Teen and YA Fiction writing prompt

Letters from an Unknown Adviser

Write a story about a teenager who starts receiving mysterious, anonymous letters that offer advice on their personal problems. When they try to find out who is sending them, they uncover a family secret that changes everything.

Suggested length: A short story: 1,500 to 5,000 words, or flash fiction under 1,000

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Three ways to take this prompt somewhere nobody else will.

  1. Give your hero a secret they're keeping from their best friend.
  2. Let your hero make a big mistake for a reason the reader understands.
  3. End with a choice only this hero would make.

Writing young adult books

Ages 12 to 18: firsts, identity and everything at stake.

Young adult fiction is written for teens, with protagonists usually 14 to 18. Every genre lives here, from fantasy to thrillers to romance. What makes it YA is the voice: immediate, intense and inside a teenager's head.

What readers expect

  • A teen protagonist
  • An immediate, close voice
  • Identity and independence
  • Big feelings, taken seriously

A tip before you start

Write from inside a teen's head, not from an adult looking back. That immediacy is what separates YA from an adult book with a young hero.

More about young adult in our book genres guide

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More Teen and YA prompts

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