Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Writing for Middle Grade

Note to self: When doing a month long topic about something you know nothing about, prepare ahead of time. And try to find stuff you know about personally.

There are some great posts coming soon but for now, I'm going to use different sources to provide tips for people who do write middle grade stories.


Writing a Middle Grade Masterpiece by Margot Finke at http://www.underdown.org/mf-middle-grade.htm

Here are some tips on writing for middle grade that appeals both the upper aged and the younger ones since a variety of readers find themselves in the middle grade section (often found in the children's section of bookstores) found on the site by Finke.

Here are some ingredients for a Middle Grade Masterpiece:
Use powerful and active verbs.
A cool and fast paced plot to keep the reader going.
Have your own unique voice.
Alive character with authenticity and dialogue that matches.
Hook readers at the end of every chapter.

Other tips:
Observe kids in their natural habitat. See how they interact, speak and such.
Read published middle grade books and dissect them to see what makes them work.
Network with other middle grade writers.


You Can Write a Middle Grade Novel at http://www.squidoo.com/middlegradenovels

- Get started and don't quit.

- Research

- Provide characters and conflict

- Check out this web site for more details



There are some organizations that can help, especially this one:
The Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators
http://www.scbwi.org/

2 comments:

amber colleen said...

Ooh, interesting. I should use these resources since I am in the middle of a MG novel right now. Thank you!

Elizabeth said...

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHhh...I love your header.

NEW FOLLOWER

Elizabeth

http://silversolara.blogspot.com