Reading and Writing MG and YA lit
I could say this with a single sentence but I plan to go on a tangent. Young Adult and Middle Grade are not genres of children’s literature.
But they have their own sections at the bookstore.
No kidding. Kids have their own sections at the department store too, but it’s not meant to do anything other than dictate what sizes the pants are.
It honestly doesn’t matter if you’re a writer or not, self care is important. There are some myths about it being self-indulgent, a waste of time, and expensive. Not to mention the idea that all artists are supposed to suffer (queue my eye roll here).
I could say this with a single sentence but I plan to go on a tangent. Young Adult and Middle Grade are not genres of children’s literature.
But they have their own sections at the bookstore.
No kidding. Kids have their own sections at the department store too, but it’s not meant to do anything other than dictate what sizes the pants are.
A mood board is a type of visual presentation or ‘collage’ consisting of images, text, and samples of objects in a composition. It can be based on a set topic or can be any material chosen at random. A mood board can be used to convey a general idea or feeling about a particular topic.
It honestly doesn’t matter if you’re a writer or not, self care is important. There are some myths about it being self-indulgent, a waste of time, and expensive. Not to mention the idea that all artists are supposed to suffer (queue my eye roll here).
I’ve been putting off this post for days, but I keep coming back to the idea. The irony is strong with this one.
Where do I even begin?
It’s not enough to simply “write a children’s book.” It’s not that simple. When you believe writing for a younger audience is easy, you automatically assume less of your audience and it shows in your writing and it is an immediate turn-off.
You finished your book, so how long until it’s out on shelves? Says some ignorant family member at dinner. Let’s discuss that, shall we?
“And that guy, who the h–who did he think he was, stepping in like I can’t defend myself?”
Her uncle chuckled at this. “Yes, that wasn’t wise on his part. But many boys here are raised to protect girls, though I think that tradition is starting to fade away.”
Lupe folded her arms across her chest and stared at the ground. Yet another thing she didn’t understand. It didn’t help that she couldn’t stop seeing the boy’s face, the deep brown of his eyes. That only made her angrier at herself. “Clearly he’s never met a feminist.”
FIVE MIDNIGHTS BY ANN DÁVILA CARDINAL
A lot of the cursing gets censored by teens in their dialogue around adults. It was cute and on point the first time it happened, but now it’s old and feels like reaching down to the audience. We all know teens curse (yes, they do, don’t even fight this). But the rate at which these teens catch themselves and stop mid word is distracting to read.
Then we have the local boy’s (Javier’s) protectiveness and how boys are taught to protect girls, which Lupe claims to not understand. What’s not to understand? That’s a fairly universal thing to teach to young boys. Particularly in the US, where Lupe is from.
Marisol stopped, closed her eyes, and took a deep but shaky breath. The thumping had started inside her skull, like something was trying to get out. Last time it had gotten this bad she’d woken up in the psych ward after a two-day blackout. She’d woken up to find out that her brother was dead.
-FIVE MIDNIGHTS BY ANN DÁVILA CARDINAL
Few things here, Marisol seems like a danger to herself and others. Especially, if she blacked out for two days. I’m already not a fan of how her mental health is portrayed like she’s about to have an enormous unprompted episode in the middle of the street.