Writing for My 11-Year-Old Self and My Future 11-Year-Old Son

The moment I committed to writing my first novel, Strange Country Day, I knew exactly what I wanted to accomplish: I wanted to write a series that would entertain and delight 11-year-old Charles Curtis.

At that age, I loved and read and re-read the same types of young adult books: stories of young teenagers told with offbeat humor, action, romance, and, when possible, sports mixed in (little did I know I’d end up with a career as a sportswriter). There were the tales of outsiders and underdogs who found each other and wreaked havoc, like The Obnoxious Jerks and Please Remove Your Elbow From My Ear. Coming-of-age stories (Upchuck Summer, Sue Townsend’s Adrian Mole series, and the One Fat Summer trilogy from Robert Lipsyte) and family drama told through the lens of an adolescent (anything Robert Kimmel Smith wrote) drew my repeated attention. I couldn’t get enough of the sports offerings from the children’s author Matt Christopher and science fiction in books like Ender’s Game. I also owned a collection of over 1,000 comic books that I devoured.

But when I sat down to write SCD, I found a serious challenge ahead of me. The YA of my young adulthood had grown up.

I wasn’t writing a YA novel, at least not in today’s terminology. I was writing “middle grade.” The young adult books I picked up for myself recently like The 5th Wave and The Hunger Games felt like books written as much for adults as for kids. I realized there was a line that existed when it came to my characters dating, and the use of violence.

I had a good weapon at my disposal: I became a father in 2014. While in the midst of the editing process, I was able to ask myself if I’d want my son Benji reading this around sixth grade. Would the appearance of a firearm be a little too much? I decided that was fine. A goodnight kiss? Totally fine, but nothing much more. That seemed fitting for my 11-year-old self and my future 11-year-old who would be transitioning from grade school to middle school around then, just like my protagonist.

Around that age, I remembered struggling to fit in at a new school and how awkward it can be to deal with the pressures of an increased academic load and the challenges of puberty. Being a middle school kid can be a roller coaster ride between raging hormones, social anxiety, and academic stressors. I want my readers that age to remember that even when they might feel like an outsider, they’ve got their own special abilities.

All of that plays a role in the story of Alexander Graham Ptuiac, the son of an inventor who loves football but doesn’t have the physical tools to play on his school’s team. One day, he discovers an ability he can’t explain: the power to throw a football like his favorite quarterback, Peyton Manning. He then finds out his friend Dex can leap ten feet in the air to catch passes. So what’s the story behind their superhero-like powers?  You guessed it — the origins have their roots in science fiction and comic books, while the novel looks into their lives as typical middle schoolers.

In short, I hope it makes parents nostalgic for the books of their youth and makes kids feel special for the things that make them different.