Why Characters in YA are Missing the Mark

From the overly quirky to the cardboard cutouts, the young adult section has an overwhelming amount of characters that almost feel like real teens but are missing something.

Ever read a book with a main character you just couldn't root for?

Perhaps, they didn't feel human or perhaps they were too relatable to the point of being bland, but you just couldn't connect with these characters.

Which as a writer, this always makes me take a double look at my own characters.

Are they two dimensional?

Unlovable?

Unrealistic?

And if so, why? And how can we, as aspiring authors prevent this?

The main problem I find in many protagonists in young adult fiction is that they don't feel like teens.

Sometimes they are written like twenty-year-olds, the parents aren't really in the picture, partying every night, crazy road trips and adventures, smoking, drinking, and constant sex. It's just not a realistic way of everyday life for the majority of teens.

Sometimes they're just a stereotype, an antiquated label that shouldn't be put up on a pedestal or glorified but is all the same.

These aren't real teens.

They're missing heart. grit, determination, and a somewhat charismatic nature that all characters need.

What is grit?

/ɡrit/

noun

 courage and resolve; strength of character.

Think of Frodo and Sam, they both have heart, grit, determination, and they are easy to like.

This doesn't mean they have to be perfect, far from it, but they have to be a character that the reader can connect to and root for. 


How do you make a character that readers will want to win? 

Make them heartfelt. Give them heart. 

Let them have fears, hopes, and dreams. Let their souls be authentic. Let their pain reach through the pages of your book and touch the reader, staining their souls with ink. 

Put yourself into them, because you, dear writer, are a real person. Make them real. Write with tears in your eyes and laughter on your lips. 

Write what's in your soul.

Don't just write labels, skin colors, sexualities, hobbies, etc. Write people.  

And you cannot fail. 

As always, tell me your thoughts down below.

Happy Writing,