Grow Your Characters: 6 Tips to Enrich MG Characters by Author Donna Galanti and $50 Barnes & Noble Gift Card Giveaway to Celebrate Loon Cove Summer

Happy Monday Everyone! Today I’m excited to have Donna Galanti here to celebrate the release of her MG Loon Cove Summer. This is a contemporary story, which is not what Donna usually writes. I’m looking forward to reading it this summer.

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

"A warm-hearted novel ... balances profound loss with humor and hope." – Kate Allen, author of The Line Tender

Thirteen-year-old Sarah Richardson is determined that her life will finally get unstuck this summer. She just knows it. Her to-do list? Brave the lake again. Save the loons. Stop missing Mom. Her one bright spot: volunteering at the local wild bird rehabilitation center.

The summer looks even brighter when Sarah meets Theo, the boy staying at her family's Maine lakeside campground who cares about protecting the loons just like she does. But when Sarah's family may have to move, she adds a new to-do item: save their home. And when she suspects Dad is dating Theo's aunt, the naturalist helping research environmental dangers to the loons, Sarah is caught in a new world of grief.

With the looming reality of losing her dad, her home, and the loons, Sarah must make a big statement to take control of her life. Capturing inspiration from her late mother's Appalachian Trail hiking journal, she boldly plans a solo wild adventure. But as her challenges mount, she wonders if her courage will earn her the voice she seeks-or if she's made a reckless choice that just might claim her life.

More praise for Loon Cove Summer:

“An original and fun read from start to finish … inherently compelling and skillfully crafted. With its unexpected plot twists and deftly crafted characters, this thoroughly 'kid friendly' action/adventure novel is unreservedly recommended.” – Midwest Book Review

"As sparkling, refreshing, and mysterious as a Maine lake in summertime." – Cathy Carr, author of 365 Days to Alaska

“The cast of unforgettable characters and tender relationships stays with you.”
– Jessica Rinker, author of The Dare Sisters

“A page-turning read set in the wilds of Maine.” – Paul Greci, author of Surviving Bear Island 

Now here’s Donna!

Middle grade readers tend to live life more in the moment. As a writer, our readers are living busy, mundane often overwhelming lives so we must give them something to read that surprises them, thrills them, and lifts them up. We must give them a story that transports them to a new world from the one they are in.

These readers also want to get deep into the mind of their characters. They want to love them or hate them—and passionately. So, bring passion to the page! This starts with YOU being passionate about your main character.

Here are 6 ways to enrich writing your middle grade (MG) characters:

1.     UNDERSTAND THE MIND OF AN MG READER

First, let’s get more inside the mind of an 8- to 12-year-old reader. They live in a contrasting world. For example, they…

·       Want to be loyal to their family but crave independence

·       Want to define themselves with their own identity but want to fit in

·       Feel a yearning to grow up and make big choices but also want to feel safe and have things decided for them when life gets tough.

·       Are focused on themselves.

·       See how friendships start to get complicated.

·       Come to understand that things they once thought about friends and family changes (like believing their parents were perfect or invincible).

·       Have many new experiences for the first time.

This contrasting world of tweens offers resourceful areas to explore and deepen your character development.

2.     VOICE

Are there places in your book where the language feels a little too formal? Could you change formal

dialogue to contractions to be more conversational? You can have mature MG characters, but make sure when writing for tweens, you think like a tween. The reader needs to believe that this is a 12-year-old boy or girl that is going through all of this. Her thoughts, actions and reactions need to match that. 

Also, be consistent with your character’s voice. Does one character speak formally without contractions unlike the others? Carry that through. You don’t want your readers to say “Oh, she wouldn’t say that or talk like that. That’s so out of character.”

3.     SLOWLY BUILD UP YOUR CHARACTER

In your manuscript, do a search for character info dumps. Do you have sections where things are moving along and then a new character enters the story, and you give us a description dump list?

For example, the “author” stops the action to narrate and tell us about Emily with:
“Emily was tall. She had deep blue eyes and light brown hair that was mid-shoulder length. Emily was leading her class with a 4.6 grade point average. She played flute in the orchestra, first chair, and three days a week she worked at the gift shop at the hospital; where she also volunteered evenings.” Etc. etc. etc.

Have you done this in your novel?
TIP: Rewrite this section in the character’s voice to see how much stronger this scene can be told or show us the main character from another character’s point of view (POV).

Build up your characters as you write them. Show us their faults, their desires, their conflicts with others—and especially show us their reactions. Reactions are stronger than “telling” us how they feel and even stronger than “dialogue” because  what characters “tell” us is not always the truth (like an unreliable narrator). However, it’s their reactions that show us who these characters truly are.

4.     REWRITE ONE-DIMENSIONAL CHARACTERS INTO 3D

Could your characters be one-dimensional?

Ask yourself: Are your characters people we are being told about? We need to get a sense of their personality or what they fear, or what they are capable of from an emotional or physical standpoint. We can’t see this if mostly the narrator (you) tells us.

The kinds of characters that have a history, actions, and reactions are the most well-developed— and the most enjoyable to read—and the ones we can create an emotional connection with. Using the senses to show character is a great way to do this.

Ask yourself: Is your main character always having one emotion or the other? Like being shown as either angry or super sad. How else can he feel? Show him feeling other things. Look for repetitive sections where he is telling us what he feels and change to action. SHOW him reacting vs. TELLING us what’s in his head.
TIP: Revealing setting through you character’s eyes is a great way to show their emotional state.

Finally, do a global search for your character’s actions. Are they always throwing their hair back? Snapping their fingers? Tapping their feet? Chewing their bottom lip? Waving a hand? Grinning? Trying mixing up their actions.

5.     DIALOGUE

How to beef up your dialogue? First, check for long blocks of dialogue and cut them up. Skim your manuscript visually to see where these blocks reveal themselves.

Once you’ve identified these blocks you can shorten info dumps, sprinkle the information throughout the story as needed, or incorporate dialogue in creative ways such as through characters quizzing another, news articles, journal entries, or action scenes.

Every piece of dialogue is important so be selective. Keep in mind that we don’t get to know a character because they are talking—but because they are reacting (once more!).
Ask yourself: What would this character be DOING in this situation instead of SAYING?

Are you a fan of exclamation points? Then you might have too many in your dialogue. A character that is always hollering, screaming, and shouting does not reveal a fully dimensional character. So, DELETE that exclamation and see how else you can write that sentence/scene without it to convey the urgency and excitement. You don’t want your characters to be simply remembered as characters that yell a lot!!! :)

Are you writing in the first person? It’s hard to avoid using “I this” or “I that” in first person narrative BUT you must find alternate sentence structures to reduce those “I” sentences. It will bring your readers closer to your character. My editor of my first children’s book made this very clear to me and I had to re-work the entire manuscript. Because of this, I am very conscious of reducing my “I’s” in writing. In doing so, it also helps me write a tighter first draft with a final draft mentality.

Here’s an example from my first children’s book, Joshua and the Lightning Road:
Original sentence in the manuscript in Joshua’s POV:
“I searched for Charlie in the dark, but I couldn’t make out the heads on other bunks.”

Compare it to the final version in Joshua’s POV with no “I’s”:
“In the dark it was hard to make out the heads on the other bunks. Where was Charlie?”

Can you see how this gets us closer to Joshua’s POV and delivers a stronger effect?

Try this throughout the novel. Your readers will thank you for it.

6.     CHARACTER CLICHÉS AND QUIRKS

Watch out for character clichés when writing for pre-teens. You’ve likely read them in other books:

·       The dumb jock

·       The nerd kid who’s a genius

·       The mean, popular girl

·       The kid who gets powers at a certain age

·       The goth kid who wears black and hates the world

·       The secret spy kid

·       The kid who’s prophesied to change the world

Take these clichés and see how you can change things up to make interesting and different but relatable characters. Give them a big goal, show us their world view, show us how they relate to others, and give them a specific characterization detail that shows us who they are.

TIPS:

·       Write a scene where  your character is forced to make a decision and must do the right thing.

·       Give your character a conflict: Then write about her internal conflict with it (what she feels about her life and about herself) then write about how she feels about it with an external conflict (something going on in the world around her).

Think LESS is MORE. It’s fine to give your character a quirk or special detail but not five! Don’t overdo it and make them chaotic and cartoonish.

A fun way to get to know your character is to journal about them in their voice and in the first person—even if their character is written in third-person in your story. This can be a stream of consciousness about what they desire, are anxious about, and can involve their past, present, and future.

Journaling is a powerful way to lean into your character and truly discover who they are—and help you get deep into their mind so your readers can too.

Do you have more tips on how to enrich your middle grade characters? Share them here!

Thanks for sharing all your advice, Donna! You can find Donna at:

Donna’s website:  https://www.donnagalanti.com/loon-cove-summer/

Giveaway Details 

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$50 Barnes & Noble Gift Card Giveaway: Runs 5/6/25 – 5/13/25 Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ddcc91cd33/? Embed giveaway code in your website: a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is hosted by Greg Pattridge. You can find the participating blogs on his blog.

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops

Wednesday, May 7th I have an interview with author Aimee Phan and a giveaway of her YA The Lost Queen and my IWSG post

Monday, May 12th I have a guest post by author Leah Stecher and a giveaway of her MG A Field Guide to Broken Promises

Wednesday, May 14th I have an agent spotlight interview with Analía Cabello and a query critique giveaway

Friday, May 16th I’m participating in the Moms Rock Giveaway Hop

Monday, May 19th I have a guest post by author Carol L. Pauer and a giveaway of her MG Rowley Peters and the Lumberjack Ghost

Wednesday, May 21st I have an agent spotlight interview with Isabel Lineberry and a query critique giveaway

Sunday, June 1st I’m participating in the Berry Good Giveaway Hop

Wednesday, June 4th I have an interview with author Aaron Starmer and a giveaway of his YA Night Swimming and my IWSG post

Monday, June 9th I have an interview with author Nancy McCabe and a giveaway of her MG Fires Burning Underground

Wednesday, June 11th I have an agent spotlight interview with Mark O’Brien and a query critique giveaway

Monday, June 16th I’m participating in the Dad-o-Mite Giveaway Hop

Monday, June 23rd I have an interview with author Michael Spradlin and a giveaway of his MG Threat of the Spider

I hope to see you on Wednesday!