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  1. GlitterRain7

    GlitterRain7 Galaxy Girl Contributor

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    He's a poet

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by GlitterRain7, Jul 30, 2017.

    Okay so I debated on where to post this question; I hope I chose right... Anyways, I need opinions on this. My MC is a teenage poet. At the beginning of the book he is 16 and has a pretty good collection (in my opinion) of poetry he's written. He's a teen though and he doesn't really devote his entire time to his poetry. It's just something he does to make himself feel good. Just to make clear of his poetry's significance, he became a famous poet after his death in the end of the book. My question is how much should he be referencing that he's writing poetry and how much should I include it over all throughout the whole book? If you have any questions I'll gladly answer them.

    EDIT: I forgot to say this, and it may not make a difference, but the book spans over about two years and the MC dies at 18.
     
    Last edited: Jul 30, 2017
  2. The Dapper Hooligan

    The Dapper Hooligan (V) ( ;,,;) (v) Contributor

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    When I was 16 I never talked about what I was writing. I was writing it just for myself and kind of a teenaged angst outlet, but that junk was way too personal for me to ever show anyone else. I still don't like showing it to anyone, but now that's generally because of how bad it is.
     
  3. Seren

    Seren Writeaholic

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    How much you should reference it depends entirely upon how much it matters to him. The more time he spends writing it, the more it matters to him. But if he's going to become a famous poet after his death, one would assume his poetry was outstanding, and for it to be that good, especially at that age, he would need a lot of practice: thus, he would probably write poetry with almost all of his free time.

    By the way, how does he become a famous poet after his death? Was he already a published poet who then became more popular after he died? Or did someone else publish it for him after his death? It's going to have to be stellar poetry for him to become famous.
     
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  4. Shadowfax

    Shadowfax Contributor Contributor

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    I'm with @The Dapper Hooligan and @Seren about his age being a problem with writing "Great" poetry, that would immortalise him post-mortem.

    If you look at Nick Drake (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Drake), he was another tragic "poet" who died young - but at 26, not 18 - and whose "legacy" was only appreciated after his death, and after much promotion by his -fairly famous - sister.

    But if he's only a poet as a hobby, what does he actually do with his time? Is he a labourer on a building site? A till monkey in Wal-Mart? A formula 1 racing driver? Nick Drake got into music whilst at school, forming a band at 16, and doesn't seem to have really bothered that much with his studies at Cambridge, signing with Island records whilst still there; this sounds like a credible CV for any young man who writes poetry! What I'm getting at is...What's your story really about if the poetry is a side-line?

    As an aside, I mention him because of the parallel with your character. Personally, I feel that he's overrated - even at 20, his work still had an immaturity about it that sounds like teenage angst.
     
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  5. GlitterRain7

    GlitterRain7 Galaxy Girl Contributor

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    Someone else published his work for him. Even though his works were really good, he didn't think they were. And he didn't ever think he'd get published, it was just a sort of dream for him. Fortunately, he told the right person about this before he died, and that person told the person who would end up being the one who got it published for him.

    It's about the MC's life after it hit the fan. He deals with love, depression, betrayal, and hatred,. The poetry is an important part of the story, it's just that he writes it in his bedroom alone, and when I make references to it I don't want to write "he's working on his poetry in his bedroom by himself" or something. I think that would get redundant after a while. But then again I think it needs to be referenced enough so that in the end when I come out and say "His work was published and he eventually became a famous poet" the reader won't be like, "Poet?...of yeah, now I remember."
     
  6. Shadowfax

    Shadowfax Contributor Contributor

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    I don't want to sound harsh, but this sounds like teenage angst.

    “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”
    Mark Twain

    Your character is still at the age when he knows everything and nobody else knows anything. There is, in fact, a biological reason for this; basically hormones, etc. mean that - at that age - you feel everything much more keenly than you ever will again. You're also becoming aware of things you weren't aware of before. The result isn't that you're any more knowledgeable, it just makes you feel that way.
     
  7. GlitterRain7

    GlitterRain7 Galaxy Girl Contributor

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    There's no doubt that he is an angsty teenager, but it stems from more than just his age. His life went from great to terrible at the age of 13, and he couldn't handle all the change it brought. The events that happened caused his depression, which in turn effected the later events in his life. I have no doubt it effected his poetry too. I guess I'm saying that yes he is effected by teenage angst, but he has some different reasons for it than most other teenagers, because what happened to him doesn't happen to most teenagers, and everyone has a different breaking point.
     
  8. Thundair

    Thundair Contributor Contributor

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    I wouldn't start him as a poet. Most teenagers or on a discovery of what their good at, and what they like doing.
    I wrote poetry as a teenager, but I started with art, and then to music. It was in the song writing process that I discovered I was good a poetry, and I liked doing it. Which in the end has led me to writing novels.
    So I guess my point is, it would give him some depth.
     
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  9. Seren

    Seren Writeaholic

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    I'd argue that it is possible to start off with poetry and stick with it at a young age instead of jumping from hobby to hobby. My only creative hobby has ever really been writing since I was a child. Then again, I am exceptionally untalented at just about everything. Perhaps I would have hopped between hobbies if I had talents.

    Also, @GlitterRain7 I would recommend that you take a look at A Leap of Faith by Trisha Ashley. It's a completely different genre, but the protagonist is an author and so it might be useful for you to look at how her writing sessions are described and how frequently they are mentioned. As writing novels is very important to the protagonist, the sessions get talked about and the protagonist sometimes mentions her characters and plotline as she does other things, too. To the same end, your character may be inspired by little things in their life every now and again, mention them, and then say that they sat down and wrote some poetry.
     
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  10. Thundair

    Thundair Contributor Contributor

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    Seren, You are probably right. I have a lot of the modern mental problems like ADHD.

    I think I may have jumped around hoping I was good at something. Nothing has landed in my wheelhouse yet, but I should get a B+ for not giving up.
    That being said, most of my friends, and some of my school mates changed a lot through those teenage years.
    Now that I think about it, I looked back at the ones that were bouncing around. They didn't have the family unit, where ones with a strong family did seem more stable. But all I know is what I see on TV :)
     
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