NaNoWriMo and The Young Adult Fantasy Formula

I’ve been wistfully stalking the NaNoWriMo website and thinking about writing a novel ever since I wrote that post about taking a Big Jump.

I honestly don’t think I have the time this year, but I really am planning to do it one day. The thing is, I can never decide on what kind of novel to write.

The one thing I do know is that I absolutely refuse to write anything that involves sex scenes. I’d totally die of embarrassment. Honestly, I have no idea how these authors can look their readers in the eye. GAH! 

So I’m thinking that a Young Adult fantasy-type novel might be the way to go. God knows I read enough of them. They’re totally my guilty pleasure. I’m not really sure why… they just seem so much more fun than their adult counterparts. And you know how I just loooove young love. 

Also, I’ve noticed that a lot of these YA fantasy novels pretty much follow the same formula, so it should be pretty simple, right? 

First you start with a spunky but kind of social outcast-y type heroine with a secret special power, writing in the first person…

Then you throw in a smart-talkin’, super loyal sidekick/BFF…

And not one but TWO hunky love interests, because readers these days really seem to dig dividing themselves into teams. (Blame Twilight.)

Add in a few villains (mortal OR supernatural, or BOTH)…

And then some sort of battle of good vs. evil, where our spunky, special teen heroine plays an irreplaceable role. 

And then after the world is safe (for now) you throw in a twist and leave everyone hanging so they’ll buy the sequel.

Easy peasy, right? :)

WRONG! It’s really not as simple as all that, and I have the utmost respect for all authors  (even those who follow the rather overused formula above — and there are a LOT of them, believe me.)  So I’ll just have to move the NaNoWriMo jump a little further down my bucket list, to when I can do it justice. I’m sure even Felix Baumgartner had to prep a lot and wait until the time was right. 

Until then, well, we’ll just have to settle for this silly old blog. :D

Have a fab Friday, folks! 

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