Comments on: MG vs YA fiction: What’s The Difference?

By: Claire Dawn-Marie Gittens

Claire Dawn-Marie Gittens — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:39:22 +0000

Thank you so much for this fantastic post!

I am absolutely certain that my novel is not MG, but I wasn’t sure if it was YA or Adult, because it’s so gritty. Now, that I know that some YA novels deal with the bleaker side of being a teen, I can classify it.

Thanks again!

By: YA vs. MG. What’s the difference?

YA vs. MG. What’s the difference? — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:49:09 +0000

[...] I wasn’t alone. Debbie Ridpath Ohi, aka @inkyelbows put together a fantastic article on Migwriters.com which provided all the answers I was looking for, plus some I didn’t even [...]

By: Monday Links « Bib-Laura-graphy

Monday Links « Bib-Laura-graphy — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:22:03 +0000

[...] Writers collected a bunch of answers to the question “what the heck is the difference between middle grade and YA fiction?” [...]

By: Mary Ann Scott

Mary Ann Scott — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:10:14 +0000

Great discussion! A while back, I was at an authors panel that addressed this question and Laurel Snyder said something really fabulous: “In MG fiction, the main character is look out at the world and trying to figure it out, whereas in YA, the main character is looking inwardly, trying to figure himself out.”

I think that’s a great insight into how kids grow through this stage and how that can translate into your writing.

Thanks for some great ideas!

By: Hilde Garcia

Hilde Garcia — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:30:38 +0000

Thank you for a great post. My critique group has had this discussion. One of us has a MG and two of us a YA, except that my partner’s MS could appeal to MG as well as YA. Your post summarized many key points that I will use as a reference in the future. Thanks again.

By: Sherrie Petersen

Sherrie Petersen — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:29:29 +0000

Wow, you guys really covered this topic thoroughly! Thanks for all the guidelines and links. Very helpful.

By: The stories we read and write « Day By Day Writer

The stories we read and write « Day By Day Writer — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:26:36 +0000

[...] found it through a link to their post about the difference between middle-grade and young adult. It’s an older post, but still relevant, interesting and well-researched, but my take away [...]

By: Samantha Clark

Samantha Clark — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:04:17 +0000

Great post! Very informative. Thank you.

On the point of word counts and books like Harry Potter and Twilight that are over the general guidelines, what I’ve read on numerous editor and agent blogs is that those guidelines generally apply to debut authors. Like in the post, more words means higher cost and more risk, and publishers will be more willing to take on this risk with writers who are already established. The first Harry Potter book was much slimmer than the later ones in the series. Also, fantasy is allowed some leeway because of world-building. But generally, debut writers should try to stick with the guidelines as much as possible to tell the story well. Going way over can look like the writer isn’t very good at self-editing, because the editors know roughly how many words these kinds of stories can be told in. Of course there are exceptions, but those exceptions more easily make it onto shelves when they’re from established writers.

On protagonist age and content, this post cleared up some stuff for me. I always thought, 12 and under was MG, but it’s interesting to hear that at 12, it can go both ways depending on the content. I thought Suzanne Collins’ Underland Chronicles series was MG, but it has some very vivid death scenes that I thought might be a bit too scary for kids under 12. Then an editor told me she considers it YA, which kinda makes more sense from the basis of content.

Thanks again!

By: MG vs YA fiction: What’s The Difference? | Crystal J. Stranaghan

MG vs YA fiction: What’s The Difference? | Crystal J. Stranaghan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:37:54 +0000

[...] MG vs YA fiction: What’s The Difference? — MiG Writers. This is a great blog post about the difference between middle grade and YA fiction. It doesn’t necessarily give you a hard and fast rule, but gives you a good idea of roughly where the boundaries are and highlights the grey areas nicely! [...]

By: Mary

Mary — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:50:40 +0000

Very interesting post. I teach 4th grade so I wanted to share a thought from that perspective.
Re: Ms. Diver’s perception that older was better than younger within the age range.
“while an 8-year-old would have no problem reading about a 12-year-old protagonist, a 12-year-old may be reluctant to read a book about an 8-year-old.”

I do agree in theory, but I’ve also found that my students really want to read about other 4th graders. They easily identified with the characters in Fourth Grade Rats (Jerry Spinelli) for example. Yes, they do like to read about older characters, please don’t ignore the need for younger ones too.
In teaching them to be good readers, we teach them to make connections between the book they’re reading and their lives. They develop their comprehension skills, but they also develop a real love of reading when the experiences are ones they understand or share.