Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Real Teenagers Vs. Fictional Teenagers (Writing, Publishing, and the Teenager Post)

Quick Update: For those who didn't see my tweet about it, right now I'm decked out in Nerd/Fangirl gear. Twilight t-shirt. Harry Potter "Hogwarts" robe. Panda backpack. Oh, and three little kid tattoos on my face - "Team Edward", "Team Jacob", and a lightning scar. Muhahaha....

Song Stuck In My Head: “Steady as She Goes” by the Raconteurs. It’s a very catchy song. I love the beat.

Okay, my eyes are still burning hot thanks to waking up WAY too early, but here we go. For the first actual WRITING, PUBLISHING, and the TEENAGER post in an era or too…we shall debate fictional teenagers and…well, the ones in reality. Hopefully I can consider myself knowledge enough in this area, being an adolescent who only writes YA-aged stuff.

Also, I am very bored and feel guilty for not posting as much. And, begin!

FICTIONAL TEENAGERS know much about themselves. They can tell you their favorite color, their favorite band, how they got that scar on their cheek whenever they glance in the mirror. They’re pretty confident with their sense of self identity.



REAL TEENAGERS need a minute when you ask what their favorite song is. They also freak out whenever they see a new scar because how they supposed to know how they got it?

FICTIONAL TEENAGERS have a way with words. Since all their dialogue is specifically tailored to their personality and style of speaking, there’s no need to worry about it sounding less intelligent than they really are, or out-of-tone.

REAL TEENAGERS…. “No way”, “you’re kidding!” “are you cereal!?” “Omigod, I love that show!” are among the more popular phrases of choice when it comes to them. And though they do have a certain personality to their words, sometimes it’s hard to tell them apart.



FICTIONAL TEENAGERS fall in love with eerily (handsome/smart/mysterious) fictional teenagers, and never have to worry about chemistry or whether they’ll get along. After all, meeting your eternal soul mate in the school hallway is a bit too common when it comes to YA books.

REAL TEENAGERS are lucky if their “meant-to-be” relationship lasts more than a week.

FICTIONAL TEENAGERS tend to have a grasp on their goals in life, where they see themselves going, what their passions are. They already know what they’ll major in come college. They got it all planned out.

REAL TEENAGERS are clueless. Fifty percent of them say they’re going to be doctors and/or surgeons when they grow up. Until they figure out they have take way more classes than the usual college student. And that’s why God invented the “cubicle job”.

Personally, though it could be that I’ve watched too much Diablo Cody movies where her teenage characters lived in a more heightened reality, fictional teenagers beat the crap out of real ones. But that could be bad. Any sort of character that’s a bit too perfect will raise eyebrows. When you start realizing your characters live in an odd, even cliché world, just try to remember your own adolescence. How swell was it? Exactly.



What sort of major differences do YOU guys see in fictional characters? When compared to real ones, that is.

Okay. My fingers hurt. So see you next Friday (hopefully) when I give you guys my fan girl review of the film INCEPTION! Later!

1 comment:

  1. yipee, youre following my blog!! I know, right, teenagers are so perfect in fiction. I think that sometimes the author wants to make their characters adolescence what they wished theirs could have been. and oh, christ, fifty%??? I want to be a doctor, lol...but i already know they take more classes. take care

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