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MIDDLE GRADE FICTION: Thought-Watching, Not Clock-Watching

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Middle Grade FictionMIDDLE GRADE FICTION: Thought-watching, not Clock-watching

Middle Grade Fiction is one of my favorite posting headlines because sometimes, your thoughts as middle school students are simply fictional fantasies.  By fiction, I mean when you think about what you CAN’T do more than you think about what you CAN do.

Our MIDDLE GRADE years are filled with so many insecure thoughts about fitting in with the ‘in crowd,’ all we end up doing is wasting time by watching the clock, waiting for it to end.  The activity of watching the clock… Read more

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION: ‘I Got a New Pair of Shoes’

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middle grade fictionMIDDLE GRADE FICTION: “I Got a New Pair of Shoes”

This middle grade fiction post is about that new pair of shoes you just bought.  I mean, what is it about a new pair of shoes that can make us feel so amazing?   

The minute you lace ‘em up, you feel as if you can run faster and you suddenly forget all about your middle grade fiction fantasies.  

Yes, that cushiony feeling wrapped around your foot even makes you feel taller somehow.  Oh yes, let’s face it…a new pair of shoes can make a person feel down right special.

If a new pair of shoes can make you feel this way, I would like to introduce you to an energy that is ten, twenty, thirty, perhaps one hundred times the power of a new pair of shoes. Read more

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION: Bang, Bang, YOU’RE DEAD

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middle grade fictionMIDDLE GRADE FICTION: Bang, Bang, YOU’RE DEAD

Middle grade fiction, middle grade students, and middle grade literacy is the reason I became a children’s book author in the first place.  The problem I have is all the violence we are feeding our middle grade children.

Over the weekend, my wife and I walked into a pizza joint to eat dinner and this was the first thing we saw; little boys holding guns while playing the arcade games.  There is nothing wrong with arcade games, don’t get me wrong, but the image of this Tween holding a gun was…

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MIDDLE SCHOOL PLAYGROUNDS: Where Tween Dreams Die

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Tween DreamsMIDDLE SCHOOL PLAYGROUNDS: Where Tween Dreams Die  

Tween dreams are important, but right now, somewhere in the country, a child’s dream is beginning to die right there on the playground at school.  This is one of the many reasons I wrote Saltwater Taffy…to help children hold onto their tween dreams!

The tragic happening begins as early as middle school where tweens imaginations are filled with dreams of tomorrow.  Within their young eyes, the tween twinkle gives them the organic ability to not only dream, but dream BIG.  The impossible shows up in their tweenage mind because they have YET to learn the…. Read more

WRITING FOR CHILDREN: Know The Number One Ingredient

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Writing for childrenWRITING FOR CHILDREN: Know the Number One Ingredient

When writing for children, we must remember the number one thing is to LOVE WHAT WE ARE WRITING.

Trust me when I say that if you don’t love the story you are telling, it will show up on the page.  It will lack the heart that is necessary to connect with one of the toughest markets in all of publishing; middle grade fiction.

If you set out to make the best-seller list, you will most certainly fail. When you are… Read more