7 Tips for Writing a YA Character Caught Between Worlds
As YA authors, we often find our characters navigating the complexities of adolescence while straddling different social identities. In my upcoming novel, The Donut Prince of New York, the protagonist Eugene, an overweight NYC teen, grapples with his identity as both an ambitious young playwright and a newly minted football player and member of “The Pops,” the in-crowd. That’s quite a straddle.
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Here are seven tips to help you craft authentic characters caught between worlds.
1. Embrace External Conflict
Conflict is the heart of compelling character development. Don’t shy away from the tension created by your character’s different worlds. In an early draft of Donut Prince, I had Eugene abandoning theater for football. A writer friend asked, “Why isn’t he going after both things at the same time?” Lightbulb moment.
My job is never to make it easier on my protagonist, but to make it harder. When my hero had to navigate two worlds at the same time, the opportunity to reveal character through conflict multiplied.
2. Two Worlds, Two Competing Desires
What does your hero want, and how do they think each world will give it to them? For Eugene, theater offers creative fulfillment and a connection to his estranged father, while football provides unexpected popularity, first love, and a new experience of his body.
These things matter a great deal to him, and committing to one path will likely mean sacrificing the other. This sets up an internal dilemma that can supercharge a narrative and make for more complex character development.
3. Highlight Transitional Moments
Pay attention to the in-between, the moments when your character shifts from one world to the other. These transitions can reveal a lot about their inner conflict. For Eugene, the cafeteria walk from the jocks’ table to the theater table is more than just 10 steps across a room; it’s a mental and emotional obstacle course.
How does your character feel when crossing these invisible boundaries? By slowing down and focusing on the in-between moments, you can emphasize the push and pull within your character and deepen their internal struggle.
4. Explore the Overlap
Look for moments when your character’s worlds overlap. In my novel, there’s a moment during football practice when Eugene realizes the moves on the field are as carefully choreographed as stage blocking.
When he’s taught to wait for the quarterback’s snap, he likens it to a stage manager calling an actor to places. The overlap occurs when Eugene uses his theatrical knowledge to translate football in ways that are unexpected but feel just right.
5. Code Shifting
How do character’s think, speak, or move differently in each world? And what are they willing to do to conform?
Eugene, in his desperation to fit in, begins mimicking the loud communication style of his athletic teammates. But when he shouts in the locker room, it backfires. “Dude, why are you yelling?” Take advantage of dialogue, internal monologue, and body language as opportunities to develop character.
6. Address Stereotypes and Expectations
One way to deal with stereotypes is to lean in, not out. For example, it was easy for me to fall into shallow representations of jocks and theater kids, even having moved through those worlds myself in real life. But YA readers (and all readers) appreciate nuanced portrayals of different social groups. One trick is to highlight the problem rather than hide it.
For example, let one character carry the cliche, and another push back on it. When his theater friends get dismissive, Eugene finds himself unexpectedly sticking up for the athletes, explaining how he’s learned persistence from a group he’d previously dismissed. “Nobody gets tackled during rehearsals for A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Your readers will appreciate it when you let the tension live on the page rather than pretending it doesn’t exist.
7. The Gut Check
When in doubt, get real. Pause in the middle of a scene and ask yourself, “What would I really say or do in this situation?” Or better yet, “What have I done in a similar situation?”
You and your characters may ultimately have different approaches, but drawing from your own experience will rarely steer you wrong. It may even ground your work in unexpected ways.
In the end, writing a YA character caught between worlds is about more than juggling multiple identities—it’s an opportunity to embrace the messy, beautiful complexity of being human. Just as your characters struggle to reconcile the different parts of themselves, you as a writer will also grapple with the tension between what you know and what you’re still learning. Don’t shy away from that complexity.
In my own writing journey, I’ve found that the most memorable characters are the ones who live in that space of uncertainty, who are still figuring out who they are—just like I am. By exploring tension with authenticity and heart, you’re not just crafting a story, you’re creating a mirror that reflects your readers’ own journeys. And that’s where the real magic can happen.
Check out Allen Zadoff’s The Donut Prince of New York here:
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