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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Breaking All the Rules


What sorts of things work in writing middle grade? What isn't allowed? There are certain rules writers hear about at every phase of the creative process. But there always seem to be exceptions to those rules. Here's one I've seen successfully broken again and again of late:

Too Many Adults:
Middle-grade novels need to be populated with kids. Throw too many adults in, or worse, let too many adults start filing up scenes, and you'll lose your audience.

THE ABSOLUTE VALUE OF MIKE - Katherine Erskine
Apart from a Romanian orphan mentioned only in conversation (and seen in a brief video), Mike is the only kid in this story. His world is populated by Mike's genius but clueless father, his Great Uncle Poppy and Great Aunt Moo, and other adult characters, like Past, a homeless man.

THE GREAT UNEXPECTED - Sharon Creech
Best friends Naomi and Lizzie meet the strange Finn boy when he falls out of a tree. Much of the story alternates between the three children and two scheming elderly women half a world away. The story lines eventually intersect, but not before Lizzie and Naomi spend much of the story in a world of adults.

SPARROW ROAD - Sheila O'Connor
Twelve-year-old Raine O'Rourke follows her mother to Sparrow Road, an artists' colony where her mother has taken a job for the summer. Raine learns how art can both teach and heal and is essentially the only child character in the story.

HORTON HALFPOTT: OR, THE FIENDISH MYSTERY OF SMUGWICK MANOR; OR, THE LOOSENING OF M'LADY LUGGERTUCK'S CORSET - Tom Angleberger
Horton, the lowly kitchen boy, is accused of stealing the Lump, the Luggertuck family heirloom. While he has young servant friends, Bump, Blemish, and Blight, much of the story is peopled with adults: the self-centered M'Lady Luggertuck and her dastardly, dim-witted son, Luther (who though not an adult is older than the typical mid-grade character); the wooden-spoon wielding cook, Miss Neversley; Old Crotty, the lady's maid; Portnoy St. Pomfrey, the foul-breathed detective; and a band of land-locked pirates, to name a few. (I listened to this one on CD and enjoyed it so much, I read it again with my fourth grader.)

Can you think of other books that break this Too Many Adults rule? What about other mid-grade writing rules that have been successfully broken?

16 comments:

  1. I think it's great when authors can include adults in a story without losing reader interest.

    In Gordon Korman's Ungifted, (I just featured it on my blog this past Monday) there are several different points of view for the story, one of which is an adult teacher.

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    1. I love when an author can successfully sustain something that is seen as a turn off but instead draw a reader in. Power to Gordon Korman!

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  2. A nice reminder that the key is: when it works, it works!

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  3. So agree with Andrea and Matt. Talented authors know when they can break the rules.

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    1. If it serves the story best, it's what needs to be done.

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  4. Matt is correct! A good story is a good story, no matter how old the characters are. YOUR book has more adults than MG characters, Caroline! And I just finished reading Artemis Fowl to the class, in which the only MG character is Artemis.

    Gordon Korman's No More Dead Dogs also has chapters from the point of view of a teacher, and Maud is the only MG character in A Drowned Maiden's Hair, except for the dead Caroline she is supposed to play in a seance.

    In fact, this is a rule more often broken than not, I think!

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    1. So funny, Dianne. I've never thought about this "rule" in light of MAY B., but you're right. Same thing with the next verse novel. :)

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  5. Replies
    1. Tell the story the way it needs to be told, right?

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  6. I love this post...and although most of his adults were pretty fiendish (the exception including Miss Honey), I loved the adults in all of Roald Dahl's books!

    And now my reading list has grown by FOUR. Thanks a lot, guys! ;) (I kid, I kid...)

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    1. Oh, Dahl. He was such a magnificent character guy. And he broke this "rule" all the time. It served him well.

      Glad to add to your reading list. ;)

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  7. Holes by Louis Sachar! It's brilliant though.

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    1. Yes, lots of weird and memorable adults in this one. What a great book!

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  8. I think if adults are interesting characters, and not just holding kids to rules, then kids have no problems enjoying them as characters. Harry Potter is peppered with plenty of intriguing adult characters. I hadn't thought about Artemis Fowl until I read the previous comment, but it's true that Artemis operates in a mostly adult...and fairy world. It's an interesting post and something to think about!

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    1. Well said about the characters being interesting. That's certainly the case with Holes (mentioned above). I haven't forgotten Mr. Sir and the Warden. You're right, Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl fit the bill.

      Power to the authors! :)

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Thanks for adding to the mayhem!