There are certain tropes of writing middle grade novels. One of the most common is having the main character be separated from his or her parents. This can be done by sending the MC to school, making her an orphan, sending her to another world, or any of a dozen other means. The idea behind this is that you want the MC to be left to their own devices, without a means of support or someone to stop them from doing dumb things. I did this with Farworld. But with CF13 and the next two series I am planning, I didnt. Ive discovered I really like the dynamic of a younger MC having parents who play a role in the story. In CF13, the dad is like an older version of his son--cracking jokes, making mistakes, and getting into trouble. The mom starts out as more of an authoritarian figure, but as the books progress, we see there is a lot more to her. In an upcoming series, the book is set in a world where new ideas or changes are forbidden. The boys mother is crippled from an accident with a machine the boy knows could be improved. But, despite her injury, the mother still believes that change is bad. The father appears to go along with this line of thinking, but you get the feeling that he might have deeper feelings. The girls father is dead, but he left her clues to follow, so he plays a huge role in the story. What are your thoughts as a reader and writer? Do you like the MC to be on his own? Or do you like to see him interacting with his parents?
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 15:21:17 +0000
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