Category: Uncategorized

Middle Grade Ninja: GUEST POST: “Breaking into Fiction with Nonfiction” by Shelley Tougas

When I was an aspiring novelist, I took freelance writing gigs to pay the bills. I wrote about community festivals, fire department budgets, and careers in construction. I even wrote inspirational essays. Bills got paid, but I was no closer to being an author. Then a friend connected me with an education publisher that sells […]

Middle Grade Ninja: GUEST POST: “Insights Into Writing for Middle Grade Readers” by Cynthia Reeg

For me, writing middle grade (MG) novels always seemed a good fit. I remember vividly that time in fifth grade: two of my best friends had a falling out and I was caught in the middle. One of the friendships would survive. The other didn’t. It was a very eye-opening episode in my life. I […]

Middle Grade Ninja: GUEST POST: “Researching for Truth in a Tale of Fiction” by Charlotte Bennardo

Have a great idea for a middle grade novel? Why not just slap those words down, polish it a bit, and send it off? Wait, have you done your research?          Just because you’re writing a fantasy/animal/adventure/whatever story doesn’t mean there’s no research. If anything, you have an unspoken obligation to be […]

Middle Grade Ninja: GUEST POST: “Visions Of Ore” by Cam Baity and Benny Zelkowicz

When we set out to write our trilogy, THE BOOKS OF ORE, we ambitiously (and quite naively) attempted to build an entirely new world from scratch. Why hold ourselves to the familiar fantasy building blocks of medieval Europe, or magic, or talking animals? Our experience as animators taught us that every cliché could be challenged, […]

Middle Grade Ninja: 7 Questions For Public Relations Experts

Josh Redlich is a Publicist for Random House Children’s Books, where he works with authors like Mary Pope Osborne, Louis Sachar, Jay Kristoff, Gennifer Choldenko and Marisha Pessl to promote their works. He formerly worked at Sterling Publishing on titles ranging from children’s picture books to adult nonfiction. Josh is also the Chair of the […]

Middle Grade Ninja: Holes

Newbery Award–winning author Louis Sachar is the creator of the entertaining Marvin Redpost books as well as the much-loved There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom, winner of 17 child-voted state awards. Louis Sachar’s book Holes, winner of the 1999 Newbery Medal, the National Book Award, and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, is also an […]

Middle Grade Ninja: Long is the Way and Hard that Out of a Novel’s Second Act Leads Up to Publication.

Oh woe is me, Esteemed Reader! Have I mentioned I’m working on a novel? It’s a Middle Grade, of course, and all of my ninja skills are being tested in its completion. This one is an action adventure story I will here refer to as “The And Then Story.” As in, AND THEN this happened, […]