: Re: Mortal danger in mid-grade literature In a comment to my post here, Cyn mentions wishing to avoid implying that the characters might all die, because she's writing for a mid-grade audience. Which

@Looi5811334

Vote Up Vote Down

Link: www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-key-differences-between-middle-grade-vs-young-adult
What is Middle-Grade Literature?

Age of readers: 8–12.

Length: Generally 30,000–50,000 words (although fantasy can run longer
to allow for more complex world-building).

Content restrictions: No profanity, graphic violence or sexuality (romance, if any, is limited to a crush or a first kiss).

Age of protagonist: Typically age 10 for a younger MG novel, and up to
age 13 for older, more complex books.

Mind-set: Focus on friends, family and the character’s immediate world
and relationship to it; characters react to what happens to them, with
minimal self-reflection.

Voice: Often third person.

Keep that in mind. If you don't, then the manuscript will just get tossed in the waste bin.

Currently, I am writing... uh, "fiction". I put that in quotes, because it's the best way to describe it. The truth is, the fictional work is written in Chinese, and it is called a 小说.

长篇小说 = novel

中篇小说 = novella

短篇小说 = short story

小说 = often translated as "novel" but this term is actually a general term for all three, so I'm going to go with "fiction"

The story is written on my mobile phone. It is about a little rabbit and his adventures. Rabbits are at the bottom of the food chain. They are hunted by different predators: foxes, snakes, cats, wolves, etc. There are all kinds of life-threatening dangers. Basically, I just write a scene on my phone, based on my outline in my notebook, and publish/share the story on WeChat, a social media service that most Chinese people have. So far, I think I have found a target audience among my cousin's children. The older girl is school-aged, and she seems to enjoy it. The younger girl is a baby; she can't talk yet, let alone express her feelings with words. The story is as violent as a traditional fairy-tale or folktale, and those stories are read to children. If little kids can handle this kind of fairy-tale/folktale about a wolf and the sheep/goats (羊 can be translated as "goat" or "sheep" in English, and judging by the video, I think they are sheep? On the other hand, some stories may use 山羊, which would imply goat), then my own story would be appropriate for middle-grade readers as well.

(0)

Login to post a comment!