Tips for an MG writer trying to write Adult?

i guess a bit more about what you are considering "having trouble sounding adult" means. or "because of adult problems."


If you're saying, for example, that you still have a MG character but they have to deal with mom's crippling heroin addiction, so that's an "adult problem," the POV is still a MG kid, so I'm not sure you have all that much to change in terms of voice. The gravity of situation changed, not the person.

And if you're now attempting writing an adult...well, I assume you ARE an adult, and hang around adults, so I would expect in broad strokes that you had to sort of learn and work to develop an MG voice that isn't reflective of your own voice and world outlook, so this should be the same sort of thing only if anything less removed.

so maybe a bit more info from you as far as specifically what you're trying to do and where you're failing?

Not sure what kind of tip would help you if you're already reading adult stories. Obviously helps if one is an adult

I write for Upper Middle Grade but I can't honestly say I work on a special non-adult voice for that. I simply try and approach MC problems as if I were one of my MCs.

Upper Middle Grade readers certainly shouldn't be talked down to, or have dumbed-down narrative/dialogue.

I think it's more a question of content, having an adult approach to content, and showing adult character thought processes.

A nine-year-old and an adult are usually going to approach issues from different perspectives because of existing knowledge and life experience.

Any help?

IS your MC adult?

I guess like I said, it may take some work, but I assume you are an adult. Running with that assumption:

Written voice is never exactly your own stream of consciousness, just like written dialogue that "sounds legit" still isn't the same as actual speech. So you already have to learn a bit of a second language in order to write. You learned MG. You might be "fluent in MG" at this point from having done it for some time, but you probably didn't sit down to your laptop the very first time, and have that particular voice. You learned it.

You'll have to learn adult. The good thing is it SHOULD be somewhat closer to home. But you'll still have to learn it. Part of the process.


That said, still not sure what "not sounding adult" is:

if it is that the just want to say "Shucks!" all the time, maybe you need to get comfortable with profanity. or maybe they simply aren't, and that is aprt of their voice. Many adults don't swear. I'm certainly not a good example, but they're out there.

If its because you want to end everything with an exclamation point (She was still there, watching, maybe Carol liked him!) or to add adverb dialogue tags ("You'll die last," he sneered menacingly) those aren't arguably doing you many favors in MG OR adult, and are just things you may be better off learning to put a shorter leash on anyway.


Beyond that (and are you sure the characters "sound MG"--have you gotten this from people, or are you maybe just beating yourself up?) I guess I'm not really sure I understand how one writes a character that "sounds MG." Vocabulary usage in adult fiction is all over the map, problems are problems, we all have anxieties, etc. so I just don't see what would be a problem. To be fair, that may be an issue of MINE, then, and I am not intimately familar with MG, but other than it encompassing a younger sub-set of the population and their issues, and the books maybe tending (MAYBE) towards a somewhat shorter length, I really don't see MG as dramatically different from adult. Like I said though, maybe that's me missing something.

The Second Moon said:

I guess my main issue is the voice. My MC doesn't sound Adult.

Click to expand...

Try having him see life through adult eyes, focus on adult issues and ignore minor stuff.

The Second Moon said:

I guess my main issue is the voice. My MC doesn't sound Adult.

Click to expand...

To me, it sounds like you need to get deeper into your MC's head and live there while you write.

maybe to start help us with this:

are you hearing other people TELL YOU it sounds like MG?

or is this something just nagging you personally?


and if it is the second, have you had anyone else look at it?


how you "fix" this is vastly different if multiple people are telling you there's a problem and your work isn't reading well vs if you're just fretting in a corner....

It might help to think of it like an accent or dialect. It takes time to develop not only an ear for accents not your own, but the proficiency of mimicking and thinking in them so they come out naturally. Before that, you're going to go through an awkward (but often necessary), stumbling phase that only experience can correct. Other speakers can help point the way, but ultimately it's a skill you'll have to develop yourself.

You could just need some time to develop as a writer, to figure out the "dialects" of the age categories, before you can switch gears between MG and adult writing.

In other words, don't rush yourself, especially if you're newer to writing and still figuring out your style and voice and the general mechanics of it. Do keep reading in the age categories and genres you aim to write in; you're absorbing more than you may initially realize, plus you'll keep tabs on the markets.

In view of your other post today, you should probably ask a mod to close this thread, The Second Moon - no?

Perhaps you can find places to briefly sneak adult reponsiblities (like a job, financial issues, relationships, etc.) into the character's thoughts or comments.