Re: Difficulty writing contemporary teen characters?
And I'm pretty sure I DON'T like being patronized by youngsters, or worse, being treated like 'grandpa' (I'm sorry, but when I hear someone complaining about this old 40-year-old they know, I just want...
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I don't know any teenagers. The small handful of my friends who have chosen to breed have children in their late twenties or thirties. I suppose that's why I've never had a teenaged character in...
View ArticleRe: Difficulty writing contemporary teen characters?
It also depends on where your characters live--country teens will naturally be behind the trends as opposed to urban or suburban teens.Heck, I don't even get cell phone coverage when I visit my folks,...
View ArticleRe: Difficulty writing contemporary teen characters?
and most of the twenty-somethings I know are aware what cassette tapes are, as some of them run cassette labels. :)
View ArticleRe: Difficulty writing contemporary teen characters?
I didn't understand teenagers when I was one. I was always asking my friends why they were yelling when they were two feet from me, why they would want fake ID since they couldn't legally drink, why...
View ArticleRe: Difficulty writing contemporary teen characters?
After I finish each chapter, I give it to my almost 13 year old to read through and then once it passes her checks, it goes to the 14 year old. I love having my own dialogue team!
View ArticleRe: Difficulty writing contemporary teen characters?
Wow. I hadn't even considered that. But no, actually, I don't feel like I'm having any troubles portraying my teens. I'm even in the head of one of the girls (first person POV). I'm sure I'll want to...
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I just had a discussion with my 24 year old daughter this morning that went like this: "Mom, it's going to be so weird telling my kids that I know what a cassette tape is. I mean, I've actually seen...
View ArticleRe: Difficulty writing contemporary teen characters?
Ha, funny you mention that--- I'm a huge fan of vintage Archie comics (from the 50s through the early 80s) and I credit them for giving me a good sense of how to set scenes and pace dialogue. But don't...
View ArticleRe: Difficulty writing contemporary teen characters?
Thanks a lot for your thoughts, everyone. After some brainstorming last night, I realized there are some ways I can actually turn the generational differences I'm having trouble with into actual...
View ArticleRe: Difficulty writing contemporary teen characters?
Seconding the advice to spend some time on tumbr; there's a lot of teens there, and it's a good way to get a feel for what their interactions are like. But remember, too, that it's never a good idea to...
View ArticleRe: Difficulty writing contemporary teen characters?
Yes I did worry about this when I first had my idea. I want my story to feel contemporary so that young people can relate to it. My characters text and use (unnamed) social networking sites to the...
View ArticleRe: Difficulty writing contemporary teen characters?
I have no advice. I had the same issue - that's why mine is now set half in 1992 and half in present day. Good luck.
View ArticleRe: Difficulty writing contemporary teen characters?
What age group are you going for? I would stay away from most pre-teen fiction or teen fiction and TV shows. The kids I know routinely laugh at it, and you can pretty much toss all of it as being out...
View ArticleRe: Difficulty writing contemporary teen characters?
I might have had more trouble if I didn't have a pre-teen daughter. I've been reading what she's reading for a couple of years now to make sure it's appropriate and watching TV with her. That has...
View ArticleRe: Difficulty writing contemporary teen characters?
Obviously you're not doing any editing now ;) But when you get around to editing, perhaps give the dialogue portions of your manuscript to a teenager that you trust to make suggestions. I tend to set...
View ArticleDifficulty writing contemporary teen characters?
Is anyone else in this age group struggling to come up with convincing dialogue and characterization for characters who are Millennials? It's not just an issue of pop culture references and slang...
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