Prompts to Ask Your Teen Self: Discover Ideas for Your YA Novel

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The best advantage to being a teen writer is this: You can relate with the teens of today since--well, you are one. Adult authors may remember what it was like being a teenager, however they can only recall their experience being raised in their own generation. Not the generation today.

This, I believe, is one huge benefit that teen writers have. In fact, when I wrote PURPLE MOON, one comment I received from professionals in the industry was that my voice was that of an authentic teenager. It didn't sound like a teen trying to become an adult.

Even if you don't want to necessarily pursue publication at this age, use your teen years to your advantage while you can! (Trust me, they slip by far faster than you think. Which is strange. Because while you're in them, it seriously feels like it's going to last for-ev-er.)

So, below are some prompts I've compiled for you. Use your journal, Penzu, blog, Microsoft Word, or whatever you'd like to answer the questions below.

Then, if you want to write YA in the future, you can look back at your responses and discover new ideas for your books. (Or you can generate ideas for the YA book you're working on now. Or maybe you're an adult who needs to recall exactly what life was like as a teen. Or you could answer the questions from the perspective of your main character. Use these prompts however you'd wish!)

  

Prompts to Ask Your Teen Self ...

• What taps into my emotions? What makes me laugh and cry?
• What is the most embarrassing thing that’s happened to me as a teenager?
• What are my doubts, fears, desires, and general questions about life?
• What do I struggle with the most as a teen?
• Who are my friends? Describe them as if they were a character in a book. What is their personality, appearance, strengths, weaknesses? How have they shaped me into the person I am today?
• What has been my best memory as a teenager so far?
• What has been the hardest memory as a teenager so far?
• What do I want most in life?
• What kind of person do I hope to become?
• What is my family situation like, and how do I feel about that? (This is starting to sound like a psychiatrist office ... )
• What are my insecurities? Fears?
• What annoys me the most?
• What makes me on-top-of-the-world excited?
• What are my strengths and weaknesses?
• How would I describe my personality? My appearance?
• What is the average day of school like for me? Or the average day as a homeschooler? What do I think about my teachers, classmates, classes, clubs, etc.?
• How do I spend my free time?
• Do I have a boyfriend? If so, describe him. What is your relationship like, and why am I attracted to him? If not, would I like to have a boyfriend? Why or why not? What kind of guys am I attracted to?

I also recommend that you keep a journal, even if you only write in it once a day. Not only is this therapeutic and a great writing discipline, but it can serve as possible material for your future books as well. {When you write a journal entry, try to do so in a way that shows rather than tells.}

What other prompts could I add to this list? If you keep a journal, has it helped you generate new ideas for your stories?

Journaling To Turn Memories Into Scenes

(This post is part of a guest post series for Shaynie at Journaling Journeys. Visit her blog for more great journaling tips!)

Have you ever thought about what your life would read like if it were made into a book? One of the reasons why I love journaling so much is because it is the story of my life. I can look back at a journal and remember what it was like during a specific season of my life. All of the memories and emotions start flooding back as I read. It's almost like picking up an old book, returning to the places I had completely forgotten about.

If you're an aspiring author, it's very recommended that you keep a journal. Especially if you're wanting to capture moments the "write" way. However, the only thing that's not so great about journaling about your day is that it's almost like you're telling instead of showing (example: "Today I took my little brother and sister to the park. I had so much fun pushing them on the swings and watching as they went down the slides.") The reason why authors are told to "show" instead of "tell" in their books is because the reader cannot experience the moment if it's being told. They can't feel the excitement or completely grasp why the person was having fun, simply because they're only being told about it. The author isn't taking them to the setting and letting them live the moment with the character. So if you're looking back at your journal ten years from now, it'll be difficult and almost impossible to remember specific details or exactly how you felt during a certain moment in your life.

Journals can be a great source of inspiration for authors. Especially a YA author who is searching through the journals they kept during their teen years for story/scene ideas, or if they'd just like to be reminded of what it was liked to be a teenager. However, although you can write a journal entry about your first date, it won't exactly take you back to the moment. Unless, of course, you start a journal to turn your memories into scenes.

How should you do this? For me, the best way would be by creating a file under the My Documents folder. In this journal, instead of "telling" about a significant part of your day, show it. You'll basically be acting as if you're the main character in your own novel. And if you hope to become an author one day, keeping this journal could possibly help you in the future. It can also be a great way to completely capture a certain moment of your life so you could some day "re-live" it rather than be told about it.

Turning your memories into scenes can also sharpen your writing tremendously. If you write at least one scene every day, not only will you be developing your own writing voice, but you'll also start to become more conscientious of details when you're not writing - such as being aware of senses, how something that someone says to you makes you feel, yours and other people's body language, expressions, character traits, etc. all of which are very important to study if you want to be an author one day.

Wouldn't it be neat to one day be able to experience a certain moment of your life again through the words that you've written? It'll almost be like you're reading a book that God wrote (other than the Bible, of course). Because even though he didn't physically write it, he is ultimately the author of your life. Then one day you can look back and see specifically how He arranged all of the moments in your life for a certain purpose, to bring about an ending that only he has in mind.

That's why I think it'd be such a great idea to start this journal. Because if you do, you'll be recording parts of your story that the Author of Life himself is writing. Simply by turning your memories into scenes.

Capturing Moments The “Write” Way

I love remembering. Maybe a little too much. My family is always picking on the fact that my brain works like a calendar. They’re often asking me in what day, month and year that certain events and occasions took place.

Yes, I love to remember events by dates, but also by seasons—spiritual and physical seasons, so that I know where I came from and where I’m going. Who I was, who I am now, and allowing God to prepare me for who I’m going to be. And I think the teenage years are filled with many great opportunities to “capture”, especially if you love to write fiction. Very often I think of great ideas that can be used in my stories because of things that I do with my friends, or places I’ve visited. But it’s more of a challenge trying to remember everything, especially specific details, without "capturing" them in some way.There are many ways to do so, but there are five main ways that I recommended to capture moments and seasons in your life:

1. Have a calendar to keep track of the “big events” in your life. For example: dance recitals, travels, snow days, etc.
2. Keep a journal. I like to keep more than one – one as a "regular" to write in often, and another to summarize seasons in my life - capturing memories in more detail. Starting this year I’ve decided to keep a journal to write in at the end of each month to summarize what the month consisted of in general, the “big things” that happened each week, and the special memories that was created that month.
3. Take pictures, but don’t let that distract you from enjoying the experience. The other night I had the opportunity to go to my first Hillsong United concert. During it, I realized how difficult it was for me to enjoy the concert while I was recording it on my camera. Because of that, I only captured snippets every now and then, knowing that would be enough for me to remember the concert. And if I wanted to, I could just search on Youtube to find plenty of concert videos uploaded by users. I don’t take as many pictures as I probably should, although I would love to. Usually it’s because I forget. Yes, I love photography, but I’m not as much of a “photographer” as I know many of you are. However, I love sunsets and such, so I enjoy taking pictures of beautiful scenes, along with a few pictures of myself, my friends and family. But that’s basically the extent of it. However, if there are certain things that I would like to remember visually, I capture it on camera.I can usually fill in the details through my memory or by journaling.
4. Make scrapbooks or keep photo albums. I love to scrapbook, but because it is so time-consuming, I rarely do, unless it’s a gift. I would love to start, though, because I think it’s a creative and organized way to remember seasons and special occasions.
5. Try to remember the bigger details—the “big picture”, and the special details that create the big picture will fall into place. For example, which moments in particular stood out to you in the month of February? Did you spend time with your loved ones and create special memories in honor of Valentine’s Day? Big details like those can help create the “big picture” to capture certain seasons of our lives.

Remember: It’s good to remember. But it’s not always good to look back in a way that causes you to wander off the course you’re on now.

Realize that God is transforming you and using your past as a way to create new strength within you. Your youth should be the time to explore who you are, mature physically and spiritually, and to grow into who God has called you to be. These years bring special memories and big changes—perfect opportunities to “capture”.

It’s exciting to look back at old pictures and journal entries from when we were in different seasons ofour lives and see how God has brought us from then to where we are now. It’s funny to remember what we were like, how different we’ve become, but also to see how we’re still the same person with the same God-given passions and personality. For example, I found a journal entry that I wrote when I was eight that says how much I would love to be a writer and an actress. The reason that I gave for wanting to write was because “it just shows really good stories. People like books because it just feels up that tiny whole inside of you that just wants you to read and read some more” and also because “I want to do this just to make people excited, for me to have fun and show my talents. That is the main dreams that I want to have come true.”

“Capturing the moment” and remembering is a great tool for fiction writer’s especially, so we can look back and come up with plenty of story or character ideas and emotions. Don’t just go with the flow, allowing life to just “happen”. Life is too special - too short to be wasted or to allow those special moments to be taken for granite and forgotten... especially our youth. Capture it. The “write” way.


“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” ~Ecclesiastes 3:1

~~~ Why do you think it's important
that we remember the big picture in a healthy manner?
Do you have any special or organized ways that you "capture" moments and remember seasons? Have you ever wished that you had kept a journal or taken more pictures during a certain time in your life?

PS: Tomorrow is your last chance to enter the "Me, Just Different" by Stephanie Morrill giveaway! Click here to enter.