All Things Middle Grade

sissybaby

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Those are some great titles. And are these on the $1.99 list?

Oh, wait, my daughter has a Kindle. I'm the one with the Nook.
 

sissybaby

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yes, I just checked out the library site yesterday and downloaded a couple of books, but I don't remember these. I'll have to check again. Thanks for the info.
 

JSSchley

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Is that deal company wide or just in your store?

Sorry, jumped right back into my nano and actually got off AW for once! Go me!

But yes, that's a company-wide deal. The only catch is that the collections are based on when you buy the tablet--until July 15, it's 6 or 7 (I've forgotten) free middle grade books, for the second half of July, it's Young Adult books, and in the beginning of August it's picture books. Unfortunately, you can't get all three.

And the Harper Collins thing is for all e-editions, whether you are a Kindle person, nook person, Sony person or what have you. :D
 

Marzipan

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When you guys get a SNI how do you beat it away from your WIP? I have a new idea that won't go away, and it is making it terribly hard to finish my other story, which is almost complete. *Bites nails*
 

playground

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When you guys get a SNI how do you beat it away from your WIP? I have a new idea that won't go away, and it is making it terribly hard to finish my other story, which is almost complete. *Bites nails*


I just write my idea down and then work on both MS at once, usually towards the end (last five chapters) you'll probably go back to that to finish it. Even better, when you are done, then you can go to your other idea and write it for a couple of weeks and clear your head from your completed MS, so when you go back you can edit it fine.
 

MsJudy

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Write down notes/outlines/scene ideas--whatever is bubbling up from the new idea. Don't fight it. Get it on paper, then set it aside and get back to work on the WIP.

Inspiration should never be ignored. I think it's like a little kid. If you shove it away, it's probably not going to want to come out and play with you when you do want it.

It might even run away from home. And then where will you be?
 

MsJudy

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This isn't so much MG as books in general...

Interesting thing going on in town. We have several independent bookstores. One big one is doing really well, outlasted both Crown and Borders opening on the same street. Another just changed owners and seems to be doing well. A third took over the mall space that used to a Borders Express; it's being run by the former staff, but is owned by a family that has toystores in other neighboring areas. It also seems to be doing well, probably because it combines toys with a very niche market of books, like a huge manga selection.

But the last one...not doing so well. They're not sure if they can stay in business. But they're the one that hosts the most national authors on book tours, so they're trying something new (I guess a few other stores have done it, and gave them the idea.)

They're setting up a non-profit to run the author visits. If they can raise $250K this summer, they'll be able to stay in business, though they'll downsize and reorganize.

So far, they've only raised about a tenth of what they need, but word is getting out and donations are picking up. This weekend, a local guy organized a Cash Mob--everybody show up, spend at least $20, stay and talk to at least 3 people.

It'll be interesting to see if this business model works. I don't spend much money there anymore because their kids' department is the smallest of all the local indies, but I hate to see any bookstore close.
 

profen4

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Just finished the final edit of my latest MG novel - whew! - and I'm a bit concerned that I might have pushed some boundaries. Do any of you guys know any MG novels where there are kids that attempt to maim, or even kill other people? The main character of my book is kind of working to stop these other kids, but my first beta reader (only had time for one so far) thought it was a bit too scary. She said she might not let her kid (9 years old) read the book because of how cavalier some of the kids in the story are about violence.
quan ao nu dep do lot nam dung cu tap an vay lien cong so ban buon quan ao album anh dep
I'd appreciate hearing what you guys think. Is severe violence okay in MG as long as it's not graphic and as long as the MC isn't the psychopath?
 
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Kitty Pryde

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Just finished the final edit of my latest MG novel - whew! - and I'm a bit concerned that I might have pushed some boundaries. Do any of you guys know any MG novels where there are kids that attempt to maim, or even kill other people? The main character of my book is kind of working to stop these other kids, but my first beta reader (only had time for one so far) thought it was a bit too scary. She said she might not let her kid (9 years old) read the book because of how cavalier some of the kids in the story are about violence.

I'd appreciate hearing what you guys think. Is severe violence okay in MG as long as it's not graphic and as long as the MC isn't the psychopath?

IMO, no, it's not okay. You don't really see it in MG. I'm trying to think of a kid being more violent than a playground scuffle, and I can't. Oh, one dreadful foreign novel where an autistic child befriends an evil sociopath child, and the sociopath stabs the math teacher in the stomach with a dagger for no apparent reason and gets sent to an institution. I have no idea why that book even existed though.

There are lots of books about kids in peril fighting back without extreme violence, for ex. Powerless, The Fourth Stall, The Graveyard Book Remember the uproar about the Spiderwick Chronicles movie, because the little boy stabs his father with a sword and it was way too scary? That scene wasn't in the book.
 

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Hmm, profen, you say it's the antagonists (but still kids) who are doing the killing/maiming? I'm not sure whether that's okay or not. If it was the protag, you'd definitely get a lot of pushback for them killing people (now, killing monsters you might get away with). I don't know how I feel about bad kids being that bad in MG and I can't think of any examples. I have seen killer adults in MG (The Graveyard Book, Harry Potter, etc.), but no kids that I recall.
 

Marzipan

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Thanks Playground King and Ms. Judy for the insight. I think I'm going to take your advice and stop pushing the story away. It seems the harder I push, the more inspiration leaks into my brain. Tomorrow I have the day off, so I think I'll write a few chapters (this one is going to be short, maybe 30k words) and maybe some scene ideas.

It'll be interesting to see if this business model works. I don't spend much money there anymore because their kids' department is the smallest of all the local indies, but I hate to see any bookstore close.
Definitely know the feeling. My friend had to close his comic shop this week. Even though business was fair, the store was struggling. :'( When he posted about it on Facebook I cried the rest of the day. It's sad to see peoples dreams go down like that.

@Profen: You would have to do it extremely well, but it sounds like it would be better suited for lower YA. It kind of reminds me of Lord of the Flies, which isn't a MG novel, but has young male characters. Also, I think something similar happened in the last Vampire Apprentice novel, but I can't remember exactly, and that boarders on YA more often than not. Good luck with it though!
 
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MsJudy

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Do any of you guys know any MG novels where there are kids that attempt to maim, or even kill other people? The main character of my book is kind of working to stop these other kids, but my first beta reader (only had time for one so far) thought it was a bit too scary. She said she might not let her kid (9 years old) read the book because of how cavalier some of the kids in the story are about violence.

I'd appreciate hearing what you guys think. Is severe violence okay in MG as long as it's not graphic and as long as the MC isn't the psychopath?

Is this fantasy or literary?

In fantasy, you do have quite a lot of violence against evil monsters, but even then it doesn't cross the line. In The Lightning Thief, for example, the monsters are never completely, permanently destroyed. So Percy kills 100s, but never actually kills anyone. I remember being kind of shocked and turned off when the heroine of Skulduggery Pleasant killed someone in one of the later books--3 or 4, I don't remember which. But to me, it changed the tone of the series and took away the humor, which was its best quality.

In literary/contemporary fiction--I would say, Not usually. The only example I can think of is Tangerine. There's a rather graphic maiming scene near the end, involving a very sociopathic pre-teen. But I personally don't think Tangerine is really MG. I certainly wouldn't recommend it for anyone under 11 or 12 unless they're exceptionally mature.
 

profen4

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Thanks guys - I think what I need to do is get a couple more beta readers, specifically beta readers who read a lot of MG. I read about 4 MG novels a week, but I don't think that's typical with most adult readers :)

Also, my book doesn't actually have any kids killing people. But it has them *trying* to, and being very cavalier about it. Maybe I need to do some character adjustments ..... quan ao nu quan lot khe binh sua cho be vay cong so nu chan vay cong so nu album anh
 
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profen4

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Is this fantasy or literary?

In fantasy, you do have quite a lot of violence against evil monsters, but even then it doesn't cross the line. In The Lightning Thief, for example, the monsters are never completely, permanently destroyed. So Percy kills 100s, but never actually kills anyone. I remember being kind of shocked and turned off when the heroine of Skulduggery Pleasant killed someone in one of the later books--3 or 4, I don't remember which. But to me, it changed the tone of the series and took away the humor, which was its best quality.


It is strictly MG Adventure. It's not "literary fiction," though. It's very plot driven. But there are no fantasy elements in it at all. So, no monsters, except the human kind. quan ao nam han quoc quan chip binh sua so sinh vay cong so chan vay cong so trang phuc hoa trang cho be
 
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Kewii

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Hi everyone :)

I thought I'd start hanging around here because my latest work is MG :) It's been a lot of fun to write so far. I can't wait until it's finished (I'm hoping to finish before it's back to work in September) :)

Hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday...I am, since it's Canada Day! :D
 

Britwriter

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A question about MG and language. I've tried to keep the language creative and interesting, while avoiding the overuse of stronger words, so that when they are used, they are significant. I think I've erred on the side of caution, compared to some MG I've read. For example, I use 'jerk' just twice, once when the mean kid is really mad at the MC (the 'all is lost' moment, for those who are into Save the Cat), and once when the MC talks about himself in the last chapter and realizes he's been a jerk himself.

Other than that, it's moron, idiot, loser, etc, all the way. I've kept it like this because although it's more upper MG, it's humor, and I've found that a lot of younger MG have really liked it and understood the story, even though the deeper themes have been maybe over their heads.

Here's the sentence I'm debating right now.

MC to best friend: "Funny? Yeah, sure! Hil-freakin'-arious." Man, Sajit could be dumb sometimes.

In this context, is 'freakin' too much for MG, if lower MG might also read it?

Opinions?
 

sissybaby

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Britwriter - I don't know if your dialogue is so much inappropriate, as kind of strange, at least to me. It's rather difficult to read as a word. Others may know better than be about the use of the freakin part, but if you use it, I would look for a word to fit it into that reads a little smoother.

Just my 2 cents, of course.

Oh, and Hi, kewii. Sorry I almost overlooked you. And I saw your grandma thing on Facebook and shared it. Hmmmm. Now I'm intrigued.
 

Kitty Pryde

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You know, I've noticed that particular word is extremely limited in MG. I spotted it once in a novel the other day and I was a bit surprised. It seems like you can get away with one, especially in upper MG. but as it's a direct stand in for the real f-word, you have to be sparing I think.

One of my fourth grade pals has coined an even more audacious alternative, "What the fart?" And I can't decide if it's more or less appropriate.
 

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Hi, everyone. :)

Since the last two books I've written have been MG, I thought I'd pop into this thread to say hello. I'm currently just beginning to query the most recent of the two.

I've been hovering in this thread for a few days, and everyone has been so helpful and friendly that I just had to jump in!
 

Kewii

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Thanks everyone for the welcome :)

I'm trying to convince myself to get some writing done today. But it's a holiday and everyone is home and it's busy :)