No. I am not asking how many years ago you made your appearance on this planet.
I want to know, how old is your soul?Â
When I sat down for an amazing chat with author Nan Marino last week, we talked about what audiences we like to write for. Her favorite readers are “MG” or middle-graders. She relates to 11-year-olds who still feel like they have all the time in the world to grow up. Those are the kids who value friendships perhaps above all else, the great sharp-eyed explorers.Â
So, in a way, Nan and I agreed, that’s how old she is then. Nan Marino is 10 going on 11.
Some other people are “babies” at heart. Take any good kindergarten teacher who delights in letter-people fun year after year and doesn’t seem to ever grow tired of it!
When I was a kid everyone always said how mature I was. I couldn’t wait to “grow up.” When I was 11, I told my best friend I couldn’t wait to hit my teens so the boys would “treat me properly.” (Ha!) Now I find myself reading YA lit for pleasure and writing books for teens. I am working on my second book manuscript. Originally, I thought it would be fun to write for younger audiences, maybe 8 to 12, to explore that classic middle-grade territory. But as I wrote, I noticed a little bit of sarcasm creeping into my characters’ speech and worldview. My girls’ throughts were turning to boys. Before I could blink, my girl and boy character who were supposed to be strictly “friends” started getting that attraction. Finally I settled on “tween” girls as an audience for this book.
Still, the rocky adolescence seems to be the age I relate to the most. The strife! The angst! The drama!
I have a theory that even historical eras have “ages!” I mean, when we think of the 1920s in the United States, we think of the youth culture. Fun, parties, cars, haircuts, boys, booze, music. Slang expressions like “baby” and “23-skiddoo” and “makin’ whoopee” that almost sound like baby talk, even though their meanings are quite grown-up.
How old are we as a society in 2010?
And, whether you’re a kid or a grownup, how old are you? What kind of literature do you read the most? If there is a different age you could jump to — by magic — which age would you pick?
Ready, set, go! 🙂
Katiaesque 
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