Monday, March 18, 2013

Wisdom from a Writing Conferences: Essentials of Middle Grade

Jennifer Nielsen presented on the essentials of middle grade novels at the LDSStoryMakers conference.

What I Learned:

I can write middle grade. In fact my current WIP is a middle grade novel. The most important thing I learned is middle grade readers to not need to be talked down to or coddled. They can read about adult issue at a high reading level. Take for example that many middle grade readers are reading The Hunger Games.

How I Plan to Apply It:

I have decided to try my had at middle grade. It is a level that I kind of skipped over when I was that age. Of course that was probably because most fantasy and science fiction novels were in the adult section. I have read some middle grade novels recently and fell in love with it.

If all goes well - I may permanently be a middle grade writer :)

Friday, March 8, 2013

Write. Be. - On the Road

Write. Be.

In fantasy - one of the most used and beloved formula's is the quest. The reader is taken on a journey in which the brave hero is tried and tested as he travels ever forward towards his ultimate goal.

Writing too is a journey.

One of my all time favorite books is Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander.

WARNING: Spoiler ahead!

In Taran Wanderer the main character Taran embarks on a quest to find his linage so that he may discover who he is, and what manner of man he is.

At the end he finds his ultimate goal - a magic mirror that will show him his true self. And then he learns that it was through the journey to the final end that he really found what he was looking for.

End of Spoiler

So being an Author is not a destination - it is a journey.

Each word we write is a stone in the path leading to the ultimate end of being an author. As we reach each milepost of our journey there is still more road to travel. More to learn, more to accomplish. It is along this journey that we will find who we truely are as writers.

Where are you in your journey?