Writing Self-Help: How Should Authors Portray the Protagonist in Young Adult Books?

by Lorilyn Roberts

For a book to make an impression on me, I must be able to identify with the protagonist. I think that is even more true with young adult readers. I remember reading a book by Randy Alcorn where the main character was a black man. I wondered if I would be able to relate to the protagonist. Mr. Alcorn did such a great job, I found myself fighting in the Vietnam War, being injured, and dealing with all the issues that the protagonist brought into his life from that event. 

I read the book for pure enjoyment, not knowing one day I would go back to school to get my Masters in Creative Writing. That book made an impression on me that never forgot. I realized that if a book is well-written, a reader should be able to identify with any kind of protagonist, and for me that even included a black man who fought in the Vietnam War.

Another example of a memorable protagonist is Scarlet O'Hara in Gone with the Wind. I read the book when I was a young seventeen-year-old. I went to Margaret Mitchell School and grew up in Atlanta. I had frequently been to the area called Tara and knew the historical setting well. But it takes more than that to create a relationship between the protagonist and the reader. Why did I identity with Scarlet O’Hara beyond the obvious?

The author, Margaret Mitchell, created a main character that was believable, endearing, and unpredictable. Scarlett represented a strong woman who was determined, smart, beautiful, passionate, and full of envy and jealousy. 

When I read Gone with the Wind  as a young adult, I wanted to believe I was like her. I admired her, particularly her strong will, determination, and self-confidence that I lacked. I actually did possess many of her qualities; even the hard-headedness and being too independent. It caused me many issues just as it was Scarlett’s downfall. I could relate.

Young readers today, typically young ladies, are very much like Scarlett O’Hara in many ways. The women’s movement has done much to propel women in the direction of Scarlett. Plus, human nature doesn’t change. We might live in different eras and face different problems, but the way a protagonist tackles those problems is what makes the story marvelous and memorable. The conflict, the twists and turns in the plot, the emotional turmoil, the uncertainty, with sub-characters who bring out the best and the worst in the protagonist, makes for a great story.

A classic is one that has staying power and can be enjoyed by multiple generations. No matter how many times I read the book or watch the movie, the final scene is etched in my memory when Scarlett asks Rhett, “Where should I go, what should I do?” and Rhett replies, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” What an awesome way to end a six-hundred page book.

Above all, authors need to make the protagonist reader-friendly, especially in young adult books. I've read several negative reviews by readers on Amazon who simply didn't like the protagonist. Perhaps she was too self-centered, too immature, or too flawed. Young adults want to read about heroes and heroines. Give the reader a flawed main character whom he or she cares about, put the protagonist in a life or death situation, add a little bit of magic (young adults love that), and chances are you will hook your reader all the way to the last page. Of course, it's easier said than done, but someone will write that next best best-seller, and it might as well be you.

A great book to help with character development is: Creating Unforgettable Characters, by Linda Seger. You can purchase it on Amazon here.

More Great Writing Tips from Jerry Jenkins

 

 

 

Don’t ever apologize for…

…wanting to be published. You’d be amazed at how often I hear from would-be writers who say they just want to write for the sake of writing. “I don’t care if it gets published.” Then why not just talk?

Get your work out there. Sure, a certain amount of ego is at play. Who doesn’t want to be known, to be successful, to see her name in print? You simply need to remember that publishing has to be a byproduct of your writing, not the end goal.

If you set out to glamorize yourself, write a bestseller, score, whatever you call it, you might enjoy a short-lived celebrity, but you won’t have a career. As Dean Koontz has taught, the purpose of writing is communication, and if what we write is not read, that purpose is not fulfilled.

The most attractive quality in a person is humility. Sometimes money and fame will come whether or not you expect or seek them. But if you become enamored with the trappings of success, they become your passion. You need to return to your first love.

Why are you a writer?

Are you an inspirational writer?

The answers to those questions should have nothing to do with yourself. If God and others are not the reasons you write, you might as well write solely for the general market.

That doesn’t mean everything you write has to be a sermon or packed with scripture, but your unique worldview should come through. 

As working writers, we should be always sending out proposals – or coming up with new proposals to pitch. Never write to Dear Sir or To Whom It May Concern. Find and write directly to the appropriate person by name. Then, here are my top tips for query letters and proposals.

1. Avoid mannerisms and multiple fonts in your emails to editors. This is akin to the old snail mail taboo of using colored paper as stationery. Editors seem to universally see this as a sign of an amateur.

2. Do not use bold or LARGER-THAN-NORMAL type anywhere in an email, proposal, query, or manuscript.

3. Your title must be positive. Not "Don't Let Depression Defeat You," but rather: "Winning Over Depression."

4. A manuscript, even transmitted electronically, must should be double-spaced (not single- or triple-spaced, or spaced at the 1.5 setting). Fix the default Word setting that calls for extra space between paragraphs. Indent paragraphs and remember, unlike how we learned to type business letters, only one space between sentences.

5. If the publisher asks for hard copy (rare these days), your manuscript should never be bound, stapled, clipped, or in a notebook. Editors want the pages in a stack, loose, with each page numbered and carrying the author's name.

6. The word "by" rarely appears on the cover of a book unless it is self-published, and even then it is the sign of an amateur.

7. The misspelling of the word "acknowledgments" (as "acknowledgements", a British variation) or "foreword" (as "forward") is another clue that you're an amateur. "Foreword" means "before the text"; it consists of "fore" and "word", and has nothing to do with direction.

8. Your manuscript should not have justified right margins. Use ragged right margins, the kind that makes your manuscript appear to have been typed rather than computer generated. Justified margins cause inconsistent spacing between words, which make for difficult reading for overworked editors and will also require tedious reformatting.

9. A common cliché in inspirational books is to include prayers in prefatory material. Even paraphrasing those to say, "My prayer is that God would…" is better than, "Lord, I pray…", but avoid either in the dedication or acknowledgments ("Lord, thank you for my wonderful editor…" Blech!).

10. You've heard the slogan "Just do it." Now learn to "Just say it." Imagine telling your story to a friend over coffee or writing a letter. Good writing is not about loads of adjectives and adverbs. It consists of powerful nouns and verbs. So many beginners fall into an overwrought style editors call "writtenese." Your relatives may love your flowery language, and perhaps your unpublished creative writing teacher does too, but read what sells. Usually you'll find it simple and straightforward. 

 

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Author of more than 180 books with sales of more than 70 million copies, including the best-selling Left Behind series, Jerry B. Jenkins is former vice president for publishing and currently chairman of the board of trustees for the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago.

 

Jerry's writing has appeared in Time, Reader's Digest, Parade, Guideposts, and dozens of Christian periodicals. Twenty of his books have reached The New York Times best-seller list (seven debuting number one). The Breakthrough, the final book in Jerry's Precinct 11 trilogy, released from Tyndale House Publishers in September 2012.

 

Jerry owns Jenkins Entertainment, a filmmaking company in Chicago, and the Christian Writers Guild, which aims to train tomorrow's professional Christian writers. Each student is personally mentored by a seasoned professional.

 

In January 2013, Jerry launched Christian Writers Guild Publishing (CWGP). Students take a six-month mentored course to guide them in writing their manuscripts, then CWGP publishes their books.

 

www.Jerry-Jenkins.com
www.ChristianWritersGuild.com



 

 

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