I'm writing a story in third person about two kids, but I don't know whether it's necessary for the audience to know their exact age. They're dialogue should definitely be enough to show that they are children, but it could range between like six and twelve, so I'm not sure if I should specify. Thank you!
My simple answer is to please avoid giving me an exact numerical age in your story. No matter how subtly you try to slip it in there, I'm gonna' feel your big writer shoe obtrusively wedging this fact in because you need me to know it for... reasons. But, six and twelve are amazingly separated with respect to life milestones. A six-year-old is in what, 1st grade? They have classes like coloring and spelling. A twelve-year-old is in 6th grade, may already be in the throes of puberty (I had chest hair when I was in 6th), etc. 6-year-old me wasn't remotely like 12-year-old me.
Your descriptions and imagery revolving around the children should more than suffice to give the reader an idea of what age they are without heavy-handedly telling them. Remember that the less information told, and more information shown or gleaned from the image the text presents, the better. Their actual age as an exact number shouldn't really matter or bother being told. It could better be implied or understood.
With adults it doesn't really matter, because 30 year olds and 40 year olds would probably deal with problems in very similar ways. With kids, though, it's different. They're on a steep growth curve and how they deal with something will depend strongly on how old they are. If kids are the MCs, I think you're cheating your reader if he doesn't know their ages. I think you have to sneak that information into the story somewhere, and somewhere early on.
I find it is almost never a good idea to give overly specific details on characters - at least not directly. Things like age, for instance, can be easily conveyed in conversation in subtle ways. You don't need to give an exact age to say someone is a senior in high school for example or a junior in middle school. These kinds of simple details can convey that information closely enough. Same with other physical descriptors. For example - Saying Amy (a main character in one of my current projects) is a volleyball player conveys several aspects of information about the girl. She is probably quite tall, probably quite athletic and she is someone who actively participates in extracurricular social activities. Saying Amy is a senior in high school with a fiery temper and love of Nirvana and they make a joke about how the temper matches the hair conveys a whole lot more detail. Simple things like this paint a much more interesting and compelling character description then referring to my character documentation and repeating the information I have noted down about Amy For instance Gender - Female Age - 18 Appearance - Tall, Athletic, Red Hair, Grungy Clothing Style 1 Character Strenght - Highly Resilient 3 Character Flaws - Hot-headed, Short Temper, Highly Competitive Nature All this information and more is contained in the first part and in a much more compelling and interesting way which brings the character to life. Rather than just being a collection of stats and details on a word document.
There is a limited number of ways to do it without it being forced. They can have a birthday (mind you it must fit naturally into the plot). Perhaps you have a being(s) that have much longer lives than us humans. (Choose when and where to place this bit of knowledge wisely). Or in an argument with another character, it might work if the element fits in with the theme of said argument. Other than that, we can kinda figure a fairly close approx. of how old a character is by what they do, where they go, and how they go about things. Cause we kinda can follow the bread crumbs that you scatter about, so we (the reader), can see that Simon works at an accounting firm, going through a midlife crisis, and will never be in good enough shape to be a dancer at Chip'n'Dales. There is always a way to convey age, without having to just bluntly toss it out there.
With kids, you can usually imply age by referring to what grade they're in at school, or whether they're tall enough to ride the roller coaster at the midway, or some other such thing. You don't have to come out and say "Billy was ten years old," or "Twelve-year-old Susan was watching TV..."
I've read lots of books where the age of the character is 'given,' and I haven't turned a hair over it. As long as it's not inside a 'list' of characteristics, I don't mind. In fact, it can be disconcerting to discover you've been reading along, assuming the age of a character is approximately whatever, only to discover some way into the story that you were off by 10 years or so. I'd rather know near the beginning. (I'm less bothered by looks, etc.) But it's possible to work it in without clouting the reader over the head with it. Just make the age relevant to something. Here's an excerpt from page 3 of Old Yeller, by Fred Gipson, written in first person POV :
Not necessary. The dialogue should do the work for you. Just say they are kids or children and that should be enough. People aren't aiming for numbers, they only care about your story and if you characters (children) are portrayed real.
The only ages I've revealed in my story are that of my MC's daughter (it's coming up to her sixteenth birthday - the only reason I've included that is because that seemed a suitable age to tell her she's adopted) and a woman "in her late thirties" (which I only included to suggest she's a little older than my other main characters). Everyone else I've just hinted at their ages through physical appearance (again, though, I'm pretty vague in that respect) and behaviours.
Personally, I hate it when I'm given little info on a character, meaning I create them more or less as I like (blonde, short, skinny, clean shaven, eight years old), and then later on, the author informs me that actually they are X, Y or Z (eg: red headed, tall, fat, bearded, eleven years old etc.*) If you know the exact ages of your characters and it's going to be relevant later on, I'd get that info in early (however you like), so you don't damage the suspension of disbelief that a reader has been carefully constructing out of what you've previously given them / not given them. The ages kids are, are also really important to them, it's a major marker of their sense of self identity and it's usually important to them that others know too. Not so much to us adults of course (barring the big zero dates), but yes to a five and three quarter year old, or a thirteen year old (who isn't twelve any more). Age is hugely important. *not all at once, that would be weird
I don't think there is anything wrong with dropping in the ages of your characters, especially if they are young and/or it's relevant to the story. I was reading a draft of a friend's novel. From the opening and things like dialog, I thought the main character was much younger than he is. A few pages in, the novel hits you that we're talking about a teenager. Once I knew that I went back and nothing was wrong with the writing or the development of the story in the beginning other than the fact that I was kept in the dark about the character's age for to long. Dropping clues can work for somethings, but I think when it comes to the ages, there's nothing wrong with a specific mention and the sooner the better. Not everything we right has to be a mystery or try and keep the reader guessing and hope they figure everything out and piece clues together. Readers are there for the story, not any sort of guesswork on their part when it comes to something so basic as the ages of child characters. Being direct can work. Something like... Six-year-old Tommy looked to his sister. At twelve she seemed to have it all figured out. or Six-year-old Tommy looked to his sister. Mary, 12, seemed to have it all figured out. I don't think the introduction of ages would hurt the writing or story in any way. I think these details can make a piece stronger. And I would put them on the first page, or first paragraph, or even first sentence. Why not just drop in the age when you introduce your character. You don't want to confuse readers and the more ambiguous you leave things, the more likely that is to happen.
I'm confused by this thead. Is it seen as wrong or unprofessional to just state the ages of the characters like you would their names?
Only needs to be stated if it's relevant to the story. That being said, certain behaviors relate directly to certain age ranges, so it may be helpful. Teenage rebellion vs parent worship, sibling rivalry,even identification with the age range of the target audience, are reasons why yo might want to clarify the ages of the kids. But I don't think it needs to be catalogued so the reader can visualize exactly what the author imagines. That's just self-indulgence and even controlling on the author's part.
Yeah. I agree. I'd say include it if it's important, but make the mention of it relevant to something else, if you can. Don't state it as if it were a news report.
I'd say state the ages. As mentioned before, since kids change so much while they're growing up, a two-year-difference matters much more in kids than in adults. I'd say, get it in early. One handy thing to remember is that kids can be very proud of their ages, and so it's not unrealistic to have them just outright state it. For example, if someone calls one of your characters a "little boy", then they might object to that, because he's not little, he's already six. I always establish my teenage characters' ages. I think it can be a huge help in readers' perceptions of them. Just slot it in naturally, rather than just introducing "Jasmine, 14".
Something like - I was between six and twelve years old specifically, and was sat on the porch, and drinking my beer and twirling my pigtails, when all of a sudden my brother Susan, he is five years old, he arrived in a cloud of dust on his motorbike. 'Googoo Budweiser a Marlboro,' I said sexily. 'Hey,' he replied and he removed his helmet. 'Boobaboobabababy,' I said, 'and you stupid boy, you have left your head in your helmet.' Indeed it was true, his head remained in his helmet, squared under his pits, his arm pits, pits of pits, piss.
I'm going to disagree with you on "Six-year-old Tommy" unless you're clearly in an omniscient view. It doesn't feel to me like his thought. In a POV where he is the POV character, I'd move it so it feels more like his thought: Tommy looked to his sister. He was six, she was twelve, and she seemed to have it all figured out. Tommy looked to his sister. He was six--"only six", as she always put it--and she, at twice his age, generally did all the talking. Tommy looked to his sister. He'd barely begun to adjust to first grade; she was a highly experienced sixth-grader and more likely to know how to answer the question without both of them ending up in detention.
Both are poor. ‘Tommy looked to his sister. He was six....’ is rather inelegant, like a robot head on a stick that ‘looks’ for seemingly no reason and then reflects in upon itself. But I’m sure your point was elsewhere, and I’m now texting from bed, so, so only partial brain capacity..
It is certainly better to have a reason for him to reflect on his age, as in my third example. The second one could flip: Tommy looked to his sister. If he gave the answer, he'd get the lecture ("I'm twice your age! I'm twelve, for God's sake!") later.