Comments on my last post asked about writing Teen Voice. I'm going to ask a couple friends who also write Young Adult novels to talk about this topic here in the next few days.
My friend Kathy McCullough, author of DELANEY COLLINS, F.G. [Random House, 2011.], is an absolute master of writing teen voice. In fact, her title character has her own website and blog that you can visit HERE.
F.G. stands for Fairy Godmother, of course. You want teen voice by someone who knows what she's doing, Delaney takes the cake. [She'll probably decorate it in ways you couldn't imagine, but she takes the cake!]
What I consider when I write high school isn't so much teen voice as it is teen thought, teen troubles, teen concerns, and (because I do story) teen actions and reactions.
The one great thing about writing high school is that we were all there at a most impressionable time of our lives. Like Vonnegut said, everything you need to know about life you learned in high school.
The thing I remember most about high school (and still envy) is the incredible sense of loyalty we felt among our friends. BFF meant something. No one bailed. Listen, I would have died for the guys I ran around with. Seriously.
Now that I think about it, I almost did once or twice.
P.S. Okay I was only shot at once and it really wasn't Joe Crawford's fault. Well, kinda.
4 comments:
I still haven't used to the fact that I'm old, so I think my writing does have a more youthful voice only because I forget that I'm an old fart and not a young person.
Alissa -- YOU are not an old fart! I am the old fart.
But, you know what, no matter how old we age, that young kid is still in there. Always. One of the remarkable things to learn, isn't it?
I still giggle at cartoons and get nervous in rooms full of adults.
Deleted the first one because I saw typos as I hit "post..." Corrected version:
I write for several age groups and love the internal-time-machine experience.
Teens are loyal,certain,acutely aware of injustice. When there are revolutions, teens are generally in the front lines.
And yes, rooms full of adults intimidate me. People with real jobs--!
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