Impetus
I’ve started writing a middle grade novel. That means the target audience is 8-12 year olds. The biggest difference so far (and there are many!) is that what’s driving me to write is a desire to please. I often think of my son as my reader for this book, and I want to delight him. I want to make him laugh and make him curious.
This summer, when we were reading a really good book, I put it down after I’d read a chapter, and he picked it up and handed it back to me. I laughed so loudly. He caught me completely off guard. We’ve been reading together for years and he’s never done that. I want him to do that with my book.
I’m the sort of writer who always has the reader in mind. I often make jokes and describe things beautifully. I think about what exactly my readers need to get from one point to the next, and I strip back anything they don’t need. We go on a journey together. Isn’t that entertainment? Pleasure? Why does writing this MG book feel so different?
For this newsletter, I’m going to look more closely at what was driving me to the page for my previous books and try to figure out, more precisely, what that difference is that I’m feeling.