I want to write about middleschoolers... is that still YA?

Hapax Legomenon · Aug 14, 2007

Okay, I'm a highschooler, let's just get that straight.

I hate high school and I hate highschoolers. The only schooling I ever remember liking is middle school, and I'd also like to for other reasons. Mainly, it seems like with writing about highschoolers, there are certain things that I feel like I'm obligated to write about -- namely all the drama associated with it. I hate highschool drama, both in books and in real life, and run from it like the plague, prefering to stew and mull over similar problems peacefully and quietly, without as much of a fuss. Even though I may do that, I still have to deal with it once in a while, and if I write a book with a main character that deals in a similar way, they're still going to have to deal with other people running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

To make matters worse, what I'd like to write is urban fantasy, where the drama tends to be hyped up beyond the fantasy elements and simplified so that it can be jammed with the fantasy elements all at once, and it tends to be sloppy -- I'd like to bypass the drama alltogether, and I feel that if I write from a middleschool perspective, I'm not obligated to write in as much normal-person problem. Yes, I do understand that middleschool can be dramatic, but it just feels less obligatory.

If I write from the perspective of a middleschooler, is it still YA, even if I don't adress the issues of rape, drugs, etc.?

(Or maybe I should just go the whole nine yards and make it from the perspective of an elementary-age kid.)

Provrb1810meggy · Aug 14, 2007

I think most middle school novels would be Middle Grade or Tween. Some might be Early YA. This is probably a really sucky answer, but it depends on a lot of factors.

Although...I have seen just as much middle school drama as high school drama. In fact, I think middle school-ers tend to be more gossipy, who-likes-who, clique-y, etc. Also, just because your character is in high school, doesn't mean you have to focus on the drama. It is your story, after all. However, if you're drawn to the middle school age group, then definitely write for them!

Shady Lane · Aug 14, 2007

Aw man, I'm stunned by the idea that middle school was easier/happier than high school.

I'm still recovering from middle school.

Maprilynne · Aug 14, 2007

Shady Lane said:
Aw man, I'm stunned by the idea that middle school was easier/happier than high school.

I'm still recovering from middle school.

Me Too!!

Hapax Legomenon · Aug 14, 2007

Shady Lane said:
Aw man, I'm stunned by the idea that middle school was easier/happier than high school.

I'm still recovering from middle school.

People think I'm odd. I liked middle school, but I hate high school and couldn't stand elementary school.

Harper K · Aug 14, 2007

I think you could easily do a book about a high-school-age person without including the high school drama. Set it during the summer, just after graduation, during another school break... something like that. Or just have your character be very much outside the main social scene. I always knew people in high school who seemed completely unconcerned with their reputation at school. I've read a lot of YA novels about high schoolers that didn't really touch on school social life.

I agree with meggy that most novels about middle-school-age characters would be tween or MG.

edited to add: I'm still recovering from ALL grades of school!

JLCwrites · Aug 14, 2007

Why does you book need to be a YA if it doesn't have a PG-13 rating?

If you could swing it, you may want to make it a MG. MG's don't have to be short. And there seems to be a demand for them, especially for boys. (At least, thats what I have been reading in other posts.)

Hapax Legomenon · Aug 14, 2007

Turkey Lurkey said:
Why does you book need to be a YA if it doesn't have a PG-13 rating?

If you could swing it, you may want to make it a MG. MG's don't have to be short. And there seems to be a demand for them, especially for boys. (At least, thats what I have been reading in other posts.)

I don't think I could write MG for boys. I couldn't write it for girls, either.

JLCwrites · Aug 14, 2007

Well, I think it is worth a try to write it from the perspective you want for the YA audience and then just wait and see if there is a publisher who likes it too. I mean, writing is more about the process anyway.
Have fun!

Hapax Legomenon · Aug 14, 2007

Turkey Lurkey said:
Well, I think it is worth a try to write it from the perspective you want for the YA audience and then just wait and see if there is a publisher who likes it too. I mean, writing is more about the process anyway.
Have fun!

What I mostly meant was that I don't think I could write something segregated from girls and boys for MG. Is MG really that divided?

JLCwrites · Aug 14, 2007

I think there seems to be more girl series books. But don't quote me on that. I haven't started my research on MGs yet. I plan to before I start writing them though.

My previous post was stating that you should go with your original idea, and then see what the agents and publishers say. In other words, do what you want, because if it turns out to be a great story, then it shouldn't matter how old your MC is.

Grey Malkin · Aug 15, 2007

Turkey Lurkey said:
I think there seems to be more girl series books. But don't quote me on that.

Sorry, couldn't resist

Getting back to the main post, Haphazard, my main question is why you want to write YA when the age group and associated drama don't interest you? Is it because you want to write YA, or is that you know you don't want to write MG?

Another question I'd like to ask is, how much YA do you actually read?

Although a lot of YA books are about issues, not all of them are. You could write thrillers, mysteries, horror, sci-fi, fantasy or comedy, as well as your favoured urban-fantasy without feeling a need to go into drink and drugs and sex. I think it's important that the YA market has sufficient books that don't deal with issues so that reading can offer escapism to the 12-16 audience, rather than every other YA title trying to educate.

What's wrong with just having a great story and no underlying moral?

The main prerequisite of YA fiction seems to be (generally) the age of the MC - usually mid to late teens. If you don't want to get bogged down in school drama and petty squabbles, don't put them in that situation. Stick them someplace else and see how they react. Or, as has been said, go for holiday periods.

JLCwrites · Aug 15, 2007

Grey Malkin said:
Sorry, couldn't resist

Ha ha ha!

I agree with Grey. I am working on a YA fantasy that is more about the battle between free will and fate. Although it starts out on a school campus, very little of it is about social teen issues.

I still think you should write it the way you want, and then see if anyone picks it up. We just don't want you to feel limited because of a perspective you have on YAs.

Isn't the movie "Stand By Me" about MG boys?

emcrane · Aug 15, 2007

Hi Haphaz,
Grey makes some good points, and my advice is don't get caught up in the categorization of your work yet. The same drama issues you want to avoid will haunt you if you allow it, only they won't be high school dramas - they'll be publishing/ genre/marketability dramas. Work outside the drama. Allow your natural instincts and voice to write IT, whatever IT is, and then revise it until you hate dealing with it, and then consider target audience. You should be able to narrow down fairly well at that point, and if it's still not clear then you might need to do a round of revision that aligns IT with a category.
I find writers who sit down to type word one with Traditional Publishing Industry Expectations running through their heads are less likely to get anywhere than the ones who sit down with only the following agenda: write an awesome story.

And from your initial post - only a subsection of YA is "issue" stuff. And the going rule of thumb is that kids want to read about kids their age and older. So middle-schooler characters wouldn't likely be YA.

And just a final thought -- who says your teenaged MC has to go to school in the first place?

good luck.

emsuniverse · Aug 15, 2007

Haphazard said:
People think I'm odd. I liked middle school, but I hate high school and couldn't stand elementary school.

I agree, high school absolutely, totally, positively sucked. It's like one big pit you don't think you'll ever get out of. Then one day, out of nowhere, you realize you're driving away from that God-awful place for the last time and you end up rolling down the windows and screaming at the top of your lungs "Hallelujah, it's over!"

Not that I ever, ya know, did that or anything...

Grey Malkin · Aug 16, 2007

Turkey Lurkey said:
Isn't the movie "Stand By Me" about MG boys?

Good point, and that story is from an adult novel.

Haphazard, from the few things I've read in other threads, it sounds to me like you could be in a position to write very good MG material. First of all, you're young enough to have recent experience, so you won't fall into the pitfalls that hound older writers. But most important of all, you have a real love for that period in your life, so you will find it very natural to write about.

I'm in the UK, so I'm guessing that middle school is the same as our juniors - 8-11? And some people think that age group are cute and cuddly and full of innocence. Not where I come from. There was plenty of petty crime in my old school, but a good deal of violence too. I think as you get older, you have a better understanding of the damage you can do when you plow into someone. You don't have that when you're ten. I saw kids that age put each other in hospital simply because they didn't know when to stop. It was also in that era that we learned about sex. Okay, so we got it all wrong, but it was our first exposure (for want of a better word

)

If you haven't seen Stand By Me, (or read it the "short" story: "The Body" in "Different Seasons" by Stephen King) then it might be wise to give it a look and see just how good stories about kids of this age can be. I often wish MG material could be stronger. Darren Shan, for example, the MG horror writer. When I ask kids what they think about his stuff they usually come back, 'Good, but it could have been much scarier'.

Hapax Legomenon · Aug 16, 2007

Grey Malkin said:
I'm in the UK, so I'm guessing that middle school is the same as our juniors - 8-11?

Middle school is usually 11-13 years old, not 8-11. I'd hate to write about 8-11 years old, that part of my life was... not fun, to say the least.

AmyC · Aug 16, 2007

Haphazard said:
Okay, I'm a highschooler, let's just get that straight.

I hate high school and I hate highschoolers. The only schooling I ever remember liking is middle school, and I'd also like to for other reasons. Mainly, it seems like with writing about highschoolers, there are certain things that I feel like I'm obligated to write about -- namely all the drama associated with it. I hate highschool drama, both in books and in real life, and run from it like the plague, prefering to stew and mull over similar problems peacefully and quietly,

I think this actually sounds like a great hook for a YA! Maybe a little hatred could make for some fiery writing?

Hapax Legomenon · Aug 16, 2007

AmyC said:
Haphazard said:

Okay, I'm a highschooler, let's just get that straight.

I hate high school and I hate highschoolers. The only schooling I ever remember liking is middle school, and I'd also like to for other reasons. Mainly, it seems like with writing about highschoolers, there are certain things that I feel like I'm obligated to write about -- namely all the drama associated with it. I hate highschool drama, both in books and in real life, and run from it like the plague, prefering to stew and mull over similar problems peacefully and quietly,

I think this actually sounds like a great hook for a YA! Maybe a little hatred could make for some fiery writing?

Click to expand...

Hatred for writing? Could be fun. I'm also running into the problem that I want my main character to have extremely concise language, and a lot of it doesn't sound right coming out of a middle schooler's mouth. Not that it really sounds right coming out of a high schooler's mouth, but it seems slightly more believeable.

JLCwrites · Aug 16, 2007

Depends on what kind of person your MC is. There are plenty of young eloquent speakers out there. Especially the teens who write on this forum.

I want to write about middleschoolers... is that still YA?

Hapax Legomenon

Provrb1810meggy

Shady Lane

my name is hannah

Maprilynne

Author Waiting in the Wings

Hapax Legomenon

Harper K

here's to the girl on the go

JLCwrites

Hapax Legomenon

JLCwrites

Hapax Legomenon

JLCwrites

Grey Malkin

Moody Member

JLCwrites

emcrane

emsuniverse

Back to freelancing again...

Grey Malkin

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Hapax Legomenon

AmyC

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