Q&A for How to Write a Young Adult Novel

Absolutely! Teenagers write books every year so there's evidence that you can do it as well. Like a lot of endeavors in life, it's largely about just telling yourself that you can do it. Don't assume that you can't do something just because you're young. The hardest part is sitting down and actually writing, so get to it!

You just have to skirt around the issue by alluding to it without giving a lot of unnecessary detail. Focus on how the character is affected emotionally and mentally rather than what is happening physically.

Yes, you can. There have been many successful teenage authors, and the YA genre is a great place for you to start since you'd know well what people your age (and a little younger) might want to read about.

Not really. You can try, and it may be good writing practice, and you may grow to be a very strong young adult author with time, or write a great id's book, but a 9 year old simply has not gone through the experiences needed understand what it is like to be a young adult. Instead, focus on things you can relate to, incorporate your own experiences, and maybe try to write an older character into a book directed towards a younger audience.

If you know enough about being a young adult, then yes. In fact, you are best placed to understand contemporary young adults. You should have some experience, and you can always ask older young adults for helpful ideas or to read your novel and give feedback.

Writing a novel for a certain age group while at the same time being a part of that specific age group helps. Base your book off a genre you enjoy reading and create characters that you look for in a book. Just go by things you like and roll with it from there. Remember, young adult novels almost always have a young adult as the main character.