Writing Romance in YA Fiction

Ah, young love…there’s nothing like it.  It was a time when we welcomed Cupid’s arrow with open arms, daring the impish little trickster to give it his best shot.  And I think with most of us, he was happy to comply.

Many of us look back at our younger days and remember our high school sweethearts with a particular fondness; I know I do.  Those memories are cherished ones, so when I wrote my book, I knew it wouldn’t be complete without at least a speck of romance thrown in.  Some adults may not believe teenagers know what love is, but I’m not one of those adults.  In fact, I think some of the purest love between two people happens when we’re young…you know, before we become cynical and jaded.  

For me, those days were long ago, so I found it particularly difficult to remember the details well enough to write the romantic parts in my book.  My main character, Erin, is 14 when she meets her love interest, George.  I had to dig deep into the well of my memory to recall how I felt at that age.  I remember I dove into the relationship with my first “real” boyfriend with complete trust, and everything was new and exciting.  So when I wrote about Erin’s crush on George, while I didn’t have specific details to pull from, I could recall feelings.

Now I don’t want to write anything that will end up being a spoiler, so I’ll just say I had to enlist help from outside sources with some romantic scenes.  I found the best source was my son.  He wasn’t long out of high school and his memory was fresh.  I handed him my manuscript, and roughly a week later he brought it back with notes and suggestions.  His suggestions, along with the suggestions of several other people, proved invaluable, and I ended up using most of them.  

Because it’s been so long since I was a teenager, writing the romantic scenes was probably my biggest obstacle.  I did my best and once I finished writing, I handed my manuscript to “the pros” and let them decide what I got right and what needed to be changed.  

I’ve learned a lot during the process of writing, editing, and working with my publisher; one of the most important things I’ve learned is that as an adult writing for young adults, one of my most valuable resources are actual young people, especially with the romance parts.  They gave me feedback, saying things like, “Oh, I’d never say that to a boy,” or “I think he’d approach it like this, instead.”

When they gave me advice or suggestions, I listened. They’re young, so they don’t have to dig deep to remember how it feels to be the target for one of Cupid’s launched arrows…in fact, I think most of them are willingly and happily standing in the line of fire right now, and in my opinion, it’s that, “Here I am, Cupid–give it your best shot,” way of thinking that makes young love the magical and wonderful thing it is.