I should know this having three brothers lol but I only remember the expletives in their teen years. I have 2 volatile young men who get on most of the time. They are 17 at school and I need a really trivial arguement - all ideas welcome, the two I have tried are naff.
With my brother and his friends it's mostly facts - one's convinced of one thing, the others think he's wrong, and off they go. Less nerdy boys might argue over girls? Like, more casually than people they're actually dating - maybe just a girl they saw or something. Work in an accidental personal insult?
As far as I know, it's about being right as in they'll argue over who is right over something, and even if one of them knows they are wrong then they won't back down.
one of them is married girls won't work. Hmm facts might trying to think of one. LOL true I just can't remember one I haven't already used with this pair in the first book. Maybe I could rehash one.
To much honesty in the wrong moment. Friends can be blunt and honest with each other at many times, saying things that would be over the line if anyone else said it. And most time this is well and good, it the sort of sobering comments we all need every now and then. But if someone is in the wrong mood, that sort of honesty can suddenly cross the line. Use one of the character sensitive spots, when someone is in the wrong mode to handle the comment.
It is a big step - for most - to move from the verbal to the violent. That step is more readily made if there is some degree of physical contact ( at first innocuous ) in the exchange: X borrows the Y's Gameboy or whatever. In the middle of a game, X is reluctant to give it back when asked. Y makes a grab, a little struggle and then BAM! I've seen this sort of thing countless times.
"With my brother and his friends it's mostly facts - one's convinced of one thing, the others think he's wrong, and off they go. " You took the words right out of my mouth Mel! Yeah, I think for me personally that's the case. I have two brothers very similiar in age and this is the usual argument-starter. They actually have never fought--physically--and so this is the only case in which harsh words will be said. The debate can last for days though, until google is pulled out and the misinformed brother proved wrong.
Why do boys fight? Testosterone, basically. Defining who is the "Alpha male" in a social circle and/or determining the "pecking order". When two mighty warlords wage an epic battle for dominance over fertile farmlands and natural resources, such things are obvious. In the case of boys, testosterone chemically applies the instinct, even though the lads in question may not fully understand it. This behavior is clearly displayed in nature with all the chest thumping, roaring and fighting over hunting territory and mates. In humans, with the construct of civilization, this is less clearly defined and tends to manifest in the young in such trivial things as: Who took the last piece of cake. Who is bigger, stronger, faster, etc. Jealousy over who a girl talks too (A topic detailed in depth in my book "Men who love women, and hate the men that the women love if it isn't them"...and yes that is a joke on my part, before anyone goes to the trouble to actually look that one up ). Who is right (as in: "Darth Vader is the coolest character of all time dude". "No, Yoda is the coolest". "Is not". "Is too". "IS NOT". "IS TOO". *SMACK-WHAP-CRUNCH* "MOM!")
lol that bit sounds like Angus and Jack they are seriously mismatched size wise but then that never stopped my brothers with nearly a foot height difference. I just obviously never paid much attention to what they are about.
Is this a verbal argument or a fistfight? If it's verbal, you'd want to go with abovementioned "I have to be right" thing (which I find SUPER annoying in real life.) If it's a fistfight, an insult would initiate the first punch. The insult and hot feelings leading up to the beginning of the physical fight would probably be caused by one of them making a dick move, like acting like a bad friend or maybe something girl-related. If it's at school, it could be a "popular kid beating up nerd to get social power points" thing. Or even a "Hey, let's prove your worth on the playground at recess" thing when the 1st meet each other. My dad went to an all-boy high school for a while and he said it happens all the time, where two guys beat each other up and then become friends afterwards. (Although things are far different now than in the 60s/70s. So it depends largely on the setting) Hope this helped at all.
It is two friends. It is Jack and Angus again so it starts verbal and ends up with Jack pinned up against a wall he gets a kick in Angus lets go and Jack lays into him. It's at school. I am just struggling getting the verbal shouting right at the beginning. It is going to be first words of second novel so needs to be right. It took me all day to come up with this and it's not quite right. Not looking for a review just ideas for the arguement at the start.
A few ideas.... --A nasty comment regarding a girl the other guy likes. --Making fun of the other guy's clothing, saying he looks like a dork, etc. --Making a false accusation of an embarrassing nature. --One insults something the other one is passionate about (be it sports, theater, Star Wars, whatever) Hope that helps any.
yep maybe Angus could say something about Jack's girl could be Jack pinning Angus against the wall lol Or Angus could reckon he had insulted Beatrice.
why? genetic/biological predisposition! comes down to sex and the need for species survival... males of most [if not all] dual-gendered species have aggressiveness toward each other built in, to beat out the competition for the females... humans are supposed to be able to exert free will and thus overcome their inherent fondness for a fight, but it doesn't seem to work in most, sad to say...
Back in High School, one of my exes beat up another guy that smiled at me. I wasn't flirting or anything, but he just flipped out and went after this other guy. I broke up with him after that.
Okay, other than girls one other reason boys in my senior school years and college years used to fight (verbal and sometimes fistfight) was over party invitations. A guy or group of guys (usually who expects such invitations) not invited to a party almost always try to pick a fight (over trivial matters) with the host or the party organizers. So, in your case, if Angus had some sort of a party and Jack was not invited somehow, then he'll harbour a grudge against Angus, which might burst out of him any moment. Jack feels insulted that others are invited and he is not, because he thinks he is a cool dude and hence expects to be invited or, he is close with Angus and feels neglected by his friend.
ooh Manav that sounds great - hmm I am actually thinking the otherway round Jack is having a party and didn't want the king present lol He didn't want to be upstaged
Whatever you choose, try and make it clear for the reader to see how the first aggressor has lost a bit of pride and status before landing the first punch. While boys may seem very prone to fight, it's always as a last resort (to them). Their ego has been hurt to a point where a power shift is about to occur between the parties.
Angus and Jack are both punch first think later type, their relationship for the first ten years was characterised by one fight after another. They have been forced to become friends in the last year and it has improved But I am liking the idea that Jack didn't invite Angus to something. It is a good idea all the relationships I tied up at the end of the last book unravel right from the first scene of the second book.
I don't know, more of the girls I know fight with each other than the guys. My friends are mostly pretty relaxed about stuff
'Yeah well that's your problem isn't it you don't bloody do anything.' Could this not be that someone said something to Angus, and Jack cowered away and didn't help? Maybe prior to this Angus has just been in a fight and Jack didn't help. Maybe that would justify two people starting a fight who usually get on, because the adrenaline would already be pumping. Just an idea
