 Fantasy: May 28, 2014 Issue [#6347] |
  Fantasy
This week: The Fantastical World of Middle Grade Edited by: Dawn Embers  
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An Elf (written) Fantasy Newsletter
Young readers have their own section of books and middle grade is one of them that combines well with fantasy. In this newsletter we look at the age range that is the target for middle grade, along with the others who also enjoy seeing the fantastical in the young age section. |
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Middle Grade is a great age range for those writing fantasy. It's the set of books right after the start of chapter books, where kids can read full chapters and less pictures previous sets of books, but before Young Adult. Some libraries and books stores refer to it as Juvenile, like my local library. The section is great for fantasy though because the target audience is young and the fantastical elements are things that many of them appreciate in a fiction story. Roughly speaking, the reader range from about 8-12, give or take a couple years. However, there are plenty of adults who also read the books.
I'm writing a book that is almost middle grade, more like early YA but it might catch some middle grade readers attention. I've been reading some middle grade books though to help understand the age range in case it gets labelled as such. I have really enjoyed the fantasy ones that I have read, in particular the books by Brandon Mull. It can be quite fun from Grandma was turned into a chicken by a witch to boy ends up in strange world by falling into the mouth of a hippopotamus. And the adventures! Such a fun age range to introduce magical worlds and let the young characters save the day.
There are a few different features that are considered important to a middle grade fantasy story. The fantasy element is obvious, so let's look at what makes the story work for middle grade. Aside from worrying about the type of conflict, the main character is going to fit within the age range or might be a tiny bit older. There aren't going to be many adult main characters in middle grade because the age range is for kids. Yes, that is an important feature. Other than that, it will vary. Language is toned down for obvious degrees but aside from that there are many things you will find within middle grade. Research and read to get to know more about what the age range requires.
Another fun feature about middle grade is that it can cross over into YA when doing a series. The first book that gets in the middle grade range is the starting point and from there, as the characters grow, so do the readers. A good example of that is the Harry Potter series as the first couple of books are often considered middle grade but the books developed towards young adult later on as the characters grew and the plots advanced. Dragons, magic, trolls, little space men, almost anything one can imagine works well within middle grade and that is what makes it great for fantasy. It's an imaginative age range and thus perfect for us writers of the fantastical.
I have read some of the books listed here, but there are many more I haven't read but might in the future. Check them out and you might find something new you enjoy. If you write middle grade, keep writing. We always need more here on WDC.
Some books to check out:
Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull
Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan
The Time Travelers by Linda Buckley-Archer
The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester
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Here are some young age range focused groups, contests and static items:
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#1946108 by Not Available. |
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#1988858 by Not Available. |
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#1987441 by Not Available. |
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Do you write Middle Grade stories? What do you like about Middle Grade?
Last time I wrote about Word Building and received one comment sent in. Here is the comment:
On the article "Do You Have World Builder's Disease?" I think I am a little of both worlds, writing without building a world and writing with a world already built. I do not fully develop the world but I build some of it so that I can try to make it a little more realistic. Also by partially building the world, I become more excited about the journey my characters take. One of my habits is to not finish a story. If I plan out the world in detail and have in my mind the exact things my characters do... then the adventure for me is lost and I get bored with my own story. I have to keep some of the mystery present for even me to keep going with the story.
Thank you for your article.
- Sent in by Legna 
Thanks for the response. I haven't done the get bored later cause too much is figured out but that's because I don't world build much. However, I do have 170k+ of a story done that needs world building and I have no idea how long the final outcome will be when that's done. We all have our different ways to get stories out, just have to find what works best for us.
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