Middle grade (MG) novels occupy a distinct and essential niche in children’s literature. But what makes a novel “middle grade”? Several key elements distinguish them from both younger children’s books and young adult (YA) literature, ensuring they cater to the developmental and emotional needs of a young, growing audience and their interests.
Here are the most common characteristics of MG novels.
Content and rating
It should go without saying that MG novels should be suitable for young readers. They should have either a G or PG rating. This means that profanity is almost entirely absent – you can throw in a light expletive like “darn” here and there, but anything stronger may put you under scrutiny.
Violence is likewise limited. There is slightly more tolerance for it in action scenes the higher up the age bracket you go into Upper MG. However, neither Upper nor Lower MG should showcase gore.
When it comes to romance, writers should avoid anything serious. Remember that your target audience consists of children from upper elementary through middle school. If they are experiencing any romantic flutterings of their own, it is focused on innocent crushes and first kisses.
In terms of other content, keep things age-appropriate and within the realm of your audience’s experiences. Avoid giving your child characters jobs (unless you are touching on a serious topic like child labor or difficult family dynamics) as your readers won’t be able to relate to that.
External approach
When writing for MG audiences, focus on real-life situations over self-reflection. These stories should take a more literal, less emotional approach to the plot, concentrating on action and reaction rather than introspection.
MG readers generally accept life as it comes to them – sometimes without context – without agonizing over feelings or hypothetical situations. They don’t ask “What if?” They simply act. At most, they struggle with feelings of self-doubt and fitting in, but even these are surface problems. That is because they don’t yet have the emotional skills to look deeper at this point in life.
For this reason, MG characters’ thoughts and feelings should be revealed through action instead of long, inner monologues.
Perspective
MG novels can be written in either the third or first person, depending on how closely the author wants the reader to connect with the main character (MC). Historically, the third person was more common due to its focus on action over emotion. However, recent trends have seen a shift towards the first person, which allows for a closer insight into the protagonist’s thoughts and feelings while maintaining external action.
Language
The language used in MG novels should be comprehensive and relevant to modern kids. Descriptions, dialogue, and topics must include things they can relate to. As a general rule, keep sentences short and simple, with vocabulary young readers are familiar with. You can include a practice word now and again but do so strategically. Most young readers are taught to set a book down if they have to look up a word every 2-3 pages. Writing at their reading level allows for an effortless reading experience, which may draw them back for more.
Focus on action, with active verbs rather than passive verbs, and avoid complex analyses or lengthy descriptions. MG readers don’t want to read an entire page about the scenery or how a character is going through an identity crisis.
Voice
The voice in MG novels is perhaps the most challenging but critical aspect to get right. It requires looking through a child’s eyes. It should feel authentic, capturing the unique way they see the world. Voice is a combination of the novel’s point of view, the vocabulary, the narrator’s thoughts, and how you as the writer express tone (comedic, suspenseful, angsty, etc.). To express it well, writers need to spend time in environments similar to those their protagonists inhabit. Observe how kids interact with their surroundings and each other.
Dialogue is a key tool here, as it conveys what your characters are thinking and feeling through their speech patterns and word choices. Not only that, but it can indicate characteristics such as personality and familiarity. It’s important for characters to sound like kids, with dialogue that readers can hear themselves saying, no matter what tone they use.
Speaking of tone, you can play around with irony but try to avoid being cynical. And lean on humor. Lots of it. Kids in the MG category are hilarious, whether that’s intentional or not, or they think they are hilarious. They are just beginning to understand comedy and humor – not just slapstick and dirty humor, but also puns and other forms of wordplay.
Note: You may be tempted to use slang while creating dialogue. Be careful. While it can add an element of realism, slang can date your novel. It’s better to use terms that have stood the test of time, like “cool.”
Illustrations
The number of illustrations varies across middle grade fiction – some books feature them at the start of each chapter while others have them scattered throughout. Lower MG books typically have more illustrations than Upper MG to draw the attention of younger readers, break up text, and supplement the content.
If you go the traditional route, your publisher will ultimately determine if illustrations are a correct fit your novel. However, to decide for yourself whether to include them, think about what they would add to your story. Would an illustration support the text or subvert it? Would it help the reader understand certain details or learn more about a scene?
Once you’ve decided to add illustrations, don’t jump too far. You should complete the prose of a novel first, but write both as if nothing will be drawn and as if everything will be drawn. This allows you to dive deep into your imagination and write dynamic scenes with vivid descriptions, actions, and lively dialogue. For expressive illustrations, include abstract ideas like dreams, unique traits and objects, or unusually captivating environments.
Upper and Lower MG fiction
Novels for older MG readers usually range from 50,000 to 70,000 words while Lower MG novels are shorter, about 10,000 to 30,000 words. Lower MG fiction is short due to the smaller attention spans of younger readers. Even in Upper MG, sometimes a large word count can be daunting based on a reader’s skill level or ability to sit still for long. There is an increasing call for shorter MG novels that maintain age-appropriate themes but cater to an audience with diverse abilities.
Page count ranges from 64+ in Lower to 160+ in Upper. It’s worth noting that fantasy novels will have a significantly larger word count, reaching ranges of 70,000 to 90,000 words, or 200+ pages to account for worldbuilding and sweeping plots. Page counts themselves can be affected by illustrations, font, font size, spaces between paragraphs, and spaces between the text and the margins.
Plotting in MG
In Lower MG, one or two subplots can exist in a novel, but they likely won’t be significant or affect the main plot. This is different than in Upper MG, which becomes more complex. Subplots in Upper literature will have an effect on the main plot and draw in secondary characters along with protagonists.
Being an exception
It’s important to remember that MG novels have gatekeepers: parents, grandparents, teachers, librarians. These are the people who pick up a book and decide if it is suitable for young audiences. If it passes the test, they’ll buy it and give it to an MG reader. But if it doesn’t, it won’t reach your audience.
In the case of MG fiction, deviating from the norm isn’t always profitable. These characteristics exist for a reason – they are based on established standards and expectations from gatekeepers and readers. So be careful if you try to go beyond this. While exploration of difficult topics through middle grade books has been more acceptable in recent years, if your book is deemed inappropriate, your success will be impacted.
Stay tuned for Part 3 of our Middle Grade series to learn about plotting for young audiences!