Monday, January 23, 2012

Middle grade Monday problems

This is not a problem with the Marvelous Middle Grade Monday (MMGM) posts. This is just my not-so-catchy title as I work through some issues with my MG story.

I have a main character (David) and his new friend (Ethan). They're both 11. 

Problem #1: Writing like an 11-year old is remarkably difficult in general. Seeing as I'm not a mom or teacher, it's even more difficult.

David and Ethan both attend a private school.

Problem #2: Since the story is set in/around a school, it would make sense for the story run the course of an academic year. But does it have to? I'm trying to be liberal with the passage of time but that has to be tempered with a saggy middle just for the sake of getting through winter.

David and Ethan must travel to a certain location, but the location in question is hidden within the riddle.

Problem #3: The riddle. Read about it here.

Okay, let's pretend I work around the riddle and get the boys to the location. But wait! Bad guys are following them! Monsters, to be exact. While David does his main character hero gig, Ethan and a Mentor-figure are left to battle the monsters.

Problem #4: I have no idea how I'm supposed to make an 11-year old boy fight against monsters in a world where there are no lasers or swords. I'm not keen on the idea of adding magic in to the story, either. But something has to happen.

 Maybe I can use the extra time in Problem #2 to train the boys in defense to solve Problem #4, but that feels convenient. I've realized that the easy answers are just that: easy. 

If you have any thoughts or answers, let me know. In the meantime, I'll be over here brainstorming all sorts of wild and wonderful ideas...

(And holy crap--this is my 101st post! I'm equal parts pleased, amused, and terrified to think what the next 101 will hold!)

21 comments:

  1. For #4--does your character have any special characteristics, skills, strengths that could be used creatively for fighting monsters?
    Just my two cents!
    Good luck and congrats on 101 posts :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. *dons thinking cap* He does have an overactive imagination, which he tries to temper so he can fit in at the new school... will have to think about this.

      Thanks!

      Delete
  2. My advice: Explosions.

    That is all.

    ReplyDelete
  3. In reference to the fourth point, is he clever enough to pull off any Sherlock Holmes or MacGyver tricks?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Like any good MN girl, I do love me some Richard Dean Anderson. :) I see duct tape, a colander, and a box of toothpicks in my MC's future!

      Good idea, though. Time for me to stop looking for the clean and pretty outcome and look for creative thinking, gadgets, and Boy Scout badge-earning tricks.

      Delete
  4. #4: How would an adult kill the monsters? What are the weaknesses of these monsters? Your answer to how the boys kill the monsters lies therein. You said Ethan has a mentor figure with him? Possibly the fighting part might be played out through the mentor figure, but the 11 year old plays the part of the support - rigs and trips traps, lures said monster into said trap, perhaps acts as a decoy so the monster lets down its guard against the 11 year old but then the adult figure leaps out and cuts them open with a sword. Viola! The 11 year old gets to be brave and clever but doesn't have to weild sharp objects or guns.

    Problem #1: Read a lot of MG and watch a lot of television featuring a MG character. If you don't have direction access to MG kids, go see how others portray them. Go hang out at the library or book store in the kids section (try not to look creepy!) Offer to babysit for someone who has kids.

    Problem 2: I don't think your story must fit inside an academic year. I think it can fall across the summer months or even just part of a school year. Sometimes bookending a story with something nice and convenient like a school year works well, but it's not necessary. Do what you have to do to avoid the saggy middle problem.

    Problem 3: If you feel comfortable, email me your original riddle and what you want it to accomplish. Maybe there is something that can work like that riddle. I'm not great at riddles, but my husband is awesome. He likes to throw them at his students from time to time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The two questions you opened with are so logical and yet, come from a perspective I haven't yet considered. It's amazing how sometimes, you just need someone else to ask a question and suddenly, you're whole story levels up.

      I know Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson books) set his books in the summer between the school years, which I thought was pretty slick. I'm going to work on a week, a semester, and an academic year outline and see which flows best.

      Delete
  5. Congrats on your 101st post :D

    Ah, plot hiccups. I am so familiar with them. Sometimes it helps to brainstorm different outcomes to your story. It sucks to think about potentially writing a chunk of something you've just written, but it may work out better in the end.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thinking about rewriting scenes does suck, but I think this is a great idea. Just allow myself to rewrite that specific scenes in a variety of endings. I hate thinking "What's the worst that can happen?" because it's a MG book, but sometimes that question yields some amazing results.

      And I'm still grinning thinking about The Fifth Element on your blog today. I really should just buy the movie.

      Delete
  6. Problem #1: Do you have any Betas or CPs that spend a lot of time with kids that can help you tweak things? I don't have an 11 year-old yet, but I have a very intelligent 8 year-old. And as the oldest child in my family (10+ years ahead of my two sisters and brother) I've spent a lot of time around kids. If you don't have anyone else, I'd certainly be willing to help. Kids think differently, both more advanced and less advanced than you'd think. They're strange creatures.

    Problem 2: No, it doesn't have to. You use whatever passage of time feels natural. And don't forget that you don't have to cover all the time with action. You can do a "2 months later" thing if you need to.

    Problem 4: An 11 year-old fighting monsters without any special abilities? Does the Mentor have any abilities that would let him/her fight monsters? If not, why are you pitting the monsters against them anyway?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My SIL can help, for sure. And I'm starting to watch cartoons again on Saturday mornings. All in the name of research. :) Thank you for the offer to help though. I may take you up on that for a few pages, just to see if I'm going in the right direction.

      And your questions to #4? THANK YOU. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I learn more from the blog responses than I ever could trying to do this alone.

      Delete
  7. Does it have to be monsters?

    Happy 100 and first! You almost have 100 followers too.


    Lee
    Stephen Tremp visits my blog
    Tossing It Out

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Arlee. Thanks for the follow!

      No, it *doesn't* have to be monsters, any bad guy would do. Actually, they were boggarts until I realized that term was used in Harry Potter and I'm trying to avoid any connections. So I'm looking for a better term than "monster." If you have any, let me know!

      Delete
  8. I'm number 99. Almost made your 100th follower. I like large round numbers. They're lucky. Maybe I would have won a prize.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Stephen. Thanks for the follow! Seems like a pretty big week for you, starting off over at Tossing It Out! :)

      I was ready to comment on how *close* I was to 100 when lo and behold! I did it! Alas, no prizes. Unless you consider my continued blogging a prize in which case, then you won!

      Delete
  9. Have you seen the movie Super 8? The writer actually buzzed one over my head in that movie, because I wasn't paying attention to the kid who liked to play with fire. He always had firecrackers in his backpack. Well, come time to fight the monster, all those fireworks came in handy for creating a distraction. Duh, I don't know why I didn't see it coming, but it made for a believable weapon for a kid to have on him and I totally bought it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LG--No! I haven't seen it yet but I've been meaning to. Time to start thinking of crafty, creative ways to thwart the bad guy... Fireworks are a great distraction!

      Delete
  10. I'm totally up for helping ou unravel all of this. What kind of monsters are they? What do they do?
    I think your middle stuff will come about easier once you solve the riddle issue. And no, it doesn't need to run a school year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You and I should meet and discuss. I'll share my tangled mess of plot lines and will even buy you coffee. :)

      I feel like I just won the MFA lottery after the fabulous insight on my past few blogs. Holy crap, I'm so lucky. Thanks for the comments and support!

      Delete
  11. For #4, try baseball bats! Or hockey sticks, or throwing marbles on the ground to trip the monsters. There are lots of fun possibilities. :)

    ReplyDelete

I love getting comments. They're as much fun as getting real snail mail. So please, chime in and tell me what you think!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...