Description
This article explores ways in which creative writers can craft better, more engaging Young Adult fiction. The author proposes the use of the YA short story collection Sixteen: Short Stories by Outstanding Writers for Young Adults, edited by Donald Gallo, featuring Cormier's "In the Heat", as the ideal teaching tool for YA creative writing, since it presents a broad, high-quality survey of the genre. The author calls Cormier's piece "the most sophisticated of the stories." Nilsen also draws attention to Cormier's use of metaphors for both somber and playful effects.