Hi! new to the site! I realize there's already a "writing the opposite gender" thread on here, but I was wondering if anyone here can recommend a book that will help me understand what it's like to be a teenage girl, specifically when it comes to how teenage girls view social media?? Fiction or Non-fiction. (I realize that as a 29 year old man, that's asking a lot) Any help is appreciated.
Regarding the social media aspect, this novel might be a good starting point: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ttyl_(novel) It's a little bit early, and I don't know if the rest of the series expands on things as social media expanded.
I would go on social media (Instagram and Facebook) and look at how those young girls are using it. Life is the best resource for creativity, even if you want to write vampires and werewolves, if you know why you're writing about them . Question though: why do you want to write about a young girl as opposed to someone similar to your situation?
It's good for anyone to know how to write as both genders when writing a story. That way you're not limited to just having a male protagonist. It lets you mix it up a little.
I agree! But the best advice I ever heard was when I was about 17, and I was starting to write screenplays. It was at a family barbecue, and instead of socialising and playing rugby and basketball, I had pieces of paper around me, drawing maps and character charts and what not for this vast super epic medieval fantasy world. I remember my dad's friend -- a bricklayer by trade -- walked over to me with a beer in his hand and asked me, "What are you doing?". I told him I was already writing my first fantasy story. "What is it about?". And I began to explain to him this epic trilogy and how it was about life, and death, and rebirth, and the most insane philosophy my naive 17 year old self could muster. He then took a look at all the papers I had spread all around me one by one, and nodded. Then he said one thing that absolutely changed the course of my writing forever: "Why don't you first write about yourself and people you know?" I thought he was absolutely freaking crazy, and of course I thought he should stick to laying bricks. He wouldn't even know how to create a magic system or fantasy animals from thin air, for crying out loud! But almost ten years later, I was always asked to consult my colleagues' film scripts because I knew how to create incredible characters, and I believe that was thanks to the advice from that "mere" bricklayer. Incidentally, Aristotle said that stories were a sort of catharsis for the artist; a type of "confession", if you will. I'd contend that some of the most successful authors start with a little part of themselves in their characters, and that's what really makes those characters tick. For example, even though J.K Rowling wrote a young male protagonist, she admits that her situation with her mother greatly affected the overall story of Harry Potter. Harry's loss of family is one of the better themes in the book. She didn't know how to write romance for young men though. The hero getting the hot girl who just so happened to be his best friend's sister? Totally amateur, Ms. Rowling =P
I'm planning on starting my (first) novel this fall/winter. It's sort of a commentary/satire on how technology & social media is changing teenagers. I realize that social media has become popular among all ages and demographics, but I wanted to have the female lead be someone who's too young to have ever lived in an age without social media. But still mature and intelligent enough as a person to be an interesting character. So.....around 16.
Hi Maybe try Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell? It isn't the best example but it is centred around female internet culture. Definitely go through twitter and tumblr because that's the best place to observe the way young girls use the internet. I would also recommend anything Meg Cabot has written for her young adult audience. Maybe read a few extracts from one of the princess diaries books? I think as long as you don't fixate on stereotypes and create a stereotypical teenage girl the character's voice should be fairly believable. No teenage girl will write like she's reciting poetry no matter how intelligent she is, trust me. It's why some books written by male authors around your age about young girls have very unbelievable voices. It makes genuinely interesting plots difficult to read.
When I was researching guidelines for writing YA fiction a few years ago, I read in several places that the most common protagonist in YA is a sixteen-year-old girl. John Marsden is a middle-aged Australian male who wrote the Tomorrow series from the POV of a sixteen-year-old girl, seven novels with a follow-up series of three more, The Ellie Chronicles, so very successful.
