Jumping from YA to MG

The Young Adult category blew up over the last few decades. YA writers have been coming out of the woodwork like crazy because it was such a successful category. I'm one of those writers. I got sucked into the category because, well, it's awesome. I got my passion for writing through a YA novel, but things change, including me, and I decided to try something else. Middle Grade. 

All the research, all the reading I did in the YA category I had to do over in Middle Grade. Some things translate, some don't. In some ways they’re similar, in some ways they look more like a distant cousin. So I've asked around and got a great list of advice from a number of sources about making the jump from YA to MG. Some are about what you should do when making the switch, some are just about the major differences in YA and MG but all of them will help you when making the switch. 

Brenda Drake Author of Library Jumpers and repped by Peter Knapp

This summer my writing has switched from writing or editing young adult stories to rewriting my middle grade novel. The differences between young adult and middle grade is the focus. Young adult tends to have a more outward focus while middle grade has a more inward focus. My young adult stories feature two determined teen girls trying to find their place in the worlds I’ve created for them. In the middle grade novel, I’m writing a pre-teen boy who’s exploring self, trying to figure out who he is.

There’s higher level of romance in young adult than there is in middle grade. Middle grade tends to be low key and sweet. The first blush of romance where the characters aren’t aware that their feelings are more than friends. It’s that time when you were in middle school, and you had a crush, but it never gets physical as it does in young adult. Romances in young adult can get hot.

Young adult tends to delve into the issues like drugs, drinking, sex, rape, and abuse, where as middle grade doesn’t (well, rarely).

Going from writing my young adult stories to my middle grade ones, I tend to just get into character. It does take me a bit. I have been known to walk around the house talking like a twelve-year old boy to get into my character’s head. As I write, it helps to read what I’m writing aloud in the voice of my character. It can get tricky since my middle grade setting is Victorian and the young adults are in modern times.

Just remember, it’s all about the attitude when writing young adult or middle grade. A twelve-year-old will handle a situation very different from a sixteen-year-old. Whereas someone younger might need his friend’s help to destroy a monster, an older character will pick up the sword and fight (poor example, but you get what I’m talking about—I hope).  

Lindsay Cummings: Author of THE MURDER COMPLEX ( HarperCollins '14) and THE BALANCE KEEPERS (HarperCollins '14)

I like to switch reading YA and MG according to which age I'm working on! MG is adventure and fun. YA often angtsy

Benji : YA and MG writer

At the end of a MG story, the MC is still able to see the world through the eyes of a child. In YA; however, the MC passes the point of no return and no longer sees the world through the eyes of a child

Smish: Absolute Write Moderator.

I write both, though I write more MG than YA. It's tough to pinpoint the exact differences, as they're sort of you'll-know-it-when-you-see-it. I think the biggest difference is voice, though. Pre-teens and teens have different concerns and interests, and their voices are different. In general, you should be able to read the first page of a book and be able to tell whether it's MG or YA, simply based on the voice and tone.

MG also focuses more on the character's present. What are his problems right this moment? His primary concern is usually going to be how he fits in with his friends and family. Will he survive the 6th grade? MG is also about firsts. First best friend, first crush, first pet, first cell phone, first death in the family, etc.

YA focuses more on the future, in my opinion. Sure, a YA character is going through something right now, but he's also concerned about the future. MG focuses more on how the character fits within his own small world, while YA characters want to figure out what makes them stand out. They often distance themselves from family and friends so that they can figure out who they are and where they belong in the world as a whole.

Paula Stokes Represented by Jennifer Laughran of Andrea Brown . Author of THE ART OF LAINEY: June 2014 from Harper Teen.

Use different, MG savvy, crit-partners, focus less on figurative language, keep the action going, and use humor if possible. View it as an experiment so it's failure-proof. If it doesn't work, you tried, you learned, you move on.

Debbie V: debbievilardi.com YA and MG writer

Voice came to mind as the first big difference. After that, themes. A YA can cover more themes and in a broader way. The characters in YA have a broader view of the world. They are trying to find their place within what they see and adjust to the evolution as they learn more about how the real world works. Limits are overcome - freedom achieved. Remember the first time you took the car solo? All of this new freedom has a cost though. And that defines what they believe and who they become. That, to me, is the core of YA.

MG characters have to explore within the limits. Of course, they don't always do so. Sometimes they go through a wardrobe, but they learn about who they are much more than deciding who they will become.

Pam van Hylckama Vlieg: Agent with Foreward Literary.

I think YA and MG go together naturally. The biggest difference for me is the coming of age. In YA you come of age and no longer need your parents/parental figures. For MG you come of age in a different way, still needing that support system for a few more years.

Understanding the differences between Middle Grade and Young Adult is important before you decide to jump in. Think about your audience and what they want in a book. "Kids read up" is the assumption when it comes to Middle Grade, so your twelve year old protagonist will likely be read by ten year olds. Young adult is read by 13-18 year olds (and older, but always understand that the target audience is who you write for). The biggest thing you need to do before and during your switch in categories (ANY category) is READ.

Read, read, read, read, read.

What do you do when you write MG? Are any of you awesome readers MG writers who also writes YA? I'd love to hear how you made the leap into kidlit and how it went.  Do you have any more advice?