Find Your Angst – Writing Authentic Teenage Characters
- Mar 16, 2010
- by janna nysewander
- Ask The Experts, Writing
- No Comments »
The BelieversPress blog is going to be featuring Q & A sessions with the experts we work with, answering questions that you’ve asked. Have a question? Ask it here and we’ll get you an answer!
You asked:
I’m writing a novel that features pre-teens and teens interacting both with each other and with older characters. What are some things I can do to make their speech feel authentic?Janna replied: Portraying those age groups in an authentic way can be difficult, as our environment/world has changed dramatically since we were that age, and it seems that kids have gotten to be more independent and savvy in general, especially with the technological and informational age we’re in. Obviously some things never change—like how catty and mean pre-teen and teen girls can be with each other, and how boys can be so easily threatened by one another and feel as though they need to prove themselves and go over the top to impress other people. The key is knowing/understanding/researching your subject matter as best you can. Here are a few pointers to help you with your authenticity issues:
- Read through magazines and books that are aimed at pre-teens and teens to see what’s current. Along those lines, watch a couple of TV shows aimed at the same. Books and TV, especially, will more likely show interactions with a larger variety of age groups.
- Interview kids in those age groups to get a feel for their language, interests, interactions, etc. Use some sort of recording device (obviously getting permission from them first) so you can play it back as many times as you need to in order to get the right feel for scenes in your book.
- Go to the mall and just observe—you’d be surprised what you pick up on.
- Talk to friends/relatives who have kids in those age groups and ask them what theirs would do/say in specific situations.
