 |
| Public Domain |
Middle Grade Magic!
Amidst a children's book publishing industry that is bursting its bindings with young adult novels, I have found upper middle grade books to be what I prefer to write, and, even sometimes, read.
You might wonder why.
Aside from the fact that I've been told on numerous occasions that I live in "my own little world," I learned long ago that I am a quirky, creative soul...even in a room full of writers! So when I began to take my writing seriously, and even set goals to be published, it was to middle grade stories that my imagination wandered. Where else can you relive your own childhood, or write a book you wish had been written when you were a kid? Where else is a unique imagination rewarded, rather than ridiculed? Where else can you create flying polar bears and magical dryads all while not worrying about romantic scenes?? (That's not to say that I don't enjoy lots of young adult books, because I do! It's just that my own creativity seems to be satisfied only while writing imaginative stories for middle grade readers.)
A huge reason that I read middle grade novels is the same reason all writers are advised to read: It injects my creative juices with awesome writing, while keeping me informed on the current literary trends.
But, I would not be honest if I didn't admit that it is a great upper middle grade novel that excites me most - both as a writer, and as a reader.
So, while I'm a wife, and a mother of three sons, the "secret self" inside me is a quirky writer of MG stories. After all...middle grade is magic!
