Summer 2026
Stories of Becoming: Crafting Young Adult Romance
This Journey invites you to dive into the world of young adult romance, exploring the joys, challenges, and complexities of love in adolescence and young adulthood. Through creative writing exercises, character development, and plot crafting, mentors and mentees will learn how to create authentic, relatable stories about identity, friendship, and emotional growth that capture the heart and imagination of YA readers.
Ready to Apply?
Learn more below or get started now. If you do not already have a Girls Write Now Portal account, you will be asked to create one in order to apply.
Apply Now
Ready to Apply?
Learn more below or get started now. If you do not already have a Girls Write Now Portal account, you will be asked to create one in order to apply.
- JOURNEY REQUIREMENTS
- Cycle(s) One cycle (July 1st to September 30th).
- Time Commitment A minimum 3 hours per month.
- Journey Meetings Attend monthly Journey meetings. See dates listed below.
- Mentoring Have a minimum of two one-hour pair sessions per month.
- Journey Project Submit a YA romance short story.
Learning Objectives
Stories of Becoming: Crafting Young Adult Romance Community Experiences
Mentees and mentors must attend one Journey Live Meetings each month.
Summer Cycle Journey Meetings:
- Saturday, July 25 , 2026, 1-3 PM ET
- Saturday, August 22, 2026, 1-3 PM ET
- Saturday, September 19, 2026, 1-3 PM ET
If you’re unable to attend a Journey meeting, you must notify your Staff Lead in advance and attend a community event to make up for it—recommended options for this journey include Community Studios, Career Chats, and Salon Experiences..
Stories of Becoming: Crafting Young Adult Romance Courses
Stories of Becoming: Crafting Young Adult Romance
In this course, participants explore the world of young adult romance, crafting authentic stories about love, identity, and emotional growth. Through character development, plot design, and creative writing exercises, they will create heartfelt narratives that resonate with YA readers.
Stories of Becoming: Crafting Young Adult Romance Mentoring
Mentees and mentors in this Journey will be matched for a minimum of one cycle. Pairs will meet for at least two hour-long sessions each month. This Journey is open to both mentor/mentee pairs and peer-to-peer pairs.
Journey Teaching Artist
Multigenre 360
Journeys in the Multigenre 360 Adventure focus on writing in a particular genre. It is perfect for mentees and mentors who want to focus on a specific kind of creative writing.
Stories of Becoming: Crafting Young Adult Romance is a Journey in the Multigenre 360 Adventure.
Explore All Journeys
Explore All Journeys
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The Careers for Creatives: Unexpected Opportunities Journey is perfect for mentees and mentors who are looking to turn their passion for storytelling, content creation, or journalism into a career. Through a dynamic online course, mentoring sessions, and live networking events, you will explore various career paths available to writers today, learn practical skills to help you succeed, and discover how to build a sustainable career that aligns with your interests and strengths. Discover career paths in finance, technology, corporate communications, publishing and more!
Read: Memoir (Spring 2025)
Each cycle, we’ll close read a new book and discuss it at monthly fixed meetings. We’ll focus, in particular, on reading as writers and taking note of the ways each author crafts their story. This cycle, we'll be reading How to Say Babylon: A Memoir by Safiya Sinclair.
