I am a turtle hiding in my shell this week. Or perhaps I am a caterpillar curled up in a chrysalis
about to emerge as a tiger swallowtail butterfly. I may be metamorphosing.
I'm feeling some middle grade urges. And I don't mean the urge to kiss Tommy
Washington under the monkey bars. I mean
the urge to write for middle grade.
What is enticing me about middle grade:
1.
I like to read descriptions. I enjoy curling up with a book as it takes me
to a magical place. I don't see the movie
version of books because I get outraged by differences versus my
imagination. I want to describe the
situation. I want to use adjectives.
2.
Picture books really have a co-writer called the
illustrator. I can't figure out how to
leave room for the illustrator without feeling like I didn't get to tell the
story.
3.
Cool stuff happens in pre teen life. Kids are really defining themselves. Their lives are full of drama. Though it isn't as serious perhaps as a teen,
it is just as intense. I also enjoy
potty humor and slapstick comedy.
What
is holding me back:
1.
I have little picture book reading kids. I have been checking out middle grade books
to expose myself to the genre. But I
don't hang with 11-year-olds. Do
11-year-olds still hang? There is much I
do not know about kids born in this millennium.
And a 9-year-old stated unequivocally I was "uncool" the other
day; so that helped my confidence.
2.
I have such limited time I feel the need to
concentrate somewhere. Exploring means learning about a new genre's rules. It
also means a new set of publishers to research when the time comes.
3.
I fear I may be copping out. I haven't been practicing writing picture
books that long. Though I may not have the
magic yet, it doesn’t mean I won't pull out a rabbit eventually. Am I feeling urges out of fear? I am yeller-bellied without a doubt.
I realize now the butterfly metaphor was overstated. I am just a speck of a green egg about to hatch
into a caterpillar. In that case, I'm going
to let my muse gorge herself into a fat caterpillar. She needs to keep writing picture books to
learn how to leave room for the illustrator. But she can spend her free time describing
the most polite ways to deal with the wet mess Tommy Washington left on her
lips.
Do you focus or do you let your muse flit from teen lit to
board books to mysteries?
10 Comments
I say listen to your inner voice. Try mid grade and see how that goes. There is much more free room for our writing muse to explore. I do feel that writing PB is limiting. You, however, seem to have a knack for it. At the same time, I am quite certain you will be a great mid grade writer. Your humor comes naturally and that's what editors are looking for in midgrade. Plus, there is a better market for it. Your Kids will be 11 years old in no time. (sorry to scare you)
ReplyDeleteRomelle - you are right, by the time I have a good manuscript my kids will be middle grade! (there better not be a Tommy Washington in their class)
DeleteThanks for the good advice and encouragement.
I focus like a laser beam on picture books. I do, however, flit from one picture book idea to another on occasion.
ReplyDeleteMy feeling is, if you wanna give a middle grade reader a go, then give it a go. Who knows? It might be your calling.
Picture books are unique animals and require study Jane Goodall-esque study. But maybe my voice is running around the top of the trees with the orangutans. Who knows?
DeleteWatch out for those orangutans. If the movies from the 1970s are any judge, those big apes like to give people the finger.
DeleteThe finger doesn't bother me. But I don't care for poop-throwing.
DeleteDo it, Lauri! I don't think you need to be up on all the latest 9-12 year old lingo to do it. Frankly, what you're doing is probably the best study of all. Read what's out there in the genre and what's selling. Let the tone and tenor of what you find be your guide.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Is Tommy Washington a real person or just based off a real person? I think you need to write a book about Tommy Washington.
ReplyDeleteFunny. There is no Tommy Washington, but there were several slobbery kissers. I just realized the first challenge in trying middle grade is having no idea how to plan a story. Maybe some girls start a list of the wettest kissers in fifth grade. It is all fun and games until Josie's best friend ends up on the list. She decides she has to kiss him by the monkey bars so she can remove him from the list. But then...
DeleteE. B. Pike has left a new comment on your post "Middle Grade Urges":
ReplyDeleteDo it, Lauri! I don't think you need to be up on all the latest 9-12 year old lingo to do it. Frankly, what you're doing is probably the best study of all. Read what's out there in the genre and what's selling. Let the tone and tenor of what you find be your guide.
Good luck!
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