C is for Connecting to Readers

What makes you want to keep reading? Often, you feel a connection to a main character and his story so you care about what happens to him. How can writers create that connection?

Give your character a personality. A strong main character can often make me stick with a story, even if I don’t like what’s happening or the writing style. Notice that a strong character doesn’t have to be likeable, though I think 8- to 12-year-olds relate better to a character that has at least a few likeable qualities. But there has to be some reason why I want to see what happens to them, why I care to read their story. Sometimes, the reason might be simply that I see the character has the potential to change and I want to see if she does.

Use character voice. When the viewpoint character has a unique voice, it helps to create a sense that the character is real. But I think it’s important not to try too hard to play up the voice, because you can end up with forced writing that sounds like an adult trying to be a kid. Instead, tap into the character by getting to know them. Construct your character in the reader’s mind through showing how he acts and how he thinks. That’s when the character’s voice will emerge.

Add some shared interests. One of the reasons why you connect well with friends is because you have something to share—the same school, the same life goals, the same hobbies or interests. That's a good starting point for connecting to readers too. Make sure your story includes interests or hobbies that are relevant to middle-grade readers, then take it up a notch by adding a twist. Use things kids know about, like school and family, and add in something else that piques their curiosity, like dogsledding (Dogsled Dreams by Terry Lynn Johnson), having a zookeeper parent (Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs) or figureskating (Sugar and Ice by Kate Messner). Think: What would it be like to….?

Ultimately, you can’t predict whether a reader will connect with your story and characters. Not everyone wants to read every story. But if you can make the reader feel something for your character, chances are he’ll want to keep reading to see what happens next.

What do you do to help readers connect to your stories?

Links:

(*If you know of any other great articles on this subject, let me know and I’ll add them for our reference)

Lydia Sharp writes about how to connect with your reader.

Janice Hardy, author of The Healing Wars trilogy for MG readers, gives us strategies for creating characters that readers will care about.

Author Elana Johnson talks about the first thing a book needs — a character the reader can connect with. 

Tabitha Bird argues that connecting with the book you want to write is more important than connecting with readers.

Lucy Marsen at From the Write Angle writes about how slowing down can help you create connections with characters.

Three Good Things Book Giveaway Continues...and a Winner!

Did you guess the title of last week's "mystery" book?

It was Touch Blue by Cynthia Lord.


Congratulations to Theresa Milstein!

She's this week's winner!


If you didn't win a free book this time, you still have another chance. The giveaway goodness continues!

Today I'm announcing the clues for the third and final "mystery" book in my three good things giveaway.

For a chance to win, all you need to do is comment on this blog post. To make it a little more fun, you can get more chances to win by guessing the book title from the clues below. Are you ready?




Here's how you can win this week's "mystery" book:

Comment on this blog post (1 entry).

Use these three clues to guess this week's book prize for 2 extra entries (+2 entries):

1. The opening:  "All I've ever wanted is for Juli Baker to leave me alone. For her to backoff—you know, just give me some space."

2. You may have seen this book as a Rob Reiner film, with actors Madeline Carroll and Callan McAuliffe (and the giveaway copy of the book includes photos from the movie).

3. The author of this book wrote The Running Dream (also on my 100 book list this year), is well-known for her girl detective Sammy Keyes, and is an avid runner.



*Remember, all of the books are fresh new copies of ones I've read so far for my 100 book challenge.

The deadline for entering this giveaway is Saturday July 23, 2011.

V is for Voice: It Might Sell Your MG Novel

Voice is tricky to define, and even trickier to pin down when you’re writing. But editors and agents often say one of the key things they look for in a manuscript is a strong or unique voice. What does that mean?

Voice has been defined as the specific way that you, the writer, put words together so that your writing shows some personality. In novels where the narrator has a strong voice, the writing sounds natural. As a reader, you don’t notice that you’re reading words on a page. You’re in the story and the mind of the main character.  And if that novel is a MG novel, the story sounds like it comes from a real kid, not an adult.

I know this sounds obvious, but if you’re not an eight- to-twelve-year-old yourself, it’s easy to write something you think sounds like MG, but actually doesn’t. How can you develop your middle grade voice?

Think like a kid as you write. When you’re writing, you really need to see the world of the story and the story events through the eyes of a middle grade character. Kids and adults don’t notice the same kinds of things. They don’t talk the same way. They don’t react the same way. As much as you can, you need to take on that “kid perspective”.

Read middle grade fiction. One of my best tips for writing MG fiction is to read a lot of it. It gives you a feel for the language structures and style of speaking that 8- to-12-year-olds actually use. I know my own writing took a huge leap forward when I started reading more books written for the age level I’m actually writing.

Practice. I practice writing with a MG voice. I write about issues relevant to kids from my character’s point of view. Even if I don’t use my character’s opinions on whether they should be allowed to play more video games in my novel, I find that writing about them really helps to build that middle grade reader perspective.

What do you do to bring out your middle grade voice?

Links:

Anna Staniszewski writes on finding your middle grade voice.

At the SCBWI 2010 Conference blog, you’ll find some thoughts on voice from Jennifer Rees.

Here's a great post on voice from Notes from the Slushpile called Finding Your Voice: An SCBWI Master Class with Beverley Birch by Addy Farmer (added September 2011)

Miriam Forster has an interesting series of blog posts on voice, beginning with the difference between a writer’s voice and the character’s voice.

At Word Play, K.M. Weiland also discusses the differencebetween author voice and character voice.

Alexandra Sokoloff began a great discussion about voice with her blog post That Elusive Voice.

Lynda R. Young gives some strategies for developing a unique voice.

At MiG Writers, Debbie Ohi talks (and draws) about writers and voice.

Jeff Hirsch writes about a strategy for developing voice at The League of Extraordinary Writers.

At Let the Words Flow, Jennifer Fitzgerald writes about the struggle to get the right voice.

And at Writer Unboxed, Juliet Mallier tells some of her thought processes for choosing the right voice.

Shannon Whitney Messenger offers some tips for finding your character’s voice.

Over at The Bookshelf Muse, Becca posted a list of three good reasons why you should work on developing the voice of your novel and some tips for creating a strong character voice.

For more tips and links on developing voice, visit Adventures in Children’s Publishing.

T is for Transitions: Avoid Confusing Middle Grade Readers

There are lots of places in a novel where you need to include information about a change in location, a change in time (e.g. it’s now two days later), or a change from one plot event to another. These connecting parts need to blend in or they can interrupt the flow of the story.

If you’re writing MG, transitions can be tricky.

Too much detail. If takes too long to explain how your character got from one place to another, or that it’s now the next day, you risk losing your reader’s interest. Sometimes, it’s best just to quickly tell the reader, rather than drawing out the movement by showing through actions. But at the same time, you don’t want to tell the reader too much. Long drawn out transitions can slow down the pace of the story. Some questions to ask yourself: Does the reader really need to know this? Does it matter to the story?

Too fast. A quick change of scene or time might easily confuse a MG reader. Make sure you have enough information to orient the reader, so they know where the character is in your scene. You can prepare the reader for a change in place or event in the last line of a chapter or paragraph. This allows anticipation of what might be coming next. Some questions to ask: Does the reader know where my character is? What do they need to know for this to make sense?

The key is to strike a balance between giving information while not slowing down or pulling the reader out of the story. Here are a few tips:

Make them natural. The transitions I use mostly fit in logically with what is happening in the story. For example, if your character doesn’t usually notice the way the light falls on the trees, then using that detail to show a transition will seem awkward or stick out to the reader.

Use sensory details. One effective way to signal a change is through a character noticing a different sensation, e.g. a change in light to signal the time of day, an unusual smell when walking into a new place.

Watch for repetition. Words signalling a transition can easily become overused in your story. Some examples:  “Suddenly”, “All at once”, “Then”, “Next”, and “But”.  

For more ideas, check out some of the great articles in the links below. Do you have any tips for how to create effective transitions?

Links:
*If you know of any other resources on this topic, let me know and I'll add the link.

Janice Hardy, author of the MG novel Shifter, blogs about why transitions are important and where your novel needs them, as well as some great tips for making transitions seamless.

In a guest post at Robin Lucas’ blog, Angela Ackerman from The Bookshelf Muse gives us strategies for helping writing flow from scene to scene.

Lydia Sharp gives some pointers on ways to show the passing of time.

Over at Mystery Writing is Murder, Elizabeth Craig and Riley Adams talk about some of the problems with writing transitions.

Allison Valentine Schrier shows us two ways of writing transitions, using examples.

P.C. Wrede, author of the middle grade novel Thirteenth Child, part of the Frontier Magic series, discusses jump-cut and narrative transitions.

Juliette Wade provides a few tips on using transitions to keep the story moving forward.

S is for Stereotypes: Are Your Characters Really Unique?

When we’re creating characters, one of the things we’re told to watch out for is stereotypes—simple, commonly held perceptions of people, like "smart kids are geeks". A few examples of stereotypes you might come across in MG novels:

The evil step-mother. Why is it always the step-mother who is a monster? It’s been done to death by Disney.

The smart older sister (or friend who’s a girl). You can’t top Hermione, so why not make your female characters stand out for another reason?

Teachers who get on a kid’s case because they haven’t done their homework. Believe it or not, teachers are not always cracking the whip. Is there another way you could show a teacher?

Girls with red hair. As the mother of a redhead, I know this hair colour is definitely not as common in real life as it is in novels.

And the list goes on. What’s so bad about stereotyped characters? They can come across as flat and dull because the reader has already met that type of character in other stories. Relying on a stereotype for a character can leave out interesting quirks, mannerisms, and personality traits that add depth and realism. If a character is too much of a cliché, it might be hard to connect with their problems.

Avoiding character stereotypes can sometimes be a challenge. Here are some ideas that might help:

Brainstorm. In the same way that you might not use the first idea you come across for your plot twist, don't settle for the first personality trait that comes to mind when you're creating a character. You could be choosing a stereotype.

Think about reader expectations. Are you writing about a hero or a princess? What does your reader expect? Change it up by adding an unexpected personality trait or hobby. Instead of the smart older sister, make it an older brother. A brunette. Try to create the opposite of what you’ve been seeing a lot of in your reading.

Use point of view. Remember that characters are seen through the eyes of your point of view character. Maybe your narrator sees the world in stereotypes. If not, the details your narrator notices can help to make your characters seem more real, and less like a stereotype.

Should you always try to get rid of stereotypes? Maybe not. Including a stereotyped character in a MG novel might sometimes be useful.

Short cuts to understanding. If your readers are familiar with “kindly old grandfather” they can make a quick connection between the book and their background knowledge. This can sometimes serve as a “short cut” that eliminates a lot of explanation. Or, it can serve as a starting point for developing a unique character when the story takes the character beyond the stereotype.

Adding humor. Intentional use of a stereotype can be a way to add some fun into your story. The stereotyped character can be exaggerated, giving the reader a chance to poke some fun.

Do you try to avoid stereotypes when creating your characters? If so, how do you make sure your characters are unique?

Links: *As always, let me know if you find a great article on this subject to add for our reference.

At Buried In the SlushPile, read about how seemingly unimportant details can lead to stereotyped characters.

Writing tips for avoiding stereotypes by Matthew Arnold Stern.

Over at The Character Therapist, Jeannie Campbell posts about ways to rejuvenate character stereotypes, for example, The Tomboy.

Janice Hardy discusses how to avoid stereotyping whenwriting characters of a different gender than your own.

Susan Kaye Quinn of Ink Spells writes about moving past stereotypes in kid lit and gives us a look at a teen’s perspective on stereotyping in YA novels.

Blogger and book reviewer Meg talks about stereotyped highschools in YA novels and gives us the real life scoop.

Are boys stereotyped in MG and YA books? Hannah Moskowitz gives us one perspective.

Julia Daines writes with humor about how stereotypes can be useful.

R is for Rules: Creating Tension for MG Readers

If you write middle grade fiction, it helps to have a good picture of the life of a nine- to twelve year old. One big part of that life is rules. There are rules for home, rules for school, rules for friend’s houses, rules for sports, rules for games…Everywhere they go, kids have to follow rules.

Explicit rules. There are rules that kids hear around them all the time, like “Homework before computer” or “No talking during the quiz” or “No friends over when a parent’s not home.”

Implicit rules. Some of the “rules” kids follow might not be stated but are learned from the reactions of other kids in social situations, for example, “rules” about how to dress or where to sit in the cafeteria.

What are some key things to know about rules if you’re writing MG?

Think hard about which and how many rules a character will break. Some kids might enjoy reading because the characters in books can escape some of the rules in their lives and do things the reader themselves might not be allowed to do.

On the other hand, parents are still a big part of the lives of middle grade readers and may still be helping to make choices about reading materials and book purchases. Characters that break too many rules might be frowned upon, or depending on what the rules are, push your book more towards YA.

Take a kid perspective. Adults have a totally different perspective on rules than kids do. Have you ever tried to explain your logic in making a certain rule only to see a blank stare from your child? Because adults and kids value different things, there are some rules that kids just don’t get (e.g. Why do I have to keep my room clean again?)

Kids use rules too. Because they are still figuring out how rules work and which ones apply to them, rules are big in kids lives. They care about whether other kids follow the rules in the games they play. They also compare rules and use them to try to influence parents (e.g. “Well, Sophie is allowed to….”)

Rules can be a great way to bring in some tension and conflict in MG novels. Think about your main character’s attitude towards rules. Do they try to break them, maybe in a creative way? Or grumble about them but mostly go along? Which rules bug them the most? Does your story world have any unusual rules?

Do your characters have any rules to follow? How have you used rules in your stories?

Books where following (or not following) rules creates tension:
*If you can think of any others, please let me know and I'll add them to the list.

The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet by Erin Dionne
The Girl Who Owned a City by O.T. Nelson
The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau

Links:
Sorry, I couldn't find any on this topic. If you come across a related link, let me know and I'll add it for our reference.

P is for Parents: Dead or MIA

If you write or read middle grade books, you’ve probably heard about the “missing parent” phenomenon. That’s the situation where the parents of kids in middle grade novels are MIA: either dead (a Disney favourite), away on a trip, too busy to have any clue what their kids are up to, or out of the picture in some other creative way.

Why? Because in middle grade books, you want your main character (a kid) to solve the story problem.

Whether or not parent characters contribute the conflict or to the problem solving in the story, you still need to consider the parent-child relationship and how it affects your character. In the life of a ten- or eleven-year-old, parents are pretty important. Even if your main character is an orphan, not having parents will colour his experiences and emotional reactions (just look at Harry Potter).

Some things to consider about the role of parents in middle grade fiction:

Be consistent. If the parent is a workaholic, they should be a workaholic right from the start, not just conveniently when there needs to be an obstacle to the main character getting help.

Add some realism. Book parents sometimes come across as either being stereotypes (e.g. the deadbeat Dad in a divorce situation) or perfect (e.g. Mom always knows how to make the main character feel better). Like any other characters, parent characters have goals, emotions and flaws.

How do you deal with the parents in your novels? Any tips for creating realistic parent characters?

Books that include involved parents (*let me know if you have any more to add):

Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs (MG)
Sugar and Ice by Kate Messner (MG)
Ramona and her Father by Beverly Cleary (MG)
Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A. S. King (YA)

Links:
*As always, if you know of any other great resources on this topic, let me know and I'll add them here.

For a humorous take on different ways parents are handled in YA novels (which also apply to MG) read Frankie Diane Mallis over at First Novels Club.

Anna Staniszewski discusses 4 different ways to deal with fictional parents.

In a guest post at Laura Pauling’s blog, Kate Messner author of Sugar and Ice talks about writing a story where parents don’t disappear.

Mary Kole discusses how family relationships are related to creating tension in MG or YA novels.

Robin Fevers has some thoughts on parents in children's fiction and meeting the needs of readers.

For different opinions and thoughts on this issue by other writers, check out the What to Do With Parents thread at Nathan Bransford’s forum.

More Links:

Tracy Marchini on the role of parents in middle grade and young adult fiction.