Writing Biographies for Middle Graders: Challenge Two for 2018

In this Year of Writing Dangerously, I am challenging myself. Last week I wrote about Challenge One for 2018—writing a thriller. I have a couple of ideas I’m trying out in my head.

Scenario one involves a current hot topic in the news. What happens when ex-partners disagree about who owns/what ought to happen to frozen embryos they created while still together. And what is some nefarious group sets out to “collect” (steal) the one million frozen embryos stored for some, of course, nefarious purpose?

In scenario two, during a presidential election cycle, a candidate is shot. He is elected post-mortem. Who is prez when he dies before taking oath of office? Do they vote again? Is it the Veep? Or is it the other candidate, a third party dark horse who finished second?

And there are many more possibilities for me to select among. But this post is about my second challenge, and it is one I for sure will complete in 2018.

The second challenge actually belongs to another of my writing personae, Caroline Adams, who writes historical fiction for adults and biography for middle grades students. Caroline/I is/am enamored of Intrepid Women, and this series of bios is about some of them.

In 2017, I actually did complete most of a middle grade bio of Elizabeth Jennings Graham, all but the last few pages. My writing group, in effect said, “Not even a good try. Start again.”

Well, that wasn’t what I wanted to hear. But it was exactly what I feared they would tell me. And, worse, I knew they were correct.

So, why the epic fail? I rarely been so far off between my vision and my implementation. Is it something about writing biographies? Something about writing for that age group? Something about how little I know of my subject? Maybe all three of these?

I am taking steps to rectify each. There is very little available on how to write biographies. For such popular subgenre, I was astounded at how little info there is on the how-to’s and the elements of an effective biography in book form. While there is more available on-line, I wouldn’t characterize it as a plethora. I discuss this more in a post this Thursday on www.carolineadamswriter.blogspot.com.

We all know, don’t we, that writing for children may be the most difficult kind of writing? Those guys are more vicious critics than the professionals. Their critiques happen in homes across America each night. The good, the bad, and the ugly. One must know the psyche of the age group you’re writing for. Understand their interests and concerns. Know the language attributes they use and understand. Find the intersection of what they already know and what they want/need to know. I thought I had this one nailed because of my education background. But no. The crit group pointed out how stilted and artificial I sounded. Sigh. Try again. It’s been a long time since I worked daily with children but it is essential I get the right tone for middle graders.

As to the third possible reason, am I bluffing my way through this since there is so little available about this woman. And much of what is there is contradictory, even to birth dates! So am I covering (or trying to cover) up my ignorance with fill about the era, the issues, the culture so as to disguise the lack of substantive content? How do biographers cover people like Lizzie when so little information exists? I am in contact with a man who has written an adult biography of Lizzie. He is pointing me to some of his resources since he is in New York City and has contacts with the history folk there.

These two challenges, writing a thriller and producing a good middle grade biography should be enough to occupy any free time I find I have. I’ll save other challenges for next year and beyond. There’s always something new to be learned, done or tried. Right?

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Writing a Thriller: Challenge One for 2018

In another post I wrote about 2018 being The Year of Writing Dangerously. I meant it to mean you will challenge yourself to attempt what you’ve not tried before in the writing realm. For me, there are many paths to choose, and maybe I’ll go down more than one.

But there’s a part of me that is pulling hardest to write a thriller. Mysteries are but a hop, skip, and big jump from thrillers, after all. They are often grouped when you search for writing how-to books. Different but similar enough. After all, aren’t suspense book subgenres just strung along a continuum?

And domestic thrillers are hot, hot, hot. So the zeitgeist is there encouraging me to take the leap, too. So what’s holding me back?

Well, for one thing, I don’t write, have never written scary stories. And thrillers have to be scary in a way that mysteries often are not. Especially the cozies I write. There’s a level of tension cozies don’t reach. And the stakes are higher in thrillers. Often there are federal level investigators involved or government officials. Often there is a violent crime, but not always. But it’s always some serious stuff!

Thrillers are, well, thrilling. That is they make the reader feel intense emotions. Thrillers are most often about impending disaster. Often the villain is known early on and the tension arises from watching the unspeakable unfold. Waiting for someone, anyone to step in and stop the horror. The tension mounts as it appears the villain will triumph. There is no way to stop what is inevitable. Until there is.

A good thriller twists and turns in unpredictable ways that are always plausible, even if unanticipated. The ending is satisfying and conclusive, even if not happy. The logic of a thriller is the escalating tension to a breaking point.

I figured the first place to begin learning how to write a thriller is deconstructing some of the domestic thrillers I’ve enjoyed. Like The Talented Mr. Ripley, Gone Girl, and The Girl on the Train. Mystic River and Shutter Island. There are psychological thrillers as opposed to some other kinds of thrillers.

I personally am not interested in writing a spy thriller, military thriller, or a political thriller. Maybe I’d try a science fiction thriller since I have a nascent idea for one. But for me, the psychological thriller is the one I want to try. Psychological torture engages me more than physical torture or political intrigue.

Spy thrillers, political thrillers, and the others are more about the plot than having a character focus. Another kind of thriller is the comedy thriller which is personified by Fargo. It’s psychological thriller with an enormous violence factor and filled with black humor. These are dark shows that make you laugh and then feel bad about doing so. Even more talent is required to write a comedy thriller.

Standard psychological thrillers interest me most because they mess with your mind. In the psychological thriller, ordinary people are put into extraordinary circumstances and must try to find a way out. Along the way they undergo huge stressors. The pressure is unbearable, but they must bear it and find a way out. Imagine your baby being kidnapped and held for ransom. What could be worse? Or maybe someone from your hidden and secret past returns and blackmails you in escalating increments.

Other research I’m engaged in is discovering what makes for a scary story and what are the components of a thriller. How are they different? Alike?

One of my gurus, James Scott Bell wrote about the components of thrillers. His five C’s of thrillers are: Complex Characters, Confrontation, Careening (plot twists and turns), Coronary (readers experience scene emotions), and Communication (thrillers carry a message). Add to this list the inclusion of psychological manipulation and you get what I want to try.

Seems like a good framework to hang on the elements I am learning about, including the importance of the setting and atmosphere of the thriller and the importance of talismans/symbols that signal changes and hint at the message of the thriller. I want to use the unreliable narrator in my thriller. I am fascinated with the trope and want to give it a go.

It’s pretty obvious I’m not ready, yet, to start my thriller. But I am becoming more comfortable with its elements. Now all I need is a good premise and concept. Easy peasy!

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