Writing below your age (with a nod to Shanna Noelle's 'Above Your Age' thread)

Well, I haven't been 12 in a few years; it was the very late 90's. Judging by my cousins, who are just slightly older than your character, things have actually changed even since I was that age.

Kids that age communicate by cell phone (especially text messaging), e-mail, and through instant message or Facebook/MySpace. That's how they interact most the time. Kids will sit in class texting. College kids do it all the time, and so will middle-schoolers if they can get away with it. When I was that age, everyone had a cell phone, but it was a new phenomenon that EVERYONE had a cell phone. Now it's just assumed.

If you're thinking of real music, something like Jonas Brothers (gag) or Hannah Montanna (maybe). Something non-threatening, probably, if she's a good middle-class kid. I know at that age I listened to NSync and Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears before she became a total slutty mess. My cousins had no idea who Pink Flloyd is at that age--but I did at 12. You're kid might knew some good stuff if it's been taught to her by, say, her parents or older siblings.

Boys--well, I've never cared too much about boys, but 12 year olds probably are just starting to think about boys. It's probably going to be fairly innocent. The reason girls that age like non-threatening music is because they're actually afraid of the opposite sex. Probably a crush or two--fleeting, mostly.

Of course, not all kids get to have cell phones, some girls get into boys really early, and so on. What I'm giving are generalities based on my experiences.

My current MC is 13. You don't need children. You were a child once, and kids are everywhere. Use your eyes and memory. You'll be fine.

You don't know anyone who has a handy 12 year old to talk to?

I'd suggest stopping by a local middle school and asking the administration if you can talk to a few of their students. I'm sure you could persuade a few people to talk to you and give you a decent idea of things, and it doesn't seem creepy if you ask the administration and explain things first.

My major impression of "twelve year old" at the moment is "annoying" so I'll hesitate to give you my idea of them, lest it turn out overly biased.

I write in the Young Adult genre. I happen to have a 14 year old daughter and a twelve year old son, plus my angst ridden diaries of those tween years. But, if I need to know more about a subject, I take a notepad and go where that subject is.

I got married in Vegas, but my lasted completed novel had a formal wedding in it. I asked to sit in on a few weddings of strangers just to get a feel for it and took a ton of notes.

If I didn't know about the tween scene, I'd go to places where I knew they would be. A mall is a great place to sit and observe. It's great if you can find one with an indoor movie theater so you can observe then going in and out. Tweens are loud and it's easy to pick up on their conversations.

Good luck with your project.

Yakkity, if you really want to know, get your sub credential (just pass a simple test if you have your BA) and spend a few days in a middle school. you'll learn a TON and make a few bucks (and be reminded of why you're a writer

I've taught at the secondary level for the past few years and I serve as the translator between the 20 yr olds and the middle-aged women in my community college creative writing class.

The other day one of my students called someone a "Sav." I asked, "What's that?"
They said, "Ya know, Sav, like savage." I said, "oh, is that like being a beast?" They rolled their eyes and told me "Beast is so last year."

yakkity said:

Thanks for your help tips, everyone.

Makai Lightning, there is no way NYC public school administration would allow me access to any student. Hell, they've got metal detectors at the front doors. (On second thought, under those conditions I don't *want* to go into a school.)

Thanks again.

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Okay, that's a little different than any school I've been to.


....trip to the boring old safe suburbs where nothing ever happens? You go to the movies, you go to the mall, or you go nowhere. (Not that bad really, but that's definitely a bit of a downside.)

Ah, well good luck on your quest then. If it makes you feel any better, I'm 17 and I still think I'm kinda out of touch with how a 12 year old would act.

I'm not sure it's necessary to have your MC act like most real 12 year olds would. This could be very dependent on genre, but if you read something like Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, the 12 year old protagonist doesn't act like a real 12 year old - she just acts enough like one that it's convincing. But it sounds as if you're writing a story that's firmly set in the real world, so it could be much more of an issue for you.

I'm not sure it's necessary to have your MC act like most real 12 year olds would.

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That may be true to some extent, but at the same time you have to be careful of having your characters seem RIDICULOUSLY mature.

When I was younger, I used to read Elizabeth Peters' mystery novels. However, I stopped because I got so frustrated with the MC's 2 year old son running around acting as though he was at least 10. The author tried to excuse it by saying he was very smart, but it just came across as a weak ploy.

Well, I'm 12 and i have the opposite problem. I write about 15 to 17-year-olds...
Well if you need the perspective of a twelve year old, I'm open to answering questions
and i agree with gonovelgo. I'm sure J.K Rolling wasn't twelve when she wrote Harry Potter and wizards don't exactly act like normal kids.

I'm 52 now. I feel that every age from my earliest memory I have been ME. Humans are all the same from the beginning. Same emotions, same desires. We all want love, acceptance, appreciation, achievement, whether we are 2 or 92. Just smaller boundaries when you're young. Maybe small again when you're old and infirm. A 12 year old's boundaries are usually school, friends, family. So her concerns will center around those things, but how you write the emotion should be easily accessible. They hurt the same, feel joy the same, each 12 year old is a unique personality with his or her own voice just like any adult. Being rejected by a friend when you're 12 FEELS similar to being rejected by a job when you're 30. Sadness, fear, shame... it's the same; you can write it. Just access ordinary human emotions and you can write any age. Don't worry so much about fads, dress, and slang. It'll be a better story if you leave most of that out anyway, because such things are temporary. Make the story about timeless human things.

It has been said to write to your experience and what you know the most about. What you feel passionate about.