10 TIPS FOR WRITING
MIDDLE GRADE FICTION
A Guest Post by Jackie
Minniti
In my former life as a middle school
reading teacher, I got an “up close and personal” look at what
middle graders like in a book. This came in handy when I decided to
pursue a second career as a writer.
My dad, a WWII veteran, only shared one
war story with our family – the tale of Jacqueline, a little girl
who stole his heart while he was stationed in France. When I started
writing, Dad asked me to write a book about her. Jacqueline was
about 11 years-old when she met my father, so I decided to write her
story as a middle grade novel. Since writing for this age group
presents some unique challenges, I used what I knew about middle
school students to craft a novel that would appeal to even the most
reluctant readers. I’d like to share ten middle grade writing tips.
- DO familiarize yourself with your audience
If
it’s been a while since you been around 8 to 12 year old kids, find
some and spend time with them. Talk to them about the books they like
(and the ones they don’t.) Ask them what makes them choose one book
over another, and what genres and topics they’re interested in.
- DO plunge right into the action
Once they pick up
your book, you’ve got one chance to hook them. Your first sentence
may that chance. For my book, Jacqueline, I spent more time on
the first sentence than on the entire first chapter. I finally came
up with this: “Her mother’s scream was followed by the crash
of shattering glass.” My 10-year-old beta reader said it made
her want to keep reading, so I knew I had a winner.
- DO make your protagonist age-appropriate
Your main character
will make or break your novel. Middle schoolers like to read about
kids a little older than they are, so your protagonist should be
between 10 and 13 years old. Your main character should be someone
your readers can identify with and care about; a kid with strong
opinions and beliefs. Be sure your character has a few flaws though –
middle graders have lived long enough to know there are no perfect
children.
- DO use authentic dialogue
Middle school
students like to talk, and they like books with lots of dialogue.
Listen to middle grade kids, get the sound of their dialogue into
your head so your character will sound realistic. Make sure all your
characters don’t sound the same. Steer clear of coarse or vulgar
language – remember that your book will have to be pre-approved by
parents and teachers (the actual buyers.)
- DO focus on friends and school
Middle school
students are straddling the worlds of childhood and adulthood trying
to figure out where they fit in. Their focus is shifting from home
and family to school and friends, and your story should reflect this.
Keep parents, teachers and other adults in the background, with most
of the action centered on the main character’s interaction with the
outside world. Keep introspection to a minimum. Middle schoolers
don’t do a lot of self-analysis.
- DO center the story around a problem the main character can solve independently
There should be a
single inciting element in the story – something that sets the main
character’s life askew. In Jacqueline, it was her father’s
plane being shot down by the Germans. The central problem should be
one that the protagonist can eventually solve without adult
intervention, so keep this in mind when you plot your story.
- DO edit out anything that doesn’t propel the plot
Be relentless in
your editing. Your final word count should fall between 30,000 and
60,000 words. Avoid excess adjectives and adverbs. Eliminate
everything that doesn’t move the plot forward, no matter how much
you may love the sound of it. While you should definitely include
descriptions and sensory details, make this about 10 percent of the
total text. My students steered clear of thick books, so keep that
in mind when you have to cut a favorite paragraph.
- DO challenge them
Just because your
readers are young, there’s no reason to “write down” to them.
They can deal with difficult subjects if presented appropriately.
Use language that makes them stretch a bit, but include context clues
so they can figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words. I used
several French words in Jacqueline, and my beta reader was
able to mentally translate them using clues I embedded into the text.
(She was very proud of herself!)
- DO keep the momentum going
Middle graders have
no qualms about abandoning a book that gets “boring.” If you want
them to make it to the end, you have to keep them flipping pages.
Don’t use too many abstract concepts. Stick to the “Show, don’t
tell” rule so that there’s a steady flow of action. Try to end
each chapter with a cliffhanger. Don’t let up on them until the
last page.
- DO end on a positive note
Be sure that your
ending is positive and satisfying. Middle grade readers don’t react
well to open endings. I’ve seen kids throw a book across the room
because the ending left them hanging. In Jacqueline, I
decided to end with an epilogue that showed what happened to the
characters as grown-ups. My beta reader really liked that.
Most of all, DO
enjoy the process. Middle grade readers can be profoundly
influenced by the books they read, and that’s what makes writing
for them so much fun.
Jackie Minniti brief bio and links
Jackie is currently a columnist for The Island Reporter in St. Petersburg. She is a member of the Florida Writers Association, the Bay Area Professional Writers Guild, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Several of her stories have been included in Chicken Soup for the Soul collections. She lives on Treasure Island with her husband, John, and two noisy macaws and enjoys reading, walking on the beach, boating, and visiting her three children and six grandchildren in New Jersey. Jackie has been a featured speaker at schools, book clubs, women’s clubs, and libraries and writes a blog featuring Florida writers (www.fabulousfloridawriters.blogspot.com.She can be reached through her website: www.jackieminniti.com.
Website URL: www.jackieminniti.com
Blog URL: www.fabulousfloridawriters.blogspot.com
Facebook URL: https://www.facebook.com/Jackie-Minniti-writer-125991605555/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
Twitter:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackieminniti
Skype: jackie.minniti
Barnes & Noble buy link for Jacqueline:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/jacqueline-jackie-minniti/1122339883?ean=9780996329088
Amazon buy link for Jacqueline:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011SCVPJS?keywords=jacqueline%20minniti&qid=1452463585&ref_=sr_1_1&s=digital-text&sr=1-1
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