50749f8e2b
- 8 company agents: Lyra (intake), Selene (CEO), Atlas (research), Nova (publishing ops), Iris (author), Devon (dev editor), Lane (line editor), Cora (continuity editor) - 19 additional templates (20 total): blog, recipe, short_story, book pipeline, ai_article, planning, boardroom, quick, project_index - 5 skill guides: YA, Romance, SciFi, Blog, Recipe writing - Rewritten charter and business plan Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
139 lines
5.8 KiB
Markdown
139 lines
5.8 KiB
Markdown
# YA Fiction Style Guide — Crimson Leaf Publishing
|
||
|
||
This guide is authoritative for all Young Adult (YA) fiction produced at CLP.
|
||
Every agent writing or editing YA content must read and apply this guide.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## What Makes YA, YA
|
||
|
||
YA fiction is defined by its protagonist (typically 14–19 years old) and the emotional
|
||
experience it offers to teen readers — though a large portion of YA readers are adults.
|
||
|
||
The core contract with the YA reader: **intense emotion, high stakes, and transformation**.
|
||
The protagonist MUST change from who they were at the start. The reader lives through
|
||
that change with them.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Voice: The Most Important Element
|
||
|
||
YA voice is NOT a dumbed-down adult voice. It is:
|
||
- **Present and internal** — readers live inside the protagonist's head
|
||
- **Specific** — teens notice details adults overlook (the brand of shoes, the exact shade of embarrassment)
|
||
- **Contradictory** — teens think and feel in conflicting currents simultaneously
|
||
- **Urgent** — everything feels like it matters MORE than it objectively should
|
||
- **Funny-dark** — YA handles grief, abuse, and trauma, but often with a sardonic undercurrent
|
||
|
||
**What to avoid:**
|
||
- Narrative distance — no "She thought about her feelings." Get inside them.
|
||
- Adult wisdom delivered to teens — protagonists don't lecture; they discover
|
||
- Condescension — never write down to the reader
|
||
- Moralizing endings — the protagonist learns, but the book doesn't preach
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Age of Characters
|
||
|
||
- **Protagonist**: 15–18 for most contemporary; up to 19 for upper YA / new adult crossover
|
||
- **Love interests**: same age range; no significant age gaps with protagonists
|
||
- **Adults**: present but not the solution. Adults are obstacles, background, or limited allies.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Content Boundaries
|
||
|
||
**YA is allowed to include:**
|
||
- Death (including suicide — handle with care, follow safe messaging guidelines)
|
||
- Violence (not gratuitous; consequence-driven)
|
||
- Romance (kissing, emotional intimacy, attraction; "fade to black" for explicit scenes)
|
||
- Substance use (shown with real consequences, not glorified)
|
||
- Grief, trauma, mental health struggles (handled with honesty, not exploited)
|
||
- LGBTQ+ characters and storylines (normalized — not the entire focus unless that IS the story)
|
||
|
||
**YA must not include:**
|
||
- Explicit sexual content
|
||
- Gratuitous gore with no narrative purpose
|
||
- Content that glamorizes self-harm without consequence
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## The Big Three Emotional Beats
|
||
|
||
Every YA novel lives or dies on these three:
|
||
|
||
1. **Identity** — Who am I, really? The protagonist is always in the process of becoming.
|
||
2. **Belonging** — Where do I fit? Family, friend group, the wider world.
|
||
3. **First Love / Deep Loyalty** — The first relationship that feels like the most important thing in the universe.
|
||
|
||
At least one of these must be at the center of the story. Most successful YA holds all three in tension.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Chapter Structure
|
||
|
||
- **Target chapter length**: 2,500–4,000 words
|
||
- **Chapter endings**: Every chapter must end with a hook — a question, a revelation, a shift, or a cliffhanger
|
||
- **Opening hook**: First sentence must pull the reader in. Start in motion. No waking up, no weather descriptions.
|
||
- **Chapters as episodes**: Each chapter is its own micro-story (a want → obstacle → partial resolution/complication)
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Common YA Sub-Genres and Their Conventions
|
||
|
||
### Contemporary YA
|
||
- Realistic present-day setting
|
||
- Emotional/social stakes (coming out, divorce, loss, friendship betrayal)
|
||
- Voice is paramount — the prose style IS the book
|
||
- Comps: *The Fault in Our Stars*, *To All the Boys I've Loved Before*
|
||
|
||
### YA Fantasy (High / Low / Urban)
|
||
- Magic systems must have rules and costs — power without limits is boring
|
||
- Chosen One trope is acceptable ONLY if subverted
|
||
- World-building must serve the story, not overwhelm it
|
||
- Comps: *The Cruel Prince*, *An Ember in the Ashes*, *Six of Crows*
|
||
|
||
### YA Romance / Romantasy
|
||
- The emotional arc IS the plot — the external conflict exists to force the characters together and apart
|
||
- Enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, and grumpy/sunshine are evergreen structures
|
||
- Sexual tension is built through almost-moments, proximity, and loaded dialogue
|
||
- Comps: *From Blood and Ash*, *A Court of Thorns and Roses*
|
||
|
||
### YA Sci-Fi / Dystopian
|
||
- The world rules must be internally consistent
|
||
- The social commentary must be earned through the story, not stated as thesis
|
||
- Comps: *The Hunger Games*, *Divergent*, *Legend*
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Tropes: Use With Purpose
|
||
|
||
| Trope | Use It? | How |
|
||
|---|---|---|
|
||
| Chosen One | Yes, with subversion | The protagonist resists or questions the role |
|
||
| Love Triangle | Use sparingly | Both interests must be genuinely interesting; don't make one obviously wrong |
|
||
| Enemies to Lovers | Yes | Conflict must be real and specific, not contrived |
|
||
| Fake Dating | Yes | Works well when the "fake" relationship surfaces genuine emotional truth |
|
||
| Brooding Love Interest | Yes | Give them depth and a reason for the brooding |
|
||
| Insta-love | Avoid | Build attraction through conflict and proximity |
|
||
| Chosen-Destiny Prophecy | Use carefully | Subvert it or the protagonist earns it |
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Pre-Assigned Character Names
|
||
|
||
When the `book_outline` template provides pre-assigned names, use them EXACTLY.
|
||
Do NOT substitute defaults like Jax, Elara, Ryder, Quinn, Knox, or Zane unless those
|
||
were assigned. Character names are fixed at outline time.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Prose Style Guidance for CLP YA
|
||
|
||
Unless the project brief specifies a different style:
|
||
- **POV**: First-person past tense preferred (most YA reads this way)
|
||
- **Pace**: Fast in action scenes, slow in emotional peaks
|
||
- **Dialogue**: Teens speak in fragments, interrupt themselves, use current idiom (but avoid dated slang)
|
||
- **Internal monologue**: Frequent, wry, often self-contradicting
|
||
- **Chapter openings**: Begin with action, dialogue, or a disorienting image — never exposition
|