If you want to write in a genre, you have to read that genre. Experts in the industry are consistent with their advice that you must be an avid reader of a genre to write well in it. The books below are a few staples of the genre, but with a genre this big, you'll need to go to your particular subgenre in the Amazon Top 100 to really get a feel for things.
Do you feel younger than your age? More importantly, do you feel you can, as Susan Cooper puts it, "look again at a mystery through the eyes we used to have?" Because that is the essence of writing for the young: the ability to look at things through their eyes — which are, indeed, our eyes just, as Cooper again says, "not yet wearing our heavy jacket of time."
If you can put aside time's weighty coat and douse yourself in the heady perfume of having an entire life yet spread out before you, then you are ready to write YA.
Young adult (YA), new adult, middle-grade, and early reader are all what we call addon genres, in that they mostly only exist when added on to another genre: YA thriller, middle-grade fantasy, etc. They are also defined entirely by the age group of their readers, though there are style, plot, and theme considerations for each group. The age ranges are: Books obviously get longer as the readership gets older. The guidelines for book length in trad publishing are: This is also adjusted by genre, most notably fantasy books that are allowed to go a bit longer. In self-publishing, we are...
Post-apocalyptic books are often long and brutal. There can definitely be an emotional toil to writing them. I mean, they start with the destruction of the world as we know it. That's heavy stuff. Even if the tone of the book is light, a certain amount of nihilism is required to destroy the world before you even get to your characters.
Just beware of this when the dreams come.
Remember to read the articles in the Essentials section. These cover all the essential skills you’ll need as a self-published author. They are not just for beginners either. They go in depth on how to successfully write, publish, and market your own books.
Remember to read the articles in the Essentials section. These cover all the essential skills you’ll need as a self-published author. They are not just for beginners either. They go in depth on how to successfully write, publish, and market your own books.
Back to genetic engineering Remember to read the articles in the Essentials section. These cover all the essential skills you’ll need as a self-published author. They are not just for beginners either. They go in depth on how to successfully write, publish, and market your own books. Books to Read If you want to write in a genre, you have to read that genre. Experts in the industry are consistent with their advice that you must be an avid reader of a genre to write well in it. The books below should give you a feel for the genre, both current...
Genetic engineering can be a tough genre for someone with no scientific training/knowledge. Hand-waving this stuff is going to be scoffed at by many readers. Better to do the research and get the current science right before extrapolating into what it might do. That doesn't mean that amateurs are excluded from writing these books. But you need at least a high tolerance for research to succeed.
You should consider writing genetic engineering if…
Books in these genres aren't always completely settings-based (long descriptions, worldbuilding in the foreground), but just due to scale, they will always need complex and extravagant worldbuilding. Space opera rewards compelling characters and convoluted plots, while galactic empire can be more military and single hero.
You should consider writing galactic empire/space opera if…
Remember to read the articles in the Essentials section. These cover all the essential skills you’ll need as a self-published author. They are not just for beginners either. They go in depth on how to successfully write, publish, and market your own books.
