Lauri Meyers .

Those of you considering Middle Grade writing ( like I sometimes do ) will enjoy these highlights from the panel "A Blues for Middle Grade" at the Brooklyn Book Festival .  The authors offered a great introduction to the middle grade audience.  Here are some of my favorite tidbits: R.J. Palacio  ( Wonder ) had this to say about middle graders:  they are "toddling back and forth between being little kids and believing everything they are told and being a teenager and being skeptical."  Wendy Mass ( The Candymakers ) shared middle graders "spend so much time thinking about what others think of you - you forget to figure out who you are." Adam Gidwitz ( A Tale Dark & Grimm ) remembers "how difficult it was to be who you wanted to be."  He could identify what it meant to be cool, but he couldn't control his actions enough to develop into that person. Sheela Chari ( Vanished ) said during middle grade "You really star...

I did it! I went to my first writing event - The Brooklyn Book Festival.  Here's how it went:             A cool breeze made her consider one more safety pee as she walked down the sidewalk.            No , she thought, five times was enough .  Her foot stomped firmly on the concrete to shake           out the creeping anxiety.  This country girl from Ohio took each step with commitment,           feeling independence surging through her muscles.           You can do this , she thought.   No pitches, no critiques; this is easy.  Just put out your hand and            say, "Hi, I'm a writer."  Then do it again and again until you believe it.          Sunshine warmed her shoulders pulling them a little higher as she entered the city square.      ...