Bam! Pow! Screeech!
Should there be books written just for boys?
Should there be books written just for girls? Or should there be books for every young
reader, one size fits all? What are
those editors/readers/librarians looking for, really? The debate rages on, with
passionate advocates on every side. Luckily,
we writers don’t really have to take a side; all we have to do is to start writing
and see who our main characters become as the stories take shape in our heads.
As we begin the writing process, knowing
our audience is invaluable, and that comes through research and experience –
oh, the experiences! In my own case, I
spent years teaching in middle schools and high schools, and now, as an author,
school visits and readers’ letters help to keep this dinosaur current. My
weekly volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club doing “homework help”
(translation: “controlled chaos”) is key to get a glimmer of what’s going on in
the lives of both boys and girls. Then,
living with the “ultimate guy,” my dear husband, a sports nut and avid reader,
also influenced my world view of how “guys (well, one guy anyway) see the
world.”
Sometimes, a specific audience is
already targeted, as it was for my contracted reluctant reader series (Cover-to-Cover,
Perfection Learning), which is for boys ages 9-14. Other times, the sense of the audience
evolves during the writing process, determined by the main character’s voice,
as it did for my most recent middle grade/tween mystery, ISLAND DANGER, which is
also for boys, 9-14.
To focus specifically on writing
for boys, I’ve found that reading suspense á la Grisham, Patterson, and DeMille
and studying their use of lots of action and hooks in their plots were critical
to get me focused. Additionally, books
on language and gender, such as YOU JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND by linguistics
professor Deborah Tannen, helped inform my writing.
Tannen’s theory is that girls
primarily use language to “connect,” whereas boys use it to report a fact and
to establish dominance. For boys, she
says, the “glue” that binds them together in a group is “activity,” whereas for
girls, it’s “talk.” Sure enough, my male main characters grab hold of the plot
and establish their own voices quickly, as opposed to my female main characters,
who seem to establish themselves with less overt physical action, more
dialogue, and at a more subtle pace.
For example, the fourth through
eighth grade boys at my local Boys and Girls Club will read THE HUNGER GAMES,
with a female main character, but won’t pick up TWILIGHT, at least not in front
of other kids! They love the suspense
and exciting action in the former, they tell me. The fourth through eighth grade girls will
read both books. Most boys I talk to say
they love mysteries, and they seem drawn to overt struggles and strong conflicts
between good and evil. When I write for
boys, I keep these theories in mind, so Todd, my main character in ISLAND
DANGER, plays a lot of soccer, surfs, and gets into fistfights. Yet, he definitely has an empathetic side as
well, which he uses to assess the other characters, to make his decisions, and
take action.
There are
plenty of examples of books that contravene these theories, and many authors
who will disagree, but, as a writer, I find that these ideas help keep me
grounded as I write and revise my manuscripts for boys. With any luck, young readers will pick up one
of my books and find an experience that resonates with them, whether they’re
boys or girls.
If you tweet or email Margo the following, you will be added to a drawing for a free book.
For a Tweet to @ipapaverison: Enter me in #mg ISLAND DANGER ebook giveaway
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Tween Mystery Action Adventure
When fourteen-year-old soccer star Todd arrives in Hawaii, he hears that radical, militant Hawaiian activists have hidden weapons in a nearby ravine to use for their rebellion against the U.S. government to gain Hawaiian independence. Even though he’s warned that people are raising marijuana or “pakalolo” in the ravine, guarding their crops with rifles, pit bulls, and explosives, Todd plans to scout the ravine and find the weapons, hoping he can finally earn his family’s respect and find some adventure to offset his boring summer. What will Todd discover in the ravine that could force him to rethink everything he’s believed?
Author of twenty-seven books, Margo Sorenson was born in Washington, DC, and spent the first seven years of her life in Spain and Italy, living where there were few children her age, so books became her friends. She finished her school years in California, graduating from the University of California at Los Angeles. After teaching high school and middle school and raising a family of two daughters, Margo is now a full-time writer, writing primarily for young people of all ages, toddlers through high schoolers. Margo enjoys writing for young readers since she believes they are ready for new ideas and experiences, and they really enjoy "living" the lives of the characters in books. She enjoys meeting with her readers in school and library settings from Minnesota to California and Hawaii.
Besides winning recognition and awards for her books from various groups, including the American Library Association, Margo was invited to donate and archive her working papers with the internationally-known children's literature collection, the Kerlan Collection, at the University of Minnesota. After having lived in Hawaii, California, and Minnesota, Margo and her husband now live full-time in La Quinta, California. When she isn't writing, she enjoys visiting her grandchildren, playing golf, reading, watching sports, traveling, and hearing from her readers.
I just got into the TV show, Dexter.
