Writing for Young People
Critical Readings and Discussions on Craft
- Textbook
Writing for Young People
Critical Readings and Discussions on Craft
- Textbook
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Description
Applying the methodology of 'reading-as-a-writer' to the craft of writing for young people, this textbook combines critical analysis, unique author-insight and practical application of ideas to give writers the skills to create successful fiction for youth audiences. Under the guidance of children's author Elen Caldecott, compelling close readings dig deep into the construction of modern classics and contemporary middle-grade, YA, picture books and more to explore how paragraphs, sentences and words engineer specific reader responses. Interviews with the author of the extracted work follow before each chapter rounds off with writing exercises that prompt writers to engage with techniques and ideas discussed.
Accessible and equipping writers with the valuable knowledge and skills to write in one of the fastest-growing fields in creative writing, Writing for Young People
- Draws upon the works of prominent writers such as David Almond, Leigh Bardugo, Louis Sachar, Jasbinder Bilan, B. B. Alston, Frank Cotrell Boyce and many more
- Author interviews cover topics such as the book's origin, their writing and editing process and their perspective on the analysis made of their work
- Discusses vital craft techniques in novel-writing and editing including language, plotting, constructing characters, narrative time, worldbuilding, dialogue, cultural history, tropes and conventions
- Covers key contemporary issues that students, teachers and professional writers of fiction for youth audiences will encounter from villains, archetypes, class and race, and transnational writing to conceptions of childhood, environment, colonialism, power, coming-of-age and social justice
- Considers the role of wider literary and community landscapes in creating compelling texts
- Includes a list of Further Reading resources
Light-hearted but intellectually rigorous and rewarding, the field of writing for youth readers has been waiting for this book.
Table of Contents
Analysis of an extract from 'The House With Chicken Legs' by Sophie Andersen
Interview with Sophie Andersen
Exercises on myths, archetypes and villains in children's literature. Exercises on worldbuilding.
Chapter 2.
Analysis of an extract from 'The Strangeworld Travel Agency' by L.D. Lapinski
Interview with L.D.Lapinski
Exercises on class and racial construction of characters. Exercises on gender roles and gender identities.
Chapter 3.
Analysis of an extract from 'Amari & the Night Brothers' by B.B. Alston
Interview with B.B. Alston
Exercises on class and racial construction of characters. Exercises on plot and conflict.
Chapter 4.
Analysis of an extract from 'Cosmic' by Frank Cottrell Boyce
Interview with Frank Cottrell Boyce
Exercises on the unreliable narrator. Exercises on theme, premise and the guiding principle.
Chapter 5.
Analysis of an extract from 'Front Desk' by Kelly Yang
Interview with Kelly Yang
Exercises on transnational writing and constructions of working-class childhoods. Exercises on internal narrators.
Chapter 6.
Analysis of an extract from 'October, October' by Katya Balen
Interview with Katya Balen
Exercises on poetic writing, rhetoric, imagery and symbolism. Exercises on conceptions of childhood, environment and the natural world.
Chapter 7.
Analysis of an extract from 'Asha and the Spirit Bird' by Jasbinder Bilan
Interview with Jasbinder Bilan
Exercises on the Hero's Journey and its intersection with class and postcolonial writing. Exercises on setting and placing.
Chapter 8.
Analysis of an extract from 'Boy, Overboard' by Morris Gleitzman
Interview with Morris Gleitzman
Exercises on social justice and conceptions of childhood. Exercises on language and voice.
Chapter 9.
Analysis of an extract from 'Skellig' by David Almond
Interview with David Almond
Exercises on social realism and magic realism. Exercises on conceptions of adolescence.
Chapter 10.
Analysis of an extract from 'When the World Was Ours' by Liz Kessler
Interview with Liz Kessler
Exercises on dramatic irony. Exercises on 'authenticity', power dynamics and the responsibilities of an author.
Chapter 11.
Analysis of an extract from 'Murder Most Unladylike' by Robin Stevens
Interview with Robin Stevens
Exercises in genre tropes and exploding genre. Exercises on class and racial constructions.
Chapter 12.
Analysis of an extract from 'Holes' by Louis Sachar
Interview with Louis Sachar
Exercises on structure and narrative time. Exercises on plotting.
Chapter 13.
Analysis of an extract from 'Cane Warriors' by Alex Wheatle
Interview with Alex Wheatle
Exercises on voice. Exercises on constructions of childhood over time and anachronism.
Chapter 14.
Analysis of an extract from 'Lockwood and Co' by Jonathan Stroud
Interview with Jonathan Stroud
Exercises on writing horror. Exercises on vignettes, scenes and chapters.
Chapter 15.
Analysis of an extract from 'Six of Crows' by Leigh Bardugo
Interview with Leigh Bardugo
Exercises on psychic distance. Exercises on fantasy world-building
Chapter 16.
Analysis of an extract from 'They Both Die at the End' by Adam Silvera
Interview with Adam Silvera
Exercises on using tense creatively. Exercises on coming-of-age and constructions of adolescence
Bibliography
Index
Product details
| Published | Feb 05 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Paperback |
| Edition | 1st |
| Extent | 224 |
| ISBN | 9781350413115 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Dimensions | 234 x 156 mm |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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