Weird Questions from an Author

[S.B.]

My name is S.B. Roozenboom, an author and reader of Young Adult and New Adult titles. Some of my favorite reads are Winter Song, A Heart So Fierce and Broken, and of course, Twilight (I know, I know but come on it was a cult classic from my era!) :)

I hope I have this post in the right spot! I have a question for readers because I've been out of the loop for a while: in a contemporary young adult novel, what draws you in the most? Do you love a good, complicated romance? Do you like family sagas or books about relationships about parents and their kids? What do you not want in a young adult contemporary?

I would love to hear your answers!!! Please respond below or email me sbkraft@yahoo.com . Thanks so much! :)

[Elena]

I guess for me the plot plays a very important part in whether I love a book or not, but the one thing that's most relevant for me are the relationships between the characters, they way they interact with each other. Also, if the characters are well built and developed, or if they're just barely outlined. Romance is always nice, and in fact, I rarely read a book without romance, but I can overlook that if the story is great! Hope that helps:)

[Rasa]

Readers love to be shown not told about anything. Friendship- show it in actions friends take, not tell us they are friends. Romance- let us feel how and why characters fall in love, not write the insta thing. Protagonists-let us readers experience why they are bad, not merely tell about their evil deeds. And don't put romance as a plot line- it is boring. Budding feelings while plot line develops are mutch more realistic. And the most important for me personally- i want to feel while reading: joy, heartache, anger, dissapointment along the characters. I know it is hard to do and you will never please everybody , but as a rule readers most cherish the books that invoke the strongest feelings in them.
Don't rush the story, when book is too short, nobody will believe in events. Don't overdoo descriptions, let them come through the eyes of characters, of impressions characters experience. Nobody would spend full page of worth thinking about their surroundings, but they would comment in their head about something they like or dislike or are impressed by. Don't become repetitive. Physical attractiveness of characters don't need to be reminded about every chance you have. We, readers, got it the first time and already sketched it in our mind. However, you can always add little extra details as story goes on, like characters noticing hidden highlights in hair, or not obvious piercing etc.
Don't use the overused and abused tropes. Readers are tired of the same complications. There is no necessity for characters be abused in past, but if you touch the subject, don't make it as a character trait- being a victim may shape the worldview of character, but it is not who they are. Empower the suffering party. Don't use cheating as complication unless you want the readers to reject the character. Don't care, if some of us would relate and forgive in real life, give readers the power they want to have instead of what they lack. Don't use a heroine that is " nothing special" , but is extremely beautiful and ends up being " special snowflake". Give your characters strengths and flaws- nobody is perfect.

As for storyline genre- i personally can enjoy all types- friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, family sagas, contemporary and fantasy. It matters little as long as you can create either something unique or give new , unexpected twists to stories we may have heard before. Nobody wants to read a story, where climax and ending is glaringly obvious. Feed readers clues through the book, but give unexpected solution before HEA.

My apologies for the long rant, but i just wanted to outline what is most important in stories for myself and what have i glimpsed from other people reviews.
P.S. bad reviews under most books will highlight what to avoid when writing your own book. Read 100 bad reviews over wide variety of genres and you will have a list of things not to do.