All Things Middle Grade

Britwriter

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I generally try to cut. See what doesn't advance the plot, and cut it. Edit over and over, and make cuts where you are too wordy. Most people are. ;)

As a new author, it's probably best to err on the side of shorter, unless the word count is absolutely necessary to the plot.

Good luck!
 

A.C. Thomas

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Thanks, everyone! This has already given me so much insight. I am thrilled to be on a writing forum that is so helpful. It's very encouraging. And it's even better to find a place where people are as into mg as I am :)
 

heza

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Last Sunday, I watched a cartoon called Super Duper Sumos. The heroes are three sumo wrestlers. In this episode, they thawed out the brainy girl (who was frozen when the villain put a blimp in front of the sun) using the heat from their combined Tiger Armpit Farts.

ETA: Also, I watched this entirely of my own volition. No actual children were involved.
 

profen4

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Last Sunday, I watched a cartoon called Super Duper Sumos. The heroes are three sumo wrestlers. In this episode, they thawed out the brainy girl (who was frozen when the villain put a blimp in front of the sun) using the heat from their combined Tiger Armpit Farts.
.

*Sets PVR*
 

Britwriter

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Last Sunday, I watched a cartoon called Super Duper Sumos. The heroes are three sumo wrestlers. In this episode, they thawed out the brainy girl (who was frozen when the villain put a blimp in front of the sun) using the heat from their combined Tiger Armpit Farts.

ETA: Also, I watched this entirely of my own volition. No actual children were involved.

Question: Were the MCs boys or girls? I'm still pondering the concept that boys won't read about girls, and that girls don't like potty humor, so there's no market when you combine a girl MC with potty humor.

It's not true in my experience, but maybe all the kids I know are outside the norm.
 

heza

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Question: Were the MCs boys or girls? I'm still pondering the concept that boys won't read about girls, and that girls don't like potty humor, so there's no market when you combine a girl MC with potty humor.

It's not true in my experience, but maybe all the kids I know are outside the norm.


In this particular cartoon, the three wrestlers are boys (one white-surfer-dude, one zen-Asian-guy, and one black-leader-type), but it's difficult to tell exactly how old they are because they're giant Sumos.

ETA: They have a brainy girl sidekick.

I guess this cartoon fits the current theory. :(
 

Britwriter

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In this particular cartoon, the three wrestlers are boys (one white-surfer-dude, one zen-Asian-guy, and one black-leader-type), but it's difficult to tell exactly how old they are because they're giant Sumos.

ETA: They have a brainy girl sidekick.

I guess this cartoon fits the current theory. :(

Yep, sounds like it does. Bummer, though.
 

leora

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Hello everybody,

I am a newly joined MG Author. My adventure/fantasy novel is currently under the editing process. Any update on your current projects? I would love to know about it.
 

jvc

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Hello everybody,

I am a newly joined MG Author. My adventure/fantasy novel is currently under the editing process. Any update on your current projects? I would love to know about it.
:hi: Hi, Leora, welcome to the watercooler and the Writing for Kids forum. Ah, the dreaded 'editing' stage. Good luck with that. :)
 

DavidBrett

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Hi Leora! Welcome to WfK!

I'm currently in the second draft stage whilst me betas finish dissecting the first. It feels like an agonising age since I sent the MS out...!
 

SamIAhm

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Hey guys, I'm a new MG writer! After writing several picture books I decided it wasn't the right genre for me, and all my YA novels are on hold due to writers block, so I gave MG a shot and haven't looked back since. Can't wait to get to know you all :)



 

SamIAhm

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Glad to be joining you all :) thanks for the warm welcome. I'm actually looking for some advice right now, so please share your words of wisdom! Well here goes. My book is a middle grade fantasy that I hope to have anywhere between 15000-20000 words. It started out with simple wording, and pacing. But as the story progresses so does the vocabulary until this point I'm at now (the fourth chapter) where almost all the simplicity is gone. And there's a dragon who's giving a monologue about why it's his way or he'll burn the world to ash. It's not a boring speech, I've kept it quite interesting, so it's not the kind of ranting kids hate. I just feel like him explaining the concept of how two dimensions, of fantasy and reality can connect with this cool key he has, may be too difficult for the simplicity the readers began with and perhaps continue to expect. Is making a story progressively a bigger concept too difficult for kids between 8-10, or a good idea? Phew, that was a lot of explaining right there.
 

profen4

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Glad to be joining you all :) thanks for the warm welcome. I'm actually looking for some advice right now, so please share your words of wisdom! Well here goes. My book is a middle grade fantasy that I hope to have anywhere between 15000-20000 words. It started out with simple wording, and pacing. But as the story progresses so does the vocabulary until this point I'm at now (the fourth chapter) where almost all the simplicity is gone. And there's a dragon who's giving a monologue about why it's his way or he'll burn the world to ash. It's not a boring speech, I've kept it quite interesting, so it's not the kind of ranting kids hate. I just feel like him explaining the concept of how two dimensions, of fantasy and reality can connect with this cool key he has, may be too difficult for the simplicity the readers began with and perhaps continue to expect. Is making a story progressively a bigger concept too difficult for kids between 8-10, or a good idea? Phew, that was a lot of explaining right there.


I think there are very few things that will go over a kid's head if it's explained properly. Two dimensions are things I am sure kids know all about, actually. That concept has been around for a long time and it's in movies, books, tv shows, cartoons - I am reminded of INKHEART, where fantasy and reality come together. It was fairly popular with kids ;) quan lot annie do lot nam hang hieu bim cho be ban buon vay cong so cho thue trang phuc hoa trang
 
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deblyfe

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MG author of fiction travel adventure

Hi. I am a newbie MG author. My work is presenting itself as an early chapter book. I had a lot of crazy adventures when I traveled around the world, which (along with my nieces) inspired me to write this book. Nine year old Rose willingly (and sometimes unwillingly) shares her Aunt’s crazy travel adventures. In this first book of what I hope to be a series, Rose has to a do a presentation in class. She is nervous and has to overcome her public speaking fear.

I look forward to hearing from other MG authors.

Debra
 

A.C. Thomas

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Hi. I am a newbie MG author. My work is presenting itself as an early chapter book. I had a lot of crazy adventures when I traveled around the world, which (along with my nieces) inspired me to write this book. Nine year old Rose willingly (and sometimes unwillingly) shares her Aunt’s crazy travel adventures. In this first book of what I hope to be a series, Rose has to a do a presentation in class. She is nervous and has to overcome her public speaking fear.

I look forward to hearing from other MG authors.

Debra

Welcome, Debra! From one newbie to another :)
 

Morrell

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I agree that kids will be able to get the concept of different dimensions. But I would be concerned if a book starts out with simple vocab and gets significantly more challenging. Kids' skills aren't going to progress that much in such a short period of time. Those who were doing well with the simplicity will be frustrated if you change the difficulty level; while those who want something more complex will put it down before they get that far, thinking it's too babyish. It would be a good idea to stick with the same overall reading level throughout. Hope that helps. Oh, and welcome to AW. :)


Glad to be joining you all :) thanks for the warm welcome. I'm actually looking for some advice right now, so please share your words of wisdom! Well here goes. My book is a middle grade fantasy that I hope to have anywhere between 15000-20000 words. It started out with simple wording, and pacing. But as the story progresses so does the vocabulary until this point I'm at now (the fourth chapter) where almost all the simplicity is gone. And there's a dragon who's giving a monologue about why it's his way or he'll burn the world to ash. It's not a boring speech, I've kept it quite interesting, so it's not the kind of ranting kids hate. I just feel like him explaining the concept of how two dimensions, of fantasy and reality can connect with this cool key he has, may be too difficult for the simplicity the readers began with and perhaps continue to expect. Is making a story progressively a bigger concept too difficult for kids between 8-10, or a good idea? Phew, that was a lot of explaining right there.
 

MsJudy

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I'm with Ruth--sounds like once you've finished a first draft, that's the sort of thing you'll want to go back and revise. 15-20K is actually too short for MG fantasy, in general. 35-50K would be more in the normal range. So either you'll want to stick with the more complicated ideas and develop them more, or trim it all back and keep it simple for younger readers. But you don't have to decide those things until you've lived with the story for a while!
 

MJWare

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I'm with Ruth--sounds like once you've finished a first draft, that's the sort of thing you'll want to go back and revise. 15-20K is actually too short for MG fantasy, in general. 35-50K would be more in the normal range. So either you'll want to stick with the more complicated ideas and develop them more, or trim it all back and keep it simple for younger readers. But you don't have to decide those things until you've lived with the story for a while!
Normally, I might disagree, if the fantasy doesn't involve world building and such. An example, might be something like garden gnomes coming to life, or a magic backpack, or something like that.

But a Dragon is solid, even high fantasy, so I'd say if you write really tight maybe 30k. Of course it could be you are a special type of writer who's able to create a great age appropriate story in 20k--but even so, it's not a good way to get an agent or editor to read.

So, short answer: I agree with Judy (duh).
 

SamIAhm

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Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm going to try my best to make the story a bit more lengthy. It's just a story that can be read quickly and enjoyed despite being a fantasy. I'm going to extend the length to 20k minimum, and try my best to make it longer by adding a few more characters with stories of their own to tell.
 

jvc

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Hi. I am a newbie MG author. My work is presenting itself as an early chapter book. I had a lot of crazy adventures when I traveled around the world, which (along with my nieces) inspired me to write this book. Nine year old Rose willingly (and sometimes unwillingly) shares her Aunt’s crazy travel adventures. In this first book of what I hope to be a series, Rose has to a do a presentation in class. She is nervous and has to overcome her public speaking fear.

I look forward to hearing from other MG authors.

Debra
:hi: Hi Debra, welcome to the watercooler and the Writing For Kids forum. Good luck with the book.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm going to try my best to make the story a bit more lengthy. It's just a story that can be read quickly and enjoyed despite being a fantasy. I'm going to extend the length to 20k minimum, and try my best to make it longer by adding a few more characters with stories of their own to tell.
Good luck with the book Sam, I was going to say it sounded a tad short, too, but others have said it, so I won't. Darn it, I just did. Sheesh, by saying I won't mention it, I actually mention it. That's just wrong. :D