Quality YA Character Development That Can Authentically Connect With Readers

Let’s get into some of the ways you can take to write quality YA fiction character development that can authentically connect with readers.

For many readers, they stick to a series because of the love of a character. Whole fandoms are carried by avid readers discussing character choices and relationships and hypothesizing about what they may do beyond the books.

People find and form personal connections to your story, generally through your characters. But it takes work to create someone memorable who resonates with fans long after the story is done. We’re going to get into some of the approaches you can take to YA fiction character development.

Who Are You Writing For?

As always, with YA fiction writing, you need to remember the target audience. Whether you’re an adult or a teen, your readers are typically in that 12-18 gap, so your core cast needs to reflect that. Teens and young adults don’t generally “get” or care what adults in their late 20s to 40s are up to, so they won’t connect.

By focusing on the appropriate age during your YA fiction character development, you can more accurately portray struggles, thoughts, and interests through the lens of your readers. They will buy into the story and the people journeying through it when they see their age and everything they think at that age reflected in the pages.

So, as you write, keep in mind other books in YA fiction you’ve read, talk to your target audience if you can, read articles, and do whatever you can to ensure you accurately capture the age and mindset.

Mind Your Perspective

As you’re writing YA fiction, remember it’s best told from a first-person perspective. The method is because readers can connect with the story and hero better when seeing through the protagonist’s eyes and reading the inner thoughts.

Everything becomes more personal when they start reading “I” as themselves, even if they may not make all the same decisions. Readers will at least have insights into why the protagonist made the choice they did.

What Will Be Achieved?

If you’ve done your due diligence in planning your novel, you likely have a goal in mind for your hero and the main cast. Is that goal relatable to a teen audience? Sure, most teens don’t have to get out of bed every day and try to save the world, but if you have such a lofty achievement in mind, then are the methods and motivations in line with how your readers will approach the problem?

If the end goal is enormous and fantastical, pepper in smaller, relatable goalposts along the way that YA fans can identify with and think to themselves, “Yeah, I would handle this as that character would!” It’s a big step in helping your readers connect more deeply with your characters.

Exposit Wisely

The old mantra of “show, don’t tell” is crucial to making readers connect with your characters. Let your novel’s cast speak through their actions or with what they don’t say instead of telling everyone what they’re feeling or having you narrate each detail all the time.

Allowing readers to piece together traits and quirks and draw conclusions about your YA fiction character development gives them more ownership over their relationship with the characters. Keep your explanations to only what’s necessary. As your cast feels their way through things, your readers will be right there, connecting with them, feeling through those moments, too.

What Changes Will Happen?

Your hero and some of the supporting cast will need to undergo a change or three throughout your novel on their character arc. If they don’t experience any growth, then what is the point of the story?

Your readers are in a period of change throughout their teen years, so they can identify with your characters struggling to adapt to a new normal. Whether it’s internal, self-discovering change by virtue of maturity, or forced upon the heroes by an external force, they need to be different by the story’s end from how they started the novel.

YA fiction character development and their stories link intrinsically through growth, change, and discovery. Let your readers connect more deeply to their favorite characters while going along that journey, too, and potentially learn something about themselves by proxy.

Be Distinct

Another tried-and-true way to make standout characters is by giving each one a unique way of speaking and distinct personalities. That makes the various points of your story more dynamic, as there are bound to be exciting conflicts from the differing opinions, perspectives, and feelings.

It also gives something particular for your audience to latch onto with your characters so they can easily distinguish them while reading. Part of that distinction should be informed by your backstory work, considering their flaws and strengths.

They will also be more authentic and individual if you’re inclusive. Ensuring you focus on a certain amount of diversity and inclusivity, from gender to culture to sexuality to race and ability, helps readers find someone they can identify with, as your audience is broad and comes from all walks of life. In the end, giving your YA characters individuality through various means is necessary to build a memorable cast readers can connect to.

How Are Things Handled?

Once you’ve settled into who your characters are, stay true to them. Make their choices and reactions believable and aligned with who they are and how they think. Because, first of all, that’s just good writing. It helps your readers know what to expect.

Secondly, as your characters guide the story by their actions and reactions, defined by who they are, it’s easier for readers to connect and understand a given situation. Ham-fisting your heroes into unlikely circumstances on the grounds of “because” rings false.

Your readers will lose touch with your cast and the story. Their authentic reactions will be what endears them to your audience, again, because they’ll see themselves in those decisions.

You Can Relate: YA Fiction Character Development

Say what you will about J.K. Rowlings these days, but Harry Potter has spawned a fervent love. Not just for the world but for even the most seemingly insignificant side characters beyond the titular hero, all because people saw something in them that struck a chord.

When you take the time to build real, fleshed-out characters who aren’t simply caricatures or boiled down to representing a basic thought or feeling, readers will be more likely to identify with them. Looking again at Harry, there are plenty of people who feel that heroic urge or resonate with the part of him that gets bullied at home.

On the other hand, so many readers, while they enjoy his tale, don’t want to be the star. They’re happy to sit to the side like Neville Longbottom or Luna Lovegood (until they’re forced into action, that is.) When you put in the above work to make authentic, believable characters, your audience is bound to find them more relatable and will, in turn, connect to them easier.

Ultimately, authenticity is key in YA fiction character development. People read YA fiction as an escape and to see themselves reflected in the pages, to walk the footsteps of the hero and their entourage, envisioning themselves, to a point, in the given circumstances.

The more real, balanced, and relatable your characters are, no matter how fantastical the world, the more likely readers will resonate with them. Be genuine and thoughtful as you write. Don’t try to make your characters likable or impactful; let the writing do the heavy lifting as they genuinely react to the story you’re taking them on.

Your audience will find what they do and don’t like without you telling them who to like. If you want to run some character ideas by me or have other thoughts and questions, you can find me at jsims@jairesims.com or on my social media.