Writing Middle Grade: A few random MG tips

Let's talk a few random writing middle grade tips.

Photo Credit www.wingif.com

(But first, a random gif that has nothing at all to do with what I'm writing, just because dang. This cat’s impressive.)

So here goes! Random writing middle grade tips:

• Sacrifice almost anything for clarity.

Try to be dynamic and clear at the same time. You should never confuse.

• Dialogue attributions should come as soon as possible. 

This is especially important in middle grade, because of how often they are read aloud. Here’s a few examples of the same dialogue, based off one of the first pages of Sky Jumpers:

“Nah. I was just enjoying how fresh the air smelled when I wasn’t standing right next to you,” Hope said. 

When you are reading aloud, even if you don’t do different voices for each character, you still kind of do. If you have to wait this long for a dialogue attribution, you might be getting the wrong “voice.” Let's look at another way of doing it.

“Nah,” Hope said. “I was just enjoying how fresh the air smelled when I wasn’t standing right next to you.” 

That’s an example where we introduce the attribution asap. If your sentence contains more than one clause, you can break it between clauses.

Or you can start with a beat that let’s us know who’s speaking before they even start:

Hope looked up at the ledge she’d stood on moments before that now seemed so teeny. “Nah. I was just enjoying how fresh the air smelled when I wasn’t standing right next to you.” 

Both of these last two ways work.

• In late, out early is extra important in MG. 

Take a look at each of your scenes. See if you can start it later or end it earlier, and see if the scene still makes sense. Don't ease into the scene-- jump in the middle. Keep it interesting.

• Awesome names are a huge plus. 

If they're fun to say, have meaning, interesting, outlandish. You can play around a lot while still staying within the tone of the book.

• Your viewpoint protagonist is generally 2 years older than your intended audience.

But not always. If your intended audience is 10-12, for example, don't make your protag 13. Kids change a LOT between the ages of 12 and 13. Thirteen is an age where characters act outside of MG issues, but aren't quite old enough for most YA issues. If your book is a solid MG book (which generally means ages 8-12, or grades 3-7), then keep the top age at twelve.

And lastly:

• Kids don’t want to see the forest, they want to meet the bear.

photo credit: Dave Toussaint (www.photographersnature.com) via photopin cc

So take them to meet it.

Miss any previous Writing Middle Grade posts? They can all be found here: MG Needs.