Why I Love Writing for Middle Schoolers

Thanksgiving brought Fool's Errand, book TWO of the Beat Street Series, into Amazon as a Kindle book and paperback. It is also on Kobo, but we are still waiting on Barnes and Noble's edition as well as iTunes.

Meanwhile, I wanted to write about middle schoolers, aka tweens today, because my books are written for them (and young adults AND adults too, of course). When I first started thinking about the story of a Beat Generation girl in 1958, I wasn't sure what age she should be.

My friend Susan, who worked at Scholastic, thought I should aim for ages 10 and up because "Once kids get to 10, their curiosity and creativity are astonishing." I agree. She also said there was less of a tendency to be into boyfriend-girlfriend stuff and more overall curiosity about the world. I agree with that, too.

While there is a very, very, early beginning to what could (or could not) be a boyfriend type relationship in Fool's Errand, it is not at all the focus of the book. It is much more centered on friendship (and the lengths you'd go to for a friend).

The friendships middle schoolers have with each other can be some of the most intense friendships we ever have, and I love that most of all. I don't mean cliques - because, yes, those can be fierce, and hurtful when you're not in one. I think that's why I made the lead character in the series such an outsider - to keep her away from cliques.

I also remember being an outsider myself in middle school, and at the end of the year, being visited by a classmate who I thought would never talk to me. She confessed she felt bad that I hadn't made many friends and then said she wanted very much to be friends with me.

We did get close, and the friendship lasted years until we drifted apart because we went to different high schools. But that one friendship taught me more about myself than almost anything else. So in some ways, it was the model for book two and the tweens and teens I'm writing for now.

I hope Fool's Errand inspires you to step out of your comfort zone when it comes to having and making friends. If it does, I hope you'll let me know.

I also founds some articles on middle school friendships in case you're interested:

What Middle School Girls Should Know About Friendship

The Ups and Downs of Middle School Friendships

Middle School is When the Right Friends May Matter Most


Thank you for visiting today. Go here to see my privacy policy.