The Difference Between MG and YA novels 01/10/2010
 MG = Middle Grade (Intermediate for Kiwis) YA = Young Adult/teenagers The age of the readers: MG readers are approx aged between 8-12. YA readers are approx aged between 12-18. Obviously there are exceptions. I'm 24 and read YA and MG... The age of the characters: It's important to note that young readers tend to read UP in age. So a 12 year old will probably read books with 14 year of characters, and a 15 year old will probably read books with 17 year old characters. MG characters tend to be aged between 8 and 14. YA characters tend to be aged between 15-18 Vocabulary: YA novels challenge the reader, and can use almost any word that an adult novel can. The difference, is that the 'voice' of the words are of a teenager, as opposed to an adult. YA novel can be filled with foul language, sex and graphic violence. As long as it's done tastefully of course. MG novels have a few more vocab restrictions. No swearing (or at least very little and it would have to be essential to the novel), sex or graphic violence. The word choice is also important because while MG novels should encourage a wider vocabulary, it's important not to intimidate, or isolate the young reader from the novel. The novel's central conflict: YA novels, are about young adults, facing adult problems for the first time. The conflict in the novel is drawn from this. Adult problems can include grief, revenge, death, love, sex... the list goes on. MG novels, however, tend to focus on broader ideas like fitting in or saving the world. Internal vs External conflict: Let's face it: teens are selfish, and that's what drives most YA novels. YA novels are often based on internal conflicts that the characters face, eg falling in love, experimenting with drugs and alcohol or getting revenge on an old boyfriend. Of course there are external conflicts too, but the internal conflicts tend to be stronger. With MG novels it is often the other way around. The characters are thrust into an external conflict and their internal conflicts (while present) take a backseat. Plot vs Character: In general, YA novels focus on the character and relationships, while MG novels focus on plot. The reason for this is that YA novels have a higher word count, and more time to peruse the MC's mind. MG novels however have a limited amount of words to get the story across, so they tend to be a lot more action packed. Word count: Speaking of word count, it's important to note that MG and YA novels do have different word count requirements. This is broad, but: MG:25-50 YA: 45-80k As a general rule, the older your character, the higher the word count! For more info on the MG genre check out From the Mixed Up Files. Comments01/10/2010 9:41am
this is a wonderful post! so many people do NOT understand the difference. it's nice to have the comparisons here, spelled out, so we can easily see the differences. 01/10/2010 10:10pm
That's an excellent post! I'll link it to my next blog installment. I kept comparing my YA and MG while I read and I'm glad that I seem to have done things right with each. 02/10/2010 4:11pm
Great post, thank you! This is a great, clear summary, I'll be linking to it when I post on this topic in the future! 05/10/2010 5:47am
Oddly enough, I only recently learned that MG was marketed differently/separately from YA (bizarely naive of me, what with being halfway to an MBA with a marketing focus), so this was an interesting read. 05/10/2010 5:54am
I followed Amie's link here--great post! Very useful information. Your comment will be posted after it is approved. Leave a Reply | ABOUTI'm JJ and I write MG and YA fantasy. For more about me, try here.
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