Middle Grade Ninja: GUEST POST: “Writing Underwater, Light-up Pens, and Other Tricks, Tools and Strategies for Busy Writers” by Ann Searle Horowitz

There’s something about swimming laps that gets my creative juices flowing. When I first start the warm-up, my mind is the proverbial blank slate. Then a solution to something I’ve been working on suddenly pops in my head: a title, scene, chapter cliffhanger, character name, or plot twist for my WIP. And for the rest […]

Middle Grade Ninja: GUEST POST: “Writing the Truth (and making it funny)” by Lori Ann Stephens

Pierre François: 5th Grade Mishaps wasn’t a stroke of inspiration from la Muse (my writing goddess). When my younger son was in fifth grade, he developed a strange habit: each day, he’d come home from school complaining about recess, about boys, about girls, about teachers, about noises and smells and tastes. To Julien, fifth grade was […]

Middle Grade Ninja: GUEST POST: “Writing Tricky Topics for the Middle Grade Reader” by Martii Maclean

As young readers, we’ve all read stories that showed us glimpses of the injustice or frightening realisations about our world. We traveled with the book’s character and experienced what it was like to face a bully or be frightened by a stranger, or to struggle with secrets, doubts, disfigurement, seeing a cruelty or injustice, and […]

Middle Grade Ninja: GUEST POST: “The Writing Process” by Matthew Jobin

5:54 am – Walk to café, staring up at the stars while contemplating the vagaries and vicissitudes of life. Avoid looking at the blaring Impact-font headlines screaming, as they always scream, about What Is Happening Now, because it is only when I cannot hear What Is Happening Now that I can access Why Things Happen At […]

Middle Grade Ninja: GUEST POST: “Why School Librarians are a Middle Grade Author’s Best Friends” by Kristina Springer

I have four kids, three of which are in my target reading age for my books now (9, 11, and 13). And when I’m not writing, I like to volunteer at their schools—especially in all positions that relate to books. This means I work in the publishing center at the elementary school (we edit and […]

Middle Grade Ninja: GUEST POST: “Why Picture Books Aren’t Just for Elementary School Kids” by Salvo Lavis and James Munn

We write children’s picture books about an elementary school-aged boy and his marvelous pet weasel. Often we are asked—understandably so—for what age groups our fun little episodes are intended. The answer: children between four and ten years old and the adults who read with them. But the deeper truth: anyone and everyone. Humans love a […]

Middle Grade Ninja: GUEST POST: “Why Picture Books Aren’t Just for Elementary School Kids” by Salvo Lavis and James Munn

We write children’s picture books about an elementary school-aged boy and his marvelous pet weasel. Often we are asked—understandably so—for what age groups our fun little episodes are intended. The answer: children between four and ten years old and the adults who read with them. But the deeper truth: anyone and everyone. Humans love a […]

Middle Grade Ninja: GUEST POST: “Why Mom is Missing From TRUTH OR DARE” by Barbara Dee

Six years ago, author and children’s editor Leila Sales wrote a notable piece in PW about the ubiquitous “dead parent” character in middle grade and YA fiction. She called the “dead parent” storyline “lazy writing” in which the author evokes instant sympathy for the kid protagonist and avoids the difficult task of creating a non-boring […]

Middle Grade Ninja: Guest Post: “Why I Write About Goblins” by Andrea Kaczmarek

Why do I write Middle Grade?  Middle grade is the starting point to get kids really keen on books. Of course, the earlier the better with read aloud stories and the old favorites, but middle grade has a special attraction to get kids hooked. My grandson is hooked on the Wimpy Kid series and my […]