Writing Middle Grade

Posted on by Karen Cioffi

In a Writer’s Digest webinar, literary agent Andrea Somberg discussed the basics of writing and selling middle grade (MG).

The agent first made it clear that while MG was popular over the last decade, it’s now slowing down. Publishers are much more picky about these manuscripts now. It seems that graphic MG is picking up. In fact, it’s becoming one of the fastest-growing genres in the industry.

The reason is probably the same as when kids would read comic books years ago. With fewer words because of the heavy illustrations, it’s an easy read for the reluctant reader.

MG Age Range

Interestingly, I recently had a conversation with a client about the range for the middle grade genre.

He wanted an MG with the protagonist starting at thirteen. And he wanted the protagonist to grow into manhood.

I had to explain that the age range for MG is 9 to12. It could go as high as thirteen for upper MG, but definitely not high school ages.

We ended up turning the time frame from 13 to18, making it a young adult.

Okay, back to the MG.

While the age range is 9 to12, there is also a younger MG for the 8-10 reader. And there’s the upper MG for the 12- to 13-year-old reader.

The Protagonist’s Age

It’s important to keep in mind that young readers read up. So, having an 8-year-old protagonist won’t work because an 8-year-old reader will want to read about a 10-year-old protagonist, or at least a 9-year-old.

Along with this, the 14-year-old reader is too old. A 14-year-old will want to read about a 15 or 16-year-old, and that’s beyond the scope of the middle grade.

A key point for the protagonist is that they must have strong feelings about their surroundings.

It’s a good idea for them to be opinionated at the beginning of the book, then grow and change their views based on their experience in the book.

While they should be opinionated, they shouldn’t be introspective. That’s more of a young adult thing.

Structure and Prose

As with all fiction writing, it’s about keeping the story moving forward using character actions and interactions. You should also include the world around them.
Descriptive paragraphs and long sentences should be avoided, as well as adjectives and adverbs.
Write active sentences rather than passive ones, and avoid big words. Don’t make the reader scan over a passage because he doesn’t know what a word is.
It’s also a good idea to have the chapters end in some type of cliffhanger; it doesn’t have to be a life-or-death scenario. You want the reader to be motivated enough to turn to the next chapter to find out what happens.
And don’t have ambiguous endings.

I have another client writing a series who wants to end each book with a full-out cliffhanger. Before I attended this webinar, I knew this wasn’t a good idea. Kids like things neatly tied up. They want a satisfying ending. Each book in an MG series should ends the story satisfyingly and tie up all loose ends.

I explained to the client that the story’s merit and the reader’s involvement with the characters will make him want to read another story about those characters.

The Story’s Voice

Unless you’re privy to ‘real’ conversations of the age group of the protagonist, it will be challenging to pull the voice off.

A way to overcome this is to read a lot of traditionally published MG. You can also watch YouTube videos for the age group. If you can interact with the desired reader age group, do so. It will give your book authenticity. Being aware of the modulation and inflection is also a good idea.

Along with how MG kids talk, you’ll need to capture their unique pressures of today. I’m sure a 12-year-old today can’t imagine life without a cell phone or tablet. I know this is true because my older grandsons are 12 and 14. It’s a different world than it was even 10 years ago. Your characters’ pressures, daily life, and lifestyles should reflect this.

Another tip: avoid trending words. You want your story to be timeless. Editors want contemporary books unless you’re writing historical fiction, fantasy, or sci-fi.

The Storyline

Publishers are looking for bestsellers.

Your book should be unique, even if it’s a story that’s been told before. It needs to be intriguing. And it needs a clear sense of the stakes.

For this age group, it doesn’t have to be life or death, but it could be a move, the loss of a friend, or circumstances that would evoke strong feelings in a child/tween.

That’s it for the story writing part. The next post will deal with querying agents (and publishers).

I’m a working children’s ghostwriter, book doctor, editor, and self-publishing consultant. I help turn your idea, outline, or manuscript into a book you’ll be proud to call your own—and provide hands-on guidance through every step of the self-publishing process.

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You can contact me at kcioffiventrice@gmail.com.