Writing for Middle Graders Demands Knowledge of Likes & Dislikes
Writing for middle grade fiction is not easy. Age groups and their interest levels spell a big difference in their reading likes and dislikes. Middle grade readers can be divided up into ages 8 to 12, 10 and up, and young adults (YA) aged 12 and up. Depending on school systems and ages that children start school, this can encompass grades 3 to 7, grades 5 and up, and for teens/young adults, grades 7 and up.
To write for this audience, you have to know what they are into. When I was at a market recently selling my books, there was a 9 year old boy that came up to talk to me. I love talking to kids, especially when they have an interest in writing. This young man, in grade 5, also an artist, was creating a graphic novel. Over the course of twenty minutes, I found out his plot consisted of a ‘one-eyed garbage-can’ transformer/robot, who with his smaller army of flip top cans had to save the ‘alien’ forest from infestation of bad aliens. His creative imagination was beyond anything that I could even think of let alone draw.
We have to know what our young readers are into. For ages 8 – 12, we find readers who like to read for pleasure. They may be into a series about one topic (horses), adventure, or by one author (R.L. Stine comes to mind). They love their heroes and know their past from the future, so historical fiction ‘back-in-time’ type of novels are of interest. Since they watch television, and are into many types of computer games, they are mature enough to understand a complex story with a few subplots involving both minor and major characters.
Kids mature at different levels, so when we discuss reading likes for ages 10 or 11 and up, we leave the field open for those that aren’t quite ready yet for older teen (YA) books. Today’s children are growing up faster than ever with the influx of the internet, social networking, and television programming affecting their daily lives. Here novels can move into more plots about family, social issues, and personal problems.
The young adult group, ages 12 and up, sees teens that are into fast-paced learning and studying through junior high and high school years. Having to study about history, they enjoy when novels involving historical fiction, such as diaries, letters and accounts add to their learning experience. Writing fiction for this age group is the same as for writing for an adult when it comes to complexity in reading difficulty or literary tone. The difference though is that a typical YA novel is shorter by 50 to 150 pages, although with the Harry Potter and Twilight series, this may have changed the norm. Our audience is teens so they want to read and connect with teen protagonists. Subjects can be about suspense, romance, comedy and topics that relate to life as they know it today.
It is tough writing middle grade fiction. The best thing to do is research what titles are available to kids within these age groups. Better yet, read what they are reading. Personally, I love reading books for middle grades and young adults. They are usually great wholesome reads, without all the adult innuendo and emotion. They put me in a world where I can be a kid again if only for an hour or so.
