I read a lot of writing boards and writing email lists. These places have given me unexpected networking opportunities and made me aware of new markets. They're well worth the time I invest. They also sometimes drive me crazy. The one thing that most frequently makes me tense is when I see someone react to a rejection or critique by grumbling, "I guess I'll never be published for kids because I just refuse to dumb down my writing."

Published children's writers don't dumb down their work - ever. "Dumbing down" means condescending to the reader and the second anyone tried that, his/her chance of publication would be virtually nil. Some children's writers craft work that is intentionally challenging - work that embraces deep themes and complex ideas. But themes and ideas are never what the message board grumblers mean when they insist they won't "dumb down."

Invariably those folks are talking about approach, word choice, structure, pace, or vocabulary. What they mean is that they want to write for children and teens in exactly the same voice they would use to write an academic treatise or a literary adult novel. What they mean is that they don't want to do the work of capturing an authentic voice that connects with a reader who is not them. What they mean is that they don't want to do the work and they don't want to take the blame either. They insist the blame lies in publishing that demands they "dumb down."

But publishers don't want them to dumb down. Many times I have heard editors and agents say they're looking for smart books or smart humor. But smart doesn't mean academic. Smart doesn't mean dry. Smart doesn't mean trying to force your reader to like what you like. Smart doesn't equal middle aged.

Smart Books Connect

Books can be challenging. Harry Potter challenged younger readers to stick with a thick book from beginning to end. A Single Shard challenged readers to explore a culture that was different from theirs. Loser challenged readers to think about the way they look at kids who are different. Holes challenged readers to follow several distinctly different storylines and viewpoints and to have the patience to wait for them to connect. None of these books were dumb, but all of them were authentic.

Kids can tell when they're being talked down to - they can also tell when you haven't done the work of understanding their culture, their viewpoint, and their interests. Can you imagine being asked to write a book set in a culture substantially different from your own, one that uses English but in a different way from how you use it? Now imagine doing that with zero time spend actually looking at that culture. Imagine just assuming they should accept how you do things or else they're stupid? Do you think you could land publication for that book?

This doesn't mean you need to learn all the trendy slang. Trendy slang will date your work and many publishers are leery about that. But it does mean your characters need to sound like kids, think like kids, and (to mention a very basic thing) have names that real kids have. Names? Sound like an odd thing to mention? Editors say one of the quickest ways they can tell if an author is out of touch with real kids is if they see characters named Sally, Betty, John, and Richard - in other words, names that you just don't see in schools today. Your story will actually feel more authentic with a completely made up name like Desinique than with a name like Sally.

So what are some of the ways writers can fail to connect with readers?

• Overly formal word choices
• Overly formal sentence structure.
• Long monologues.

Smart Books Provoke

Another thing you can do without ever dumbing down is provoke readers to think. Smart writing doesn't try to raise someone else's child. Smart writing doesn't tell kids what to think. Smart writing just coaxes them to think about something new or sometimes something very familiar in a totally new way. It draws readers out of the day-to-day rut of thinking about just those things under the reader's nose and expands the world.

A smart book might provoke the reader to think about injustice - what is it really? Might it be something different than we think? Can it be hidden by calling it something else? A smart book might provoke the reader to think about power - what is it? How does it affect your choices and actions? Is it a good thing or a bad thing? Smart books get the reader to ask the questions, to think - explore - examine. It doesn't tell the reader what to think but provokes the reader to think.

But…but…but…what if they don't get it? Shouldn't we be trying to show them what to do in order to be a positive part of society?

Smart Books Respect

A smart book respects the reader's ability to think and make wise choices when presented with sufficient perspective. A smart book recognizes that just because a reader uses contractions, speaks in bursts instead of monologues and has developed a whole language to simplify typing with your thumbs doesn't mean there is anything wrong with that person's brain. A smart book knows you learn more by working out a problem than by being told the solution.

At the end of a smart book, the plot is brought to a satisfying ending but the thinking has just begun. A smart book respects that thought process and a smart writer sets aside agenda, ego, and laziness to do what it takes to write a smart book. There's nothing dumb about that.