Children's Fantasy Novel

[bestseller]

I'm trying my hand at writing a fantasy novel for say 10 - 14 year old group (kinda the cusp between the middle-reader and ya)??

Qs. 1: I'm tossed between Medieval, futuristic, & a totally made up world, but leaning more to the first. If I stick to Medieval, how much facts about that era do I need to put in the novel. Also, is it possible to mix medieval and my own creation, such as coming up with my words/vocab., rules, etc.

Qs. 2: What is the usual, accepted word range for novels for that age group?

Qs. 3: Any good books out there about writing fantasy/action-adventure for this age group?

I already sent an outline of the proposed book to an agent who thought it was great and has sent it to a publisher who recently asked for something in those lines. I've written the first three chapters and want to have the setting layed out before I write any more.

Any help/advice/wisdom will be greatly appreciated.

~Thanks
Chrissie Pooh!

[Christine N.]

Ok. let's see here..easy questions first.

Word range - for middle grade, YA, 40-60K is about the norm. Less for younger readers, more for older. Although some people get away with much more (think JK Rowling and anything after the second HP book).

Harder questions. You can write whatever you want. That's the beauty of writing. My own first book contains a world parallel to our own, with Medieval influences, but not strictly speaking. You can get your facts straight - with what things are called, etc... but too much history might bog it down. Or if you make up things, make sure it's supposed to be anything actual. Or you could make up a story about an actual place, but make sure its totally made up. Follow? Pick one and stick to it, is what I'm saying.

I'm currently reading Trickster's choice by Tamora Pierce and she does a great job making up her own world, but making it recognizable. By that I mean she has whole made up civilzations, but the things they do I can see happening in the past of our own world.

I must also say that you are incredibly lucky to have anybody look at just a propsal for a book. I envy you. LOL

[bestseller]

Thanks Christine for the info-helps a lot. Congratulations on your book.

Yep, I think I must be getting there--not as fast as I would like though. At least now the rejection letters have moved from form letters to ones that say they love the writing, don't like this one, can we see more. I had a publisher reply via email asking if they could hold on to a manuscript for further review, but turned it down months later. So, I'm always at the drawing board.