA are actually adults. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/12/why-so-many-adults-are-love-young-adult-literature/547334/
I don't see the problem. Your target audience is YA readers, regardless of how old they are. Anybody writing adult fiction knows their books might be read by an 18-year-old or an 80-year-old. It doesn't matter because books are marketed by genre. ETA: Okay, I see where I created confusion with my previous post. To clarify, you target your writing by saying you're going to create an MG or lower YA or upper YA or adult story in X genre. You then write to those genre conventions. People who enjoy books targeted at the lower YA market will have the same genre expectations whether they're actually of lower YA age or just a fan of YA. It's genre norms that are important.
Short answer is yes, actually. Long answer: I've read multiple YA novels where the characters start the story younger than the standard 15-18 age range, including some where they start as small children. The most recent example in my mind is And I Darken by Kiersten White. (Disclaimer that And I Darken was written by an established author, and she could probably get away with stuff that would be harder for a debut.) And since you mention flashbacks, Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo has tons of them to when the main characters were little. Again, another established author, but the point still stands that YA is open to this sort of thing. I do have this sense that the bulk of the action--the main plot, the big change--needs to happen during the usual YA years.
Thanks, guys! I think I've solved the issue. I played with the timeline a little and I can get all the major action, including the catalyst, in between years 16-18. I can reference a few things that happened when they were younger, but I no longer need those early years to fully develop their arcs. @Tenderiser -- I momentarily played around with the idea of a series that grows with its audience, like HP, but at this point I don't have quite enough material for all that. I could develop more, but the story I care most about happens in those later teen years. I decided to take your advice and focus more on marketability. The changes feel good and suddenly I'm excited again, after being been stuck for so long. The story is tighter and cleaner. Thanks for helping me get some perspective!
