The Children’s Holiday Surprise
Imagine you've invented a new holiday that celebrates children. What is it called, and what are some of the traditions or activities that happen on this day? Describe the first celebration of this holiday through the eyes of a child planning the day's biggest surprise.
Suggested length: A middle grade story: 2,000 to 5,000 words
Start the clock
Pick a sprint, press start and keep going until it stops. Momentum beats polish on a first draft.
Make it yours
Three ways to take this prompt somewhere nobody else will.
- Use a repeated line young readers can join in on.
- Make the ending warm, safe and a little bit funny.
- Keep it to one problem and one place.
Writing middle grade books
Ages 8 to 12: friendship, family and figuring out who you are.
Middle grade novels are written for readers around 8 to 12, with heroes usually 10 to 13. The stakes are huge to the characters, the focus stays on their world, and any romance stops at a crush.
What readers expect
- A hero aged about 10 to 13
- Family, friends and school
- Humor and heart
- Hope, even in hard stories
A tip before you start
Kids read up. Make your hero as old as your oldest readers, or a little older.
More Middle Grade prompts
- The Pencil Theme ParkWhatever they draw with it turns into reality. Write about a day in the life of a child who designs a theme park with their pencil.
- The Library PortalWrite a story about a group of kids who find a hidden portal in their school library that takes them to different worlds found in the books they read.
- The Secret Robot ZooWrite about a class field trip to a new robot zoo where all the animals are robots designed to act just like real animals. Everything is going as…
- The School Bus JungleOne morning, your school bus takes a wrong turn and ends up in a fantastical jungle that seems to go on forever. With your classmates and the bus…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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