Love this JJ! While I love writing YA, I’ve been feeling the pull to add in MG as well. With a background in youth ministry I know how crucial it is to have good books to suggest to teens and middle schoolers!
To your question, I feel most called to write for the kids who (like I was as a kid and I guess still am) love to use their imagination in a big way and who love the idea of getting out of this world to do it (at least mentally). I want to write fun, spacy, MG that shows strong friendships, fighting for what’s right, and LOTS of adventures in space! I think these readers will want to experience adventures that expand their imaginations and take them out of every day life, but I know they will also add valuable lessons for when they “re enter” normal life.
My favorite books as a kid made me forget everything but the story and that story stayed with me long after I stopped reading and that would be my hope!
I have several projects starting for YA/NA but Im considering MG now because honestly as an adult I love reading quality MG myself! My siblings and I were so imaginative growing up on the farm and being homeschooled. Now I have 2 little boys of my own. I think about writing the books I wanted as a middle schooler, adventure/fantasy but also farm stories. Stories with deep themes of real struggles kid’s face but dealt with in a hopeful way.
That was one of the reasons I explored Middle-Grade. I remember a lot of the books I had growing up, and how I struggled to find the type of stories I wanted to read.
I have two solid (I think) Middle Grade series ideas. They couldn't be told for any other market, because they're about and for kids. So, someday, I'd like to learn to write them well.
Besides that, I love playing and working with kids, and the way children think and imagine and experience life is such a delight. I never want to lose that childlike wonder in my writing, and writing for kids has always seemed like a natural extension of that.
I agree. The way kids think and imagine has given me a ton of ideas. One day I’ll share the story of how I came up with (because of my kids) with the Living Snot in the middle of a church service
I decided to write MG because a fun character revealed itself to me in my second adult novel. I had planned to start later, but now seems to be the best time, since my boys are within the age range of my target audience, and there seems to be a lot of signs telling me this is the work I need to focus on now. It’s really neat; even when I reached out to JJ about this, it turned out that he was starting this Substack right when I was gearing up. Looking forward to all this.
Love this JJ! While I love writing YA, I’ve been feeling the pull to add in MG as well. With a background in youth ministry I know how crucial it is to have good books to suggest to teens and middle schoolers!
To your question, I feel most called to write for the kids who (like I was as a kid and I guess still am) love to use their imagination in a big way and who love the idea of getting out of this world to do it (at least mentally). I want to write fun, spacy, MG that shows strong friendships, fighting for what’s right, and LOTS of adventures in space! I think these readers will want to experience adventures that expand their imaginations and take them out of every day life, but I know they will also add valuable lessons for when they “re enter” normal life.
My favorite books as a kid made me forget everything but the story and that story stayed with me long after I stopped reading and that would be my hope!
I have several projects starting for YA/NA but Im considering MG now because honestly as an adult I love reading quality MG myself! My siblings and I were so imaginative growing up on the farm and being homeschooled. Now I have 2 little boys of my own. I think about writing the books I wanted as a middle schooler, adventure/fantasy but also farm stories. Stories with deep themes of real struggles kid’s face but dealt with in a hopeful way.
That was one of the reasons I explored Middle-Grade. I remember a lot of the books I had growing up, and how I struggled to find the type of stories I wanted to read.
I have two solid (I think) Middle Grade series ideas. They couldn't be told for any other market, because they're about and for kids. So, someday, I'd like to learn to write them well.
Besides that, I love playing and working with kids, and the way children think and imagine and experience life is such a delight. I never want to lose that childlike wonder in my writing, and writing for kids has always seemed like a natural extension of that.
I agree. The way kids think and imagine has given me a ton of ideas. One day I’ll share the story of how I came up with (because of my kids) with the Living Snot in the middle of a church service
Looking forward to that story 😂
I write mostly young adult, but I hope to venture into MG one of these days so I’m here to learn! Thanks for sharing!
No problem! Glad you have you join us!!
I decided to write MG because a fun character revealed itself to me in my second adult novel. I had planned to start later, but now seems to be the best time, since my boys are within the age range of my target audience, and there seems to be a lot of signs telling me this is the work I need to focus on now. It’s really neat; even when I reached out to JJ about this, it turned out that he was starting this Substack right when I was gearing up. Looking forward to all this.
Hey Bryan! Glad you made it!!! It was the same for me. Just kept seeing these little signs telling me this is what I needed to work on