MC too young?

If the story is mature, don't worry about the MC's age too much. I don't care how old the MC is as long as the writing isn't condescending.

Chalula88 said:

Hi,

I am currently writing a dark sci-fi/fantasy about a young girl. The novel will be fairly long, deal with some mild adult subject matter, and will definitely be too challenging for middle grade readers.

My dilemma is that my MC is only eleven years old. Will this be a problem in getting it published? The only things that come to mind are Harry Potter and Series of Unfortunate events which both feature slightly younger than average MCs.

Sooooo, is this a problem? The novel can stand alone, but could also be the first in a series. I really like it the way it is and feel like changing the age of the MC will significantly change the story. Of course, I grew up on stories of 9-13 year old kids even when I was in my middle to late teens and I know many adults who enjoy young main characters, so maybe it's just personal preference?

What do you think?

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IMO, it all depends on the voice. Don't write it as if you're writing to an 11yo, and I think older kids will be OK with that.

Harry Potter and A Series of Unfortunate Events are actually Middle Grade books, hence the younger MC's (I guess with time Harry has grown into YA). But don't let middle grade fool you, they can get quite dark themselves. Heck here's a lovely line from Peter Pan:

"After a time [Peter] fell asleep, and some unsteady fairies had to climb over him on their way home from an orgy."

Point is, write the story you want to tell. If it works, it works, and if it doesn't, you'll fix it when the time comes!

I think younger MCs are fine, especially if they're not acting their age. As in the character doesn't burst into tears and run to mommy if a dragon steps on a teddy bear or something. I've read adult books with young MCs, I'm pretty sure. I can't remember any titles...but I think I have...

I always run to film examples, so here's one: the main character in Pan's Labryinth (or El Laberinto del fauno), a dark fantasy like yours, is a young girl, approximately 11-years-old. The film's rated R for graphic violence and language. The original screenplay was supposed to feature an 8-or 9-year-old, but they ended up casting an older actress.

You just have to play to your intended audiences, and give them a story that fits their levels of sophistication and maturity. (Not that young children can't be either of those things; half the adult population isn't! )

i just read "lullabies for little criminals" by heather o'neill. amazing book-- strongly recommend it. anyway, it's written for adults and has a twelve or thirteen year old narrator and definitely adult content. a very beautiful book and a good example of the mc being much younger than the intended reader.

Everyone should read "The Member of the Wedding," by Carson McCullers, an adult story about an eleven-year-old girl. Another good example is "Addie Pray," by Joe David Brown, which became the movie and series "Paper Moon."

I'm going to go against the grain here and say that eleven is too young for a MC in a YA. The general rule is that children will read about characters that are older than them or the same age, but not younger. There aren't that many 16-year-olds who would be interested in reading about an 11-year-old, no matter how dark the story. Publishers will also have a problem with marketing it.

I'm not saying it's right, of course - plenty of teens would read it quite happily - but the market can be extremely 'conventional' when it comes to ages.

So I would suggest that you would need to think about your target audience. If there's quite a lot of adult matter, then have you thought about writing it for the adult market? The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold is told from a 14-year-old's point of view but was released as adult fiction, although I know several teens who have read it and enjoyed it.

You could argue that the focus of the story is an eleven year old, but not necessarily the MC - for example, The Exorcist or The Omen. The only other way is to give your 11 year old a voice that is more mature, so older readers can relate to it, but not adult.

Otherwise, as said above, revise it and target at a specific audience. It'll save you time later. One other thing, don't underestimate middle grade readers; some great writers mix adult dilemmas in their stories for children. David Almond immediately comes to mind, bringing in subjects like premature birth, mental illness, the cold war, gay relationships and abusive teachers. Oooh, just thought of an even better example for US readers - KL Going's "The Liberation of Gabriel King" - targeted at young readers, but including mid seventies racism. Superb book.

It depends entirely on the plot. Adults can enjoy stories about kids, and older kids can enjoy stories about younger kids if they are engrossed by the plot. Bonus points if your MC grows up along the way.

If what you mean by dark is a couple of deaths then I wouldn't worry about it. I've said it before here (so I apologise to those who have already read this) but my book, the one that is about to be published (I say this as evidence that despite the content, people still bought it, not to brag. If I was going to brag I'd write "my book, the one about to be published!!!!!!!!!!!!" anyway . . . ) has several deaths in it, and it is firmly Middle Grade (8 - 12).