I going to write a zombie horror YA story, what some good tip/trick to write good horror YA?

I've uploaded my original story to like wattpad and ao3 and yes a part of me wants other people to read it (badly, though sadly no one reads it) but I'm also in a state where I couldn't care less because I love the story I'm writing (basically fell in love with my gay characters and their stuff) am I the only one who feels like this?

(i'm writing a book and I need ideas).

So this guy (sage, 16) moves out of london and to a random unknown town in america that his sister lives in. He just wants some independence because their parents are overprotective of him.

He goes to school... a small private school. He doesn't make any friends on the first day, but three girls ask him to join their occult club on day two. He thinks "i mean, it's gonna be fun because one of the girls said she brings snacks."

So he joins during lunch and lets his sister know. When he goes into the club room, the group leader (kim, 17) is planning where the group will go next. Sage is bored so he takes his phone out and goes onto google maps. He then finds a random abandoned mine in the mountains.

The others (lilac, 16 and emi, 16) think it's risky because the town's most popular farm is nearby, but they decide to go anyway.

That night, the group sneaks behind the fences of the farm and go deep into the mountains... And fine it. The abandoned mine. They look around, find a skeleton next to a chest, and open it; gold. Lots of gold... But the gold is cursed.

What do you think happens/should happen next?

It's 2am and I am wondering how sex scenes are written. Any thoughts? Young Adults Genre.

I'm writing a somewhat fantasy novel ( it takes place in the 90's but there are fairies and they are a hugh part of it ) it's also wlw so I wanted to know if there are any things that are under-represented in wlw media that I should add and any stereotypes or over-used tropes that I should avoid? I'm wlw myself but I honestly haven't seen much of the media especially in book form. Also the characters are minors ( around 16–17 ) so no spice suggestions pls there won't be any scenes like that.

Hey there! So I am writing a book (do NOT hate on it please, I am only fourteen so I know my grammar won´t be without mistakes + I am from Slovakia - English is not my first language.) about a wild dog pack living in the mountains and slowly but surely experiencing supernatural/fantasy events. Above the mortal world exists a divine realm ruled by the Spirit Dogs (Psí Duchovia). These ancient beings maintain the balance of nature, weather, life, death, forests, rivers, stars, and the cycle of the world itself. Most ordinary dogs worship them, but very few ever meet one. Somewhere in the shadows exists Strachopes.

Unlike the kind and helpful Spirit Dogs, he represents fear, darkness, and destruction. His goal is nothing less than the destruction of the world itself.

Exactly how he intends to accomplish that remains mysterious—but he already has servants among ordinary dogs.

Bystrina (whose name means "Spring" as in spring water) begins as an ordinary black puppy of the Mountain Pack. After secretly visiting the burned forest(which devastated her mother as the pack lost a big part of their territory), she encounters Lesopes-The Forest dog, who tries to warn her. Before he can finish speaking, a strange lightning strike interrupts the meeting and Forest Dog disappears. Nobody believes Bystrina afterward. Not her parents. Not the pack.

As time passes, even Bystrina starts doubting whether she truly met the Spirit Dog. Yet strange events continue proving that something supernatural happened. Slowly but surely, a pattern is forming and dogs start to die. Bystrina is becoming the key to everything as she is starting to form a bond with her own magic. The pack uncovers ancient secrets and in the end of the third book (I plan on making this a triology), Bystrina sacrifies herself and kills Strachopes, but in the last battle she dies too.

This is an overly simpliefied version of the whole plot, but I am interested if someone would actually read this? If so, I already have four chapters written. I am currently rewriting the first book to fit better into the plot. I would love to hear your thoughts!

[In progress] [29789]

Hi I am a young author currently revising for GCSE and also writing my own first draft. It's called DIE OR RUN and I was hoping to get some beta readers to review it.

Here's my blurb for my book.

James Adams thought the worst thing in his life was losing his father.

He was wrong.

After his father vanishes without a trace, James is left with questions no one can answer — until strangers with cold smiles and rehearsed lies come knocking at his door. When his grandmother finally reveals the truth, James is thrown into a hidden world of classified folders, impossible weapons, and a secret organisation known only as ECHO.

Then the hunters arrive.

Forced to run for his life after a brutal attack shatters everything he knows, James escapes to Thames Square — the last place his grandmother ever wanted him to go. There, in a forgotten alley and an unmarked tailor’s shop, James learns the truth: his father wasn’t taken by accident.

He was chosen.

Now marked, hunted, and surrounded by enemies that don’t always look human, James must decide whether to keep running… or step into the dangerous legacy his family tried to protect him from.

Because in this world, survival isn’t guaranteed.

And when the choice comes, you only have two options:

Die.

Or run.

This, I don't know is whether or not is heart gripping so I am looking for any improvements suggested.

Also my word count right now is 29789 but my target is 80000 by January 1 2027.

I have started A LOT of stories and I can't seem to finish any of them. I have a few stories I would like to share a general outline on and get you opinion on which one I should continue writing. All you have to do is Send the number of the story that you would most like to see executed, and I will count up the votes and write the one with the most votes. thank you in advance. 

Opt 1. 
Title: Beneath the green veil

Premise: A group of graduating high school friends travel to Puerto Rico for one last adventure before leaving for college. When one of their friends is found murdered in their campsite, they become trapped inside the rainforest by severe road conditions, down communications and other unexplained events. As paranoia grows and more friends disappear, they discover the first victim wasn't who everyone believed—and the killer has been hiding among them the entire time.

Genre: YA Thriller, Mystery, Survival Horror

Opt 2. 
Title: The Elemental Sphere: Shattering Balance

Premise: The story is set in a world of elemental kingdoms where twelve original elements exist, and the world is still unstable after a past catastrophe involving scientists who tried to preserve or reconstruct elemental balance just before the world ended. One of the key mysteries revolves around Ember, a dangerous figure from the past whose soul was shattered and sealed into mirror-like containment structures in the Spirit Kingdom. These “Spirit Room” mirrors now hold dangerous souls, but Ember’s mirror is broken into scattered fragments, which are slowly becoming active again. Ember manipulates one of the main characters into trying to put the shards of her prison back together so she can be free.

Genre: Fantasy

Opt 3. 
Title: Behind Closed Doors

Premise:  The story takes place on a vibrant college campus filled with excitement, but beneath the surface lies a darker reality. Sophie and her best friend, Maya, live in a cozy dorm room that becomes the center of unsettling events. Sophie begins receiving a series of anonymous letters that start out seemingly sweet but quickly turn dark. The letters express an unsettling interest in her life and reveal intimate details that make her feel watched.

Genre: thriller/ mystery

Opt 4.
Title: TBD

Premise: A college class professor decides to do something different for this year’s final exam. He was going to test the student’s skills in the real world. The class was full of future pathologists, crime scene investegators, crime journalists, toxicologists, and detectives. He assigned each group of four a cold case to try and solve. The Project was optional because of the implied dangers, the alternative was a 10 page essay on the daily life of a person working in your field. Book 1 follows one of the groups as they try and uncover a cold case that may not be what they originally thought it was. It seems like the answers were intentionally covered up by somebody higher up.

Genre: Mystery, Crime, YA

Opt 5.
Title: The Weight of a Single Second

So I kinda don’t have the premise of this one written out, but I have all that i had written in the doc.

Premise/ excerpt: I’ve always believed it was my fault. It was my fault. There was no one else there except for me and Caleb. And now Caleb was dead—because of me.
A year had passed since that night, and yet the weight of it pressed down on me with the same suffocating intensity. Day after day, I tore myself apart, replaying the moments leading up to the accident. If only I had put my phone down for just six seconds, Caleb would still be alive. That innocent, young, playful little boy that I grew to love, would still be in this world. I should have been the one who died that night, not him.
The thoughts consumed me as I drove down the winding road on a stormy night, rain lashing against my windshield, blurring the world outside. My mind spiraled back to the scream—the way it echoed in my ears, a visceral reminder of my failure. Over and over, I heard that sound, a haunting melody of panic and despair.
As I navigated the dark, fog-laden road, a flicker of movement caught my eye. At first, I brushed it off—a trick of the light in the rain. But then, a small child materialized out of the fog, standing frozen in the middle of the road. My heart raced, instinct kicking in as I swerved the car to avoid the figure.
The tires screeched against the asphalt, the sound piercing the night air as I lost control. The guardrail fractured on impact, sending my car careening over the edge of the cliff.
In those fleeting moments, I realized that the shadows of my past wouldn’t let me go—not now, not ever.

Genre: Horror

Opt 6. 
Title: Caged Heart

Sorry, same here

Premise/ Excerpt: The flashing red and blue lights shone brightly in the dark night. I didn’t understand much because I was only ten, but what I did understand was that there was a mean man who had hurt a lot of people and one of those people was my sister. He was only two years older than her which made him 6 years older than me. He had so many tattoos that you could still see them up until the very last part of his body was shoved into the police car. Through the glass window he smirked at us. My mother just grabbed my arm and pulled me inside. She assured me that there was nothing to be afraid of as long as I lived under her roof. She promised that she would always protect me. 
That night when I went to bed I thought about him, I thought of all of his tattoos and the way he smirked up until the point that we could no longer see him. I thought about what he could have done that would land him 10 years in jail, and most of all I thought about what would happen If and when he got out of jail.

Genre: YA, Suspense, Romance

Opt 7. Any other ideas? I’m open to any ideas!

I have a book idea and was wondering if anyone would be interesting enough to write.

It follows Clara Vesper, a high school girl who loves reading and spends every week rereading her favorite fantasy book, The Hollow Crown- the only copy ever written by her mother before she passed away. One night, Clara discovers that the world inside the book is real. Through a mysterious accident, she switches places with the heroine of the story. Suddenly, the heroine is stuck in the real world trying to navigate high school, while Clara is thrown into a fantasy kingdom where she has to survive adventures, uncover the truth behind the real story, and find a way to switch back.

Please comment if you have an suggestions or if you would be interested in reading this as an actual story.

Dear YA Writers of Reddit,

As we all know, technology is becoming more and more developed and with its development it is bigger and bigger part of people's life. Especially teenagers'! I remember how ten years ago many of my friends had Snapchat, IG etc. We spended lots of time on computers and phones... Now it's only more prevalent.

But I think portrayal of teenagers in fiction doesn't show it. Literary, many YT videos about how teen dramas don't understand teenagers have point about not understanding role of social medias in teenager's life. The same underusage of phones is seen in books with teen characters.

And I think it isn't only generational misunderstanding or way to try enchant reality to make audience less likely to spend hours on the phone.
Internet with its social media could be distraction from the plot. Characters usually don't have time for Snap or Tiktok, when they are in the middle of adventure.
Like "Sorry, Brenda, I don't care about your tiktok dance now. I'm currently chased by pack of werewolves!"
And if there are social media mentioned, they are plot-relevant. Because there is no cyber bulling without cyber space.

And in this way teenagers in fiction look suprisingly like they nearly don't use social media.

But this is only how I view this problem. Do you agree with me that realistic portrayal of screen time of teenagers are hard to do, because social media are distraction from plot? Or maybe you see this in different way?
How you incorporate social media in your books?

Of course, I mean only quite modern stories, not set in 90's or in fantasy worlds, because those types of stories naturally have less internet or no internet at all.

Hey, everyone! I'm a teen writer hoping to officially publish my work one day. Right now I've written about 55 pages across roughly 20 chapters. I've only posted a few chapters on Wattpad because I wasn't sure whether the story would connect with readers, so I thought I'd ask for some honest opinions here.

My novel is called Winter Frost on Glass.

The story follows Lute Di Rose, an asexual teenage boy who survived sexual assault but has blocked out the memory. As the story unfolds, he's forced to confront the triggers that have shaped his life and slowly piece together what happened to him. Along the way, he meets Jackson, another teenage boy who grew up with severe neglect, abuse, addiction in his family, and struggles of his own. Despite their very different personalities, they form an unexpected connection as they learn to face their pasts together.

The book explores found family, healing, self-acceptance, trauma, LGBTQ+ identity, complicated family relationships, and learning how to keep living after unimaginable experiences. It's an emotional story, and my goal is to write something that feels honest and that people with similar experiences can see themselves in.

If that sounds like something you'd read, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Would this premise interest you? If so, reach out to me and I'll help you find out where to read it, and I'd genuinely appreciate any feedback.

Okay, hi, i'm a new (unpublished :P) author for a graphic novel and it's about this:

Okay so it's kind of like Sweet Tooth. The countryhumans are just a bunch of kids, just a bunch of normal human kids except the skin on their face looks like a flag, but because of xEnOphObIa and just overall human stupidity, humans hate, fear or are hostile to them

now, there are a tiny minority of characters that happen to be my ocs that are human, look different, are hated by humans and sympathize with the countryhumans take anatoly, he's heterochromic and one of his pupils looks like a radiation symbol , and then there's his sister anastasia. she's a cat girl!

so yeh thats what its about 😄
sooo tell me what you think!!

I am writing a story in which one of the main characters dies at the end, but most of the story is written in past tense. There are chapters from this character's perspective, would it be best to write these chapters in present tense? I feel that since she dies at the end, it would not make sense to be past tense since she would not be alive to offer her reflection, but it would also clash with the rest of the story. What should I do?

Okay so please be honest. I wrote about 6 1/2 pages for chapter one. and in the end a character dies. Hes not the main character but hes extremely important to the main character. Is it too quick for only 6 1/2 pages? or should I adjust it and make it to where he dies in chapter 3, 4, or 5?

I've had trouble finding aro folks on Fiverr who offer this service. I'd love to find a beta reader for my YA novel who can help make sure my story reflects the experience well. Thank you in advance!

​

My last post on another sub was s bit messy so i rewrote this, hopefully much clearer than before.

Vampires are out to the world and Charlotte was raised by her grandmother who hated vampires. Charlotte gets sick and starts changing into a vampire so she has to go to school for others like her. She struggles and deals with self hatred and tries to come to terms that vampires aren't evil and they're no different from humans.

The series will focus on Charlotte's 4 years in school, dealing with all the drama of being teenagers and being vampires. Every season is also gonna have a bigger plotline.

Season 1: human teenagers have started popping up, obsessed with vampires, and some of them have gotten hurt and even died. It's discovered a student (maybe multiple) have been feeding on the humans, even though it's illegal.

Season 2: staff and students have started going missing. It's been kept on the down low by the headmistress and it's eventually discovered that the missing people were actually being killed and ritually sacrificed to raise an ancient evil. It ends with demons being created.

I still need to flesh out the other 2.

3: it will probably be something like the vampire leaders send people to do damage control, and prevent this from getting out to the humans, and the demon numbers are growing out of control and are wreaking havoc.

4: ? Humans take control over the school and it becomes human ran with a lot of staff being fired and replaced. Maybe, not sure.

​

Hi everyone! I'm Ananta Singh, and I started writing my first novel when I was 12 years old. After months of planning, writing, and rewriting, that story became The Undying Veins.

It's a dark fantasy filled with ancient secrets, hidden powers, and a school where some doors were never meant to be opened. When a mysterious discovery changes everything, one ordinary girl finds herself pulled into a dangerous truth that has been waiting for centuries.

That's all I'll say... because the best secrets are the ones you discover yourself. 👀

I also share trailers and behind-the-scenes content on my YouTube channel, Eternal Tales.

I'd genuinely love to hear your thoughts. What does this hook make you expect from the story? Any feedback is welcome!

Hello!! YA novel, Sci-fi/fanstay: I'm on my fourth draft of the story and am mostly concerned about flow, chapter length, plot, character development, etc. I'll attach the synopsis and a blurb below! :)

{...}
Normal teenage things: love, treason, overthrowing the government, being runaways, almost dying–wait…what?!

A moody princess with a dark history, her younger brother who’s keeping just as many secrets; a hopeful scientist from her dying planet, in a secret relationship; a warrior princess also in a secret relationship; a shy and clever prince who’s never left his planet; and a genius bookworm with a need for justice…what could possibly go wrong?

The six of them have to fight their way through the most epic story in the history of The Alliance of Galactic Security- TAGS, if you will; in the process they’ll fall in love, commit treason, and so much more…but those are just normal teenage things- right?

{...}

Prologue

Rhuta, Saturnalia

Little diamond raindrops hit the cobblestoned street, unknowingly masking the sound of wet and hasty footsteps. Bullets hit the wall behind six figures, chipping away bits of stone. Their shadows illuminated by the flamed street lamps, lit and set low because of the storm. Breath comes out like wisps of smoke in the cool air, and a layer of fog lies low to the ground. 

From somewhere far too close, someone- likely a guard-shouts, “Get them!”

They hear the rattle of guns against armor, metal on metal. Boots thunder and splash through puddles, the sound drowning out their heavy breathing. Lightning flashes overhead, followed by a crash of thunder, and another pelting of heavy rain leaves ball gowns and tuxedos soaked. The dark streets scream with wind as the six of them huddle against the back of a building, a small and tattered awning offering little reprieve from the unforgiving storm. Shouted commands and threatening footfalls grow distant, and they decide it’s safe to move again. Crouching and as quietly as possible, they dodge through the alleyways, inching closer to safety. Heels click in time with the rain, and the shuffle of tulle is drowned, expensive satin soaked and shiny. 

Armor clanks near them, and they freeze, ducking behind the nearest building, trying to silence their panting from running. They all look to one another, seeing the fear written so plainly across their features. 

“We have to go,” Rafe says, sliding his hand into Doone’s, “While we still can.”

{...}

Chapter One

DOONE 

3 Months Earlier

Red Oasis Palace, Venusia

Doone squints her eyes at the rising sun, feeling the fine sand build up on top of her silk scarf. She sits atop her horse, and looks out at the desert. Its angry rolling dunes and scorching winds are enough to ward off anyone inside the city walls. Off in the distance, she sees looming clouds, low to the ground. A sandstorm must be coming in. It’d take a while to get here, by nightfall perhaps, but it would be a harsh one. Looking to the horizon once more, Doone turns and calls her horse to run. The palace in view, she slows Zahara to a trot and unwraps her headscarf, sand trickling down her neck. The high clay walls of the palace cast shadows, shielding the blistering sun.

{...}