A Writer's Guide: Description of Young Adult Romance

What is young adult romance? 

Young adult romance is romantic novels for an audience from the ages 12-18. 

What does young adult romance include? 

Young adult romance have many plot structures and tropes, including sweet-romances, heart-breaking dramas, but in this novel, we will focus mainly on dark romance.  

What is the age range in characters in young adult romance? 

Usually, the characters are under the age of 18, but older than 13. And they usually have an age gap of one year or less. 

Do young adult romances have sex in them? 

Yes, they can, but it has to be tame. The characters and readers in young adult romance are underage, and publishers (as well as readers) do not like sexualizing minors. It is not morally adjust to have explicit content between minors in novel-making, although some people have done it (with an adult audience). 

How careful do I have to be with explicit scenes? 

Many times, author's in young adult novel-making will hint that the main characters "did it", but also (if the scenes are not hinted) will describe the emotions the characters are feeling without the "parts" or "movements" mentioned. Many times, they will focus on other things like them holding hands, kissing, etc. 

Do young adult romances have magic in them? 

Yes, they can. Many do, honestly. Young adult novels can include vampires, werewolves, demons, fallen angels, archangels, or even just realism.