I didn't 'decide' to write YA, per se. But every time I thought of a story, it featured characters 15, 16, 17.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
When I wrote my first story, all the characters were teenagers because I think 16, 17 is a great age.
Writing a teen character is something I wanted to try again for a long time!
I didn't plan to write YA - I had a story that simply wasn't working as a straight-up fantasy novel.
After graduation, I wanted to work for 'Sassy', which I loved, but it had folded. So I wound up at 'Seventeen' for three years on staff and two as a contributor, and I wrote these great stories that nobody ever believes 'Seventeen' does. Serious stories for teens about social justice issues - gun control, migrant farm workers.
I have always been drawn to coming-of-age stories and books and movies featuring compelling young characters.
I suppose I started writing seriously at 16 years old. I thought I wrote a novel at 16 and sent it to New York! They sent it back because it wasn't novel.
I wrote my first story when I was six or seven.
I don't think I prefer writing for one age group above another. I am just as pleased with a story which I feel works well for very small children as I do with a story for young adults.
I was 17 when I decided to write stories as big as cathedrals, overflowing with the kind of memorable and audacious characters Walker Percy, Ernest Hemingway and Saul Bellow created.
I used to be an editor and I was editing young adult series. I didn't really like the books that I was reading, so I decided that I would write a book about something I'd want to read if I was 16. It turned into a Cinderella story... I developed a proposal and the characters of 'Gossip Girl' for my job.