tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post360144144311035490..comments2024-03-15T09:26:02.796-05:00Comments on PROJECT MAYHEM: High Concept in Middle GradeProject Mayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154342399869089664noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-23155613513627716432013-11-15T19:47:26.546-06:002013-11-15T19:47:26.546-06:00Thanks for sharing your thoughts, everyone! It'...Thanks for sharing your thoughts, everyone! It's been fun venturing into the world of YA and exploring the differences between it and middle grade.<br /><br />And Matt, how cool that you know Cristin! The next time you speak to her, please tell her how much I enjoyed her book.Dawn Lairamorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01615827571568264386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-23011415837551439332013-11-12T11:24:32.434-06:002013-11-12T11:24:32.434-06:00I think high-concept pops up quite a bit in MG fan...I think high-concept pops up quite a bit in MG fantasy and adventure stories. I think Storybound & Story's End are technically "high concept" because it's the idea that sells it first to readers. Marissa Burthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13079821721448782710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-58385890552051447282013-11-12T11:23:18.125-06:002013-11-12T11:23:18.125-06:00Really interesting post, Dawn! I am loving thinkin...Really interesting post, Dawn! I am loving thinking about some of these questions. Braden Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08543019025938404436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-56409800656945842032013-11-12T10:27:35.134-06:002013-11-12T10:27:35.134-06:00Thanks for this post, Dawn. I suppose the whole id...Thanks for this post, Dawn. I suppose the whole idea of the YA and MG thing is a bit of a construct. I think of MG as books that are fun for the younger YA crowd to read...as well. I'd hope they're fun for everyone! I've had readers consider the Young Inventors Guild books YA and MG and some folks say they're neither! A great book is a great book. In the UK, Harry Potter was first promoted with one cover to children and another cover to adult readers! I now understand 'high concept' but I do think creating all of these titles seem to be more attempts at defining and confining books to a single shelf. eden unger bowditchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17874537224610872095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-78315906851173666822013-11-12T10:26:12.647-06:002013-11-12T10:26:12.647-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.eden unger bowditchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17874537224610872095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-50575648329163099222013-11-12T09:02:41.254-06:002013-11-12T09:02:41.254-06:00I think you're probably right. The one line lo...I think you're probably right. The one line logline thing comes from screenwriting too.Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-37920736338202602242013-11-12T08:43:51.567-06:002013-11-12T08:43:51.567-06:00High concept is one of those weird things for me--...High concept is one of those weird things for me--I know it when I read it, but I can't really say definitively what it is. :-)<br /><br />But yeah, I suspect I've read more high concept in YA. It seems like those are stories that are plot driven, whereas the middle grade I love is character driven (and not so much high concept). <br /><br />Um...what was the question again? :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-18281095772635410952013-11-12T08:43:21.773-06:002013-11-12T08:43:21.773-06:00Again, some great definitions here, Matt. MG can b...Again, some great definitions here, Matt. MG can be high concept too (Harry Potter, Percy Jackson), but there are definitely more stories in YA (cos of independence) that are "high concept." I think the term originates from movieland, so if your book becomes a movie, then it was probably deemed "high concept."Michael G-Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07947421844294471304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-79146529506119234302013-11-12T08:40:28.793-06:002013-11-12T08:40:28.793-06:00Great definition, Dianne!Great definition, Dianne!Michael G-Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07947421844294471304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-58785482102696569472013-11-12T07:39:31.742-06:002013-11-12T07:39:31.742-06:00Absolutely. If the premise alone is enough to sell...Absolutely. If the premise alone is enough to sell me on giving a book a try, I would call that high-concept.Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-74211302873930987892013-11-12T07:38:21.900-06:002013-11-12T07:38:21.900-06:00A few things:
1) Cristin is a former co-author of...A few things:<br /><br />1) Cristin is a former co-author of mine over at <a href="http://http://yaconfidential.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">YA Confidential</a>, and though I have not read All Our Yesterdays (yet), I am very happy for her, so - yay! Congrats, Cristin!<br /><br />2) YA, just like MG, is a category (some argue it's also a genre, and I won't necessarily disagree, except to say it's a category first). There are YA books about EVERYTHING. Many of the most commercially successful are high concept, it's true, but many of my personal favorites are not.<br /><br />3) That said, I don't think your point is invalid. Can MG be high concept? Of course. Is YA a little better suited for such heavily commercial plot and premise driven works? Probably. It definitely has worked out that way so far.<br /><br />Anyway, I read a lot of YA, and while MG is also near to my heart, I probably know a little bit more about YA than MG. I think the big difference is about where we are in our lives during those stages. In the MG years, we are just beginning to assert our independence. We are changing, physically, and are first realizing that our lives actually have autonomy from those of our families. It's an exciting time, and one very rich for engendering certain kinds of stories, often high concept adventures grand in scale, but ... not always.<br /><br />In YA, that independence has almost always already been won, at least on some levels, if not all the way to the degree of adulthood. We're through with puberty, and while our brain chemistry may still be changing, we have far more freedom, of travel, of relationships, of what media we choose to consume. YA is all about firsts. First love, first car, first job, first time traveling alone ... and many others.<br /><br />I think both are very exciting categories to write in, but I don't think any of this makes you wrong. It's definitely an interesting question to ponder, and I don't know if there is a definitive answer.Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-30044035831890487582013-11-12T06:09:59.241-06:002013-11-12T06:09:59.241-06:00I'm real shaky on the "high concept"...I'm real shaky on the "high concept" idea -- except I was told I had one when I pitched my most recently sold book. So I guess it's where the premise of the story (in my case, a secret day of the week) gets everybody so excited, they don't care who the characters are or what the plot is -- they want to read the manuscript.<br /><br />Now, you could still totally wreck a high concept manuscript with lame characters and a cliched plot. But the premise is what hooks in the potential reader in the first place.<br /><br />Does that sound like a sort of definition?Dianne K. Salernihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16459839567235304842noreply@blogger.com