How To Write A (Good) YA Romance – Part 1, Characters

So in relation to my post about writing Young Adult novels, my friend Dayna over on Goodreads brought up a book called Inescapable, which she used as an example of everything that went against my suggestions and ended up being a bad book.

Is the book really bad?  I don’t know, I haven’t read it.  But Dayna was one of the beta readers on my Cathouse series, and though she’s a tough critic (God, is she tough!), I always found her feedback to be intelligent and very accurate.  So if she says this book has issues, then I’m inclined to agree with her – though I am speaking from ignorance here.  If I ever actually have time to read again, then maybe I’ll get around to reading it and actually bother to have an informed opinion for once.  You all know how much I LOVE to read bad YA.  (There’s something wrong with me.  Seriously.)

But I did go on Goodreads and check out the reviews for Inescapable.  As always, I usually start with the one star reviews and then work my way up to try and gauge what the book is really like.  One of the criticisms I saw very often, even in the more favorable reviews, was concerning the relationships of the characters.  To many people, these relationships just didn’t seem to work.

I actually see this criticism in lots of YA novels, particularly the Twilight rip-offs.  Readers just get upset and frustrated over a lack of authenticity in the romance of these books.  So this got me to thinking – what DOES make a good YA romance?  What is the big difference between a book that will generate legions of rabid and loyal fans, and a book that will generate hatred, spite, and boredom?  I then decided I’d do what I always do when a question like this pops into my head…

I decided to write a super-long essay on it to show how much of a smarty-pants I am.

Now, as a writer, I guess you could say my skills at writing romance and character relationships is debatable.  However, as a reader and certified evil genius (thank you very much), I believe I am able to expertly analyze works of fiction and deconstruct what makes them work and what makes them fail.

In this little ditty (yes, I called my essay a ditty, deal with it), I’m going to attempt to break down how to write good, solid, believable, budding romances for the YA genre.  These won’t be suggestions on writing bodice-rippers or erotica type things.  This will be more focused on the Twilight school of angsty romance that dominates YA literature, in the hopes that YA writers out there will find it educational and help them to create strong romances in their novels rather than eye-roll worthy prose that will get them cyber-bullied on Goodreads.

Let’s get to it, shall we?

Part 1:  Crafting A Female Protagonist

The vast majority of YA Romance centers around a female protagonist.  I’m guessing this is because these books are mostly written by women and aimed at women as their target audience.  Having a female main character is meant to be a way to have the audience identify with the main character, and vicariously experience the romance through her, thus generating enough “feels” to get the reader to fangirl her little heart out.

Though this may seem like the simplest, most brain-dead concept in the world for a writer to wrap one’s head around, apparently it’s more complicated than it appears.  I say this because it seems like so many YA authors just get it wrong.

They fall into the trap of writing a “Mary Sue,” which is basically the creation of an infallible character who inexplicably has the world revolve around them, no matter how shallow, vapid, stupid, self-centered, or ridiculous they are.  Mary Sues tend to be a thinly veiled avatar of the writer herself, which she then uses to live out pretty much her ideal fantasy, oblivious to all thoughts of tension, drama, or believability.  At the end of the day, Mary Sues can do no wrong, and everything comes easy to them.

How do you know if a character is a Mary Sue?  Well, here are some of the characteristics to look out for:

Even though she thinks she isn’t pretty, she has almost every man she meets falling in love with her.
Her friends will do anything for her, no matter how crazy, dangerous, or stupid it might be, without having any motivation beyond simply helping her.
She will do things that would get normal people in serious trouble without any consequences.
Her plans always work out, no matter how silly, stupid, or contrived they may be.
If she gets in trouble, everyone around her will rush to her aid, despite the consequences to their own well-being.
The bad guys seem intently focused on hurting her because she’s so special, as opposed to actually having a good reason for tormenting her.
No matter what skill or job she performs, she’s inexplicably good at it with little or no training/practice.
She pulls off special abilities that go against previously established rules from the narrative that were not properly set up beforehand.
She doesn’t seem to realize she’s a Mary Sue, and often complains about her non-Mary Sue-ness, even while she is Mary Sueing.

Mary Sues are extremely frustrating to read about, and they often turn an audience off completely.  But they are so easy to write, authors will often fall into creating one as the main character of their story.  You can usually spot an amateur writer based on the sheer level of Mary Sue-ness her main character possesses, because it is challenging to craft a believable heroine that your readers can not only identify with, but also root for.

So let’s talk about creating a female protagonist that won’t make your reader want to join “Team Strangle This B*tch.”

Firstly, you have to look at your female protagonist as the foundation for the romance you eventually hope to build.  Many writers think it’s the “love interest” that is the foundation, since those are the characters that get so much attention from readers, but this isn’t the case.  If your female protagonist is weak, or a Mary Sue, your entire narrative will fail, even if you have a great leading man.

Next, you’ll want to have your female protagonist be a good “cypher” for your reader.  Essentially, you want her to appeal to every insecurity your average reader could ever identify with, so that they mentally step into the shoes of your heroine and feel as though it is them playing the part.

I think this is why Twilight became so popular, because the character of Bella Swan was written in a way that allowed the reader to identify with her and step into her shoes.  If you analyze the first novel, you can see lots of themes that your typical teenager can relate to: a broken home.  A distant father.  Starting over in a new school.  Trying to fit in with a new crowd.  Feeling insecure about your looks.  Finding a boy who doesn’t like you but who you think is attractive.  Feeling lost in a life you hate.  Feeling misunderstood.

These are all things so many “bookworm” female readers have experienced, and these are all things which the character of Bella Swan embodies.  Though it can be argued that Bella Swan is your quintessential YA Mary Sue, the set-up of her character was so well done, by the time the Mary Sue-ness starts, the reader almost wants her to become perfect, because the character’s wish-fulfillment is now the reader’s as well.

The point I am trying to make here is that your female heroine should be relatable from the beginning.  This means you should give her insecurities that your audience can relate to, but also are things the character must actually struggle with, as opposed to “cosmetic” insecurities.  You often see writers make their female heroine’s “clumsy,” so much so that they’re tripping over their own feet half the time, regardless of the fact that if anyone was actually that clumsy, they’d most likely have accidentally killed themselves long before they got to their teen years.

If your character is insecure about her looks, have her struggle with her self-image.  If she is from a broken home, show us how that impacts her life.  If she’s struggling at school, give us a real sense of the hell her everyday life is.  If you choose to make her “plain,” don’t have every boy in her orbit falling madly in love with her.  Make her work to get men interested in her.

Remember that your main protagonist must always be judged by her ability to overcome obstacles.  Seeing how your heroine finds the strength to become beautiful, smart, caring, kind, and compassionate is what will make the reader fall in love with her.  They’ll root for her to succeed if they see she is constantly fighting to overcome whatever insecurities she might be dealing with, because the reader wants to overcome those insecurities as well.

Figure out what your readers will identify with, and base your main character on those traits.  Make her a cypher, but make her strong as well.  Strong does not mean she goes around acting like a man – cursing, fighting, being spiteful or mean, etc.  Strong means having the courage, tenacity, and perseverance to overcome the obstacles you choose to place in front of her, whether those obstacles are getting the man of her dreams, or saving the world from an apocalypse.

Part 2:  Crafting A Love Interest

If there’s one thing YA authors of all stripes seem to be good at, it’s making a good love interest.  Even bad YA books seem to be able to make the object of their main character’s affection something their readers will drool over.  In lots of cases, a good love interest is what will salvage a bad book for most readers.  This is often why so many writers spend so much time on them.

When it comes to your love interest, it’s perfectly okay to make him a Gary Stu (the male equivalent of a Mary Sue).  You want the type of guy your audience will go ga-ga for.  A man all women want and all men want to be. You want him to be good-looking, funny, smart, charming, rich, mysterious, and all the things that make girls go cross-eyed while having their tongues roll out of their mouths and hit the floor.

Here are some traits you’ll want to incorporate into your love interest:

He must be ridiculously good looking.
He must be ridiculously, ridiculously good looking.
Seriously, he must be so good looking, it’s hard to look at him.
Did I mention he must be good looking?
He must be a mystery to the main character.
He must have a dark secret or tragic past (or both!)
He must be aggressively sexual.
He must be willing to pursue the object of his desire.
He must be protective of your main character and willing to fight for her.

If you look at every YA romance ever written, you’ll find at least one of these traits in the main love interest (usually the one about him being ridiculously good looking).  When crafting your love interest, always be asking yourself this question:

What kind of a fantasy man does my audience want?

This is how you should build your character.  To use a crude example, if a man were writing about his ideal woman, he may make her have extremely large breasts, a supermodel’s body, and a willingness to have porn-quality sex at the drop of a hat.  So what is the female equivalent of that?

Aside from the looks, it will be all the things that MAKE women want to have sex with him.  Things like his attitude, his humor, his mystery, his energy.  Women tend to place importance on the emotional aspects of a romance, so think about characteristics that trigger emotions within women, and give those to your primary love interest.  Every woman fantasizes about the “rebellious bad boy” archetype.  The kind of man who’ll run in, sweep them off their feet, and whisk them away – rules be damned.  That is probably why you see this type of “bad boy” character so often in YA fiction.

Women like a little bit of danger and intrigue when it comes to their fantasy men.  However, a big mistake most YA authors make is taking this to an extreme.  I think this essentially comes down to the author really not understanding how men truly operate, and letting fantasy run away from reality.  Too often, the love interest in these books will do things that would get a normal guy thrown in jail.  We’re talking about stalking, attempted rape, threats of violence or even death.  Heck, Edward has to struggle to keep from constantly killing Bella in Twilight because she’s essentially a delicious snack to him.  Not only that, the guy breaks into her bedroom at night to watch her sleep.

I’m not saying this type of behavior is not something your audience might want from their “bad boy” love interest.  But I am saying that in order to make your love interest believable, you have to play by certain rules.  Essentially, you need to ask yourself:

If my male lead wasn’t ridiculously, ridiculously, ridiculously good-looking, would any sane woman put up with this behavior?

If the answer is “No,” then you should probably change the man’s behavior.  Sure, if someone is attractive, they are given a lot of leeway by those who are attracted to them to behave badly.  But in the real world, that type of behavior will only go so far.  I mean, I don’t care how hot a woman is, if she keeps threatening to cut my wiener off, I’ll probably want to keep my distance.  After all, there are plenty of attractive women out there who DON’T want to cut off my wiener.  (At least, I really hope there are!)

Keep in mind that the fantasy is about the love interest becoming enamored with the main character, and seeing him fall in love with her, despite her flaws.  Doing things like catching a gaze at her through her window, brushing her hand with his fingers just to feel the sensation of her skin, getting into mischief to try and take his mind off her… those are all things that can accomplish what the audience craves.

You do not need to descend into obsessive stalker territory to show that your love interest is falling for your heroine.  Trying to sketch a picture of her face as he thinks about how beautiful she is can be just as powerful a scene to write as breaking into her room and watching her while she sleeps.  Both these examples communicate the same desire from the character, the only difference is one is normal and believable and the other is creepy and illegal.

Try and create a love interest that embodies your reader’s fantasies, but be sure to keep him “grounded” in reality.  This will make him more than just a shallow boy-toy for your narrative to exploit.  You should always strive to give your love interest depth and believability.  This will make your audience love your ridiculously, ridiculously good-looking bad boy even more.

To Be Continued…

In the next part of this series, I’ll be discussing writing aspects of the actual romance, and take a close look at how your main character and love interest should interact.  As always, my ego feeds off your participation, so if you would like to leave your thoughts, insights, feedback, or rants in the comments section, I would greatly appreciate it.

I hope you enjoyed this rather lengthy beginning to this series on writing YA Romances.  Stay tuned for part two in a few days!