These are notes I took from a wonderful writing symposium called Life, the Universe and Everything. We have a lot of talented people in Utah and visitors with a great deal of knowledge. Any Misinformation is the fault of the note taker.

– Captain underpants film seems to meet the appropriate age. The big issue will be put in different classes.
– Middle school: when you embarrassing yourself before the boy that you like.
– Language is influenced by your readership.
– Kill a mocking bird is a story about a young protectionist but it’s geared for an adult reader.
– The filter your character sees through creates the book. Middle grade almost everything is discovery. The first time to the zoo. YA: is disillusionment.
– Publishers positions books in a certain area
– Endor’s game is considered a YA
– If your writing to publish traditionally> everyone has to know where your book will be placed.
– If you are writing middle grade are you targeting a 5th grader if you write YA do you target an 11th grader.
– If you shine the light of your story on emotions that adults and kids can relate to.
– YA sales are struggling?
– Lion King: is a kid’s story. Deaf of a parent and couched in a language kids can relate to.
– For cinema want the whole family to come and see the move. For TV, the shows are more age specific.
– Picture Book needs a good story and a good character. 6 yr. old read’s baby talk but don’t talk baby talk. Check out the school curriculum. See what spelling words or subjects covered in school to match content in the book.
– Many parents buy books for kids who read higher than their age.
– How make characters readers will connect?
– Much stiff is driven by emotion.it can build the empathy factor but readers can relate or understand the emotion of the character. Someone will be able to relate to someone in her book.
– Book called after. A teen who is a mom and left a baby in a trash can. Book went into depth of motivations of the teen girl.
– Hunger games> sympathy because she takes her young sisters place. That is the motive.
– Screenwriting book: save the cat. Your protagonist does a good deed like save a cat. The movie the Incredibles dad saved the cat as a joke on that book.
– Have the character follows his heart.
– A character needs a redeeming trait such as being competent, caring, or kind. Find a trait.
– In the TV series, House the character is very competent but has a lot of other bad traits.
– What does a character face by way of challenge that makes the reader root for him?
– Talking out loud can help dialog sound realistic and can help with the flow. It lets you figure out the plot.
– How to train your dragon; wants to kill a dragon to get his father to accept him. Then his want is in conflict as he comes to care for the dragon.
– To have the reader care about the character: have the reader discover things about the character they did not expect.
– Write true to your characters and write in a consistent voice.
– More are more likely you sell a two book or three book series and may become more only if there are a lot of sales.
– Middle grade usually is written from 3rd person because kids don’t have a self-filter.
– Stuck in neutral: is a story about a kid is a vegetable. He can’t move.
– Give your audience something familiar> family and school and then serial killer he sees his perspective. Then add familiar with the unfamiliar such as a Serial killer or authorism. Characters have rules and coping mechanism to address their situation.

Heard a random comment after a panel: and looked it up. Check out: Extra Credits site teaching history by videos https://www.youtube.com/user/ExtraCreditz

 
Want any suggestions to add to the list? Please do so in the comment section of this blog.