Beggar Charlie

Writing for tweens is unlike writing for any other age group. The thing is, tweens like action. That's true in movies as well as books. So I had a challenge when writing Beggar Charlie, my tween adventure. I had to keep thinking, action, action, action. Also, I wanted it to be interesting for young readers. So the setting I chose was China in the 19th century. My reason was that western children don't know much about the subject and it might possibly interest them. I have read about China and Victorian Britain for years and thought there was a good story in it. My first choice, the easiest one was my main character, Beggar Charlie. I felt that the quintessential Victorian British character is an orphan. So Charlie became an orphan. I added a character that had been in 19th century America and thought I had a winning concept. Being a lover of history, every place in the world is of interest to me. So I'm happy with my first published tween adventure. It did, after all, become a Wishing Shelf Book Award finalist. If you're thinking of writing your own book for tweens, just remember action, and whatever age group you're writing for, you must know the kind of things they look for in their reading. That is also advice for genre, too. Look at your target audience.

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