--- title: With a Little Help, You Too Can Write a Young-Adult Novel description: In The Magic Words, Cheryl B. Klein sets out to inform would-be writers on how great novels for young readers work. canonical: https://time.com/4504028/magic-words/ author: Kirsten Salyer article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-22T13:27:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T00:45:51.275Z article:section: Ideas og:title: With a Little Help, You Too Can Write a Young-Adult Novel og:description: A new guide explains how og:url: https://time.com/4504028/magic-words/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8178240226d9ab4f/6988a708ab6d7761bf6ab530/young-adult-books-anneofgreengables-thehungergames-thefaultinourstars-marcelo-thegoldencompass.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: young-adult-books-anneofgreengables-thehungergames-thefaultinourstars-marcelo-thegoldencompass og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: With a Little Help, You Too Can Write a Young-Adult Novel twitter:description: A new guide explains how twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8178240226d9ab4f/6988a708ab6d7761bf6ab530/young-adult-books-anneofgreengables-thehungergames-thefaultinourstars-marcelo-thegoldencompass.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # With a Little Help, You Too Can Write a Young-Adult Novel  by [Kirsten Salyer](https://time.com/author/kirsten-salyer/)  ## Kirsten Salyer Sep 22, 2016 1:27 PM UTC  Photo of a stack of Young Adult books. (Top to bottom): Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery, Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Photo of a stack of Young Adult books. (Top to bottom): Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery, Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.No Credit  by [Kirsten Salyer](https://time.com/author/kirsten-salyer/)  ## Kirsten Salyer Sep 22, 2016 1:27 PM UTC The books we read when we’re young have a special sort of power: they can inspire us to be brave and resilient (_Matilda_ by Roald Dahl), take us on thrilling adventures (_Divergent_ by Veronica Roth) and even introduce us to tragedy (_The Bridge to Terabithia_ by Katherine Paterson). They’re as formative as anything else in our young lives, and sometimes they’re the first place we encounter larger-than-life ideas. Consider the lasting cultural import of _To Kill a Mockingbird_ or even the urgency of a newer best seller like _I’ll Give You the Sun_, Jandy Nelson’s 2014 novel centering on a gay protagonist. In [_The Magic Words_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/039329224X/?tag=timecom-20), Cheryl B. Klein, an executive editor at Scholastic whose projects include the last two _Harry Potter_ books, sets out to inform would-be writers on how great novels for young readers work. The market for YA novels is booming: sales in the children’s and YA sector have been neck and neck with those of adult books in recent years, and adult authors, including Meg Wolitzer (_Belzhar_) and Carl Hiaasen (_Razor Girl_), are getting in on the phenomenon. Magic Words aims to be a master class. If you think it sounds silly, it isn’t. In the era of elevated self-help sensations like Marie Kondo and Brené Brown, _The Magic Words_ is of a piece. Klein deconstructs the seemingly obvious (clear plotlines, sympathetic characters) to reveal the technical intricacies of some beloved classics. L.M. Montgomery surely didn’t whip up _Anne of Green Gables_ as a cash-in endeavor. But for those who want to capitalize, Anne is instructive: what’s timeless and broadly appealing about Anne—her teenage heart and impulses—is what to examine. Once you understand that, Klein encourages you to get personal: What makes you ideal to write your story? And what does it mean to the reader? On the latter question, _The Magic Words_ is more than a handbook. It is also a timely social commentary on the responsibility YA writers have to young adults. Those who write to a younger demographic must start with an awareness of their readers—not only their age but also how they might connect with the issues, both the mundane (bullies) and the cultural (tolerance) that characters face. The narratives we tell young readers can influence how they understand and value the world around them. The magic isn’t in the words; it’s in how the words come together to reflect and affirm the realities of a diverse young-adult experience. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4504028/magic-words/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4504028/magic-words/"},"headline":"With a Little Help, You Too Can Write a Young-Adult Novel","datePublished":"2016-09-22T13:27:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:45:51.275Z","description":"A new guide explains how","url":"https://time.com/4504028/magic-words/","keywords":["Books","Hunger Games","Divergent","young adult"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8178240226d9ab4f/6988a708ab6d7761bf6ab530/young-adult-books-anneofgreengables-thehungergames-thefaultinourstars-marcelo-thegoldencompass.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kirsten Salyer","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kirsten-salyer/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8178240226d9ab4f/6988a708ab6d7761bf6ab530/young-adult-books-anneofgreengables-thehungergames-thefaultinourstars-marcelo-thegoldencompass.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"young-adult-books-anneofgreengables-thehungergames-thefaultinourstars-marcelo-thegoldencompass","caption":"young-adult-books-anneofgreengables-thehungergames-thefaultinourstars-marcelo-thegoldencompass","creditText":"No Credit","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4504028/magic-words/","name":"With a Little Help, You Too Can Write a Young-Adult Novel"}}]}] ```