What is most important to teenage boys?

Lineykins

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Hi all,

I'm currently working on the outline for a new YA contemporary story that I'd like to attempt.

I need to get into the head of a modern teenage boy - aged 16/17 - specifically what is most important to teen males of that age.

For the male writers that read this post - what was the most pressing concern you had at that age? That is - what could have devastated/humiliated you at that age if it did or didn't occur?

For example - perhaps you would have been shattered if you didn't make running back for your football team, or if you didn't achieve the school results you needed to get into the college of your choice.
(I'm not after physical pain or death)

And ladies I'd love to hear from you too - if you could give me an example for your teenage boyfriend/brother/son etc - I just need it to be a contemporary problem/issue/unachieved goal.

Thanks heaps for any examples you can give me.
 

totopink

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I'm trying to think of a broad scope but all I'm coming up with is sex. Sorry.
 

Lineykins

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lol totopink - thank you - I'd actually like some specific "real" examples if you wouldn't mind.
Is it - wanting to lose virginity, wanting to get with a particular girl, wanting to have/maintain a reputation as a player, or ...?
:)
Thanks again,
 

KalenO

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Hi all,

I'm currently working on the outline for a new YA contemporary story that I'd like to attempt.

I need to get into the head of a modern teenage boy - aged 16/17 - specifically what is most important to teen males of that age.

For the male writers that read this post - what was the most pressing concern you had at that age? That is - what could have devastated/humiliated you at that age if it did or didn't occur?

For example - perhaps you would have been shattered if you didn't make running back for your football team, or if you didn't achieve the school results you needed to get into the college of your choice.
(I'm not after physical pain or death)

And ladies I'd love to hear from you too - if you could give me an example for your teenage boyfriend/brother/son etc - I just need it to be a contemporary problem/issue/unachieved goal.

Thanks heaps for any examples you can give me.

As a male reader, this is what frustrates me when people talk about books for teen boys and books for teen girls like they have to be inherently different. (Not that I'm saying that's what the OP is doing).

But honestly, the things I was concerned about as a teenage boy are not that different from what most teen girls I know/knew were worried about. Yes, I thought about sex a lot, particularly before I had it for the first time, but its not like girls don't think about sex or their first time a lot either. But other than that I was worried about being popular, about being a good athlete, getting into the 'right' colleges, grades, going to the 'right' parties, parents getting on my case, whether the person I liked would ever like me back, hanging with my friends, showing up that douche I hated and who hated me back, etc, etc. Yes, whether a reader is male or female, gay or straight, black, white, Latino, Asian, etc is going to color their perception of a work and bring different and experiences to the table, but there's just as much for people of varying backgrounds and ethnicities/orientations to relate over as there is for them not to relate.
 

sadbeautifultragic

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As a male reader, this is what frustrates me when people talk about books for teen boys and books for teen girls like they have to be inherently different. (Not that I'm saying that's what the OP is doing).

But honestly, the things I was concerned about as a teenage boy are not that different from what most teen girls I know/knew were worried about. Yes, I thought about sex a lot, particularly before I had it for the first time, but its not like girls don't think about sex or their first time a lot either. But other than that I was worried about being popular, about being a good athlete, getting into the 'right' colleges, grades, going to the 'right' parties, parents getting on my case, whether the person I liked would ever like me back, hanging with my friends, showing up that douche I hated and who hated me back, etc, etc. Yes, whether a reader is male or female, gay or straight, black, white, Latino, Asian, etc is going to color their perception of a work and bring different and experiences to the table, but there's just as much for people of varying backgrounds and ethnicities/orientations to relate over as there is for them not to relate.

Basically this. I'm not a teenage boy but I have 5 brothers, and the things KalenO listed were/are basically my brothers "important things" in high school. I mean, of course there are other things but this sums it up. I think a lot of those are pretty universal... But I also agree with the bolded part because people are people and they're not all the same.

Some really really awesome advice Shady Lane gave me a long time ago (see for yourself here, actually that whole thread might be good for you to look over): "You're not writing A guy, you're writing YOUR guy. You know him really well." and I remember this every time I get stuck.


Hope I helped a little. :)


-t.
 

MttStrn

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"You're not writing A guy, you're writing YOUR guy. You know him really well."

This plus a million. I could go into detail about what was important to me when I was a teenage boy (detail is not necessary, sex) but your book is not about me, it's about your character and what's important to him.
 

Jonathan Dalar

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Well, remembering my misspent youth, and raising a teenage boy now myself, I'd have to go with sex too. It's on the brain 24/7/365 at that age.

That said, it's not just a mindless munky-hump quest to lose one's virginity. It's... complicated.

- It's trying to fit in when it seems like everyone else around you has it all figured out, and you're still the goofy bastard stuck in the previous grade and the retro clothes, and you're hoping THAT GIRL doesn't notice as much as you think she probably does.

- It's trying to win THAT GIRL from all the other guys who are bigger than you because they already hit their growth spurts, better looking than you because they have a car/other flashy new toy, and smarter than you because they care less about their grades than you do. Either that, or their parents punish them less for bad grades.

- It's gambling against making out with that unpopular girl with the braces who's infatuated with you, knowing you could probably get to second or third base with her, but blow your chance with THAT GIRL in the process.

- It's not wanting to tell your parents anything about THAT GIRL for embarrassment, even though you know damn well they probably have the answer to every single question you might ask about the subject.

- It's using your sister's "best friend status" to try and win brownie points with THAT GIRL, even though you're uncomfortable as hell around her when she comes over every day to play. Still, you wouldn't have it any other way.

- It's figuring out that another girl is just as pretty and interesting as THAT GIRL, and when you get right down to it, so is that other girl, and that one girl you really never had a shot with, but hell if you can't help noticing her now.

- It's finally meeting a girl that will go ALL THE WAY with you without any prudish complaints or rejection, and forgetting all about THAT GIRL when it happens. At least for the few days it takes for everything to set in. And then you want THAT GIRL again. More badly than before.

- It's finally winning over THAT GIRL from your best buddy, and having to experience the hollow, Pyrrhic victory alone, because you're too damned embarrassed to share it with anyone else.

It's a lot of things, and you don't understand a damn one of them.
 

Becca C.

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I agree with all the above posters, as well as Shady Lane's wonderful quote.

I have a seventeen-year-old brother. The things he's most into are video games and Russian history. He homeschools and he's not that into girls (as far as I know, lol). He would seem like your stereotypical nerd -- but he was recently diagnosed with Aspberger's and that's basically the main issue in his life right now.

My point is that teen characters are like this: garden variety on the outside, but what's most important to them/most prevalent in their lives isn't always obvious or typical. Different things matter to different people, and almost anything works as a "major issue" for a teenage boy.
 

Mharvey

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Basically what everyone else said. Write your guy however you want. Don't worry about what the average teenage boy thinks about, because your protagonist isn't an average teenage boy. He's got a whole world revolving around him and he BETTER have one hell of a good story to show for it. :)

That being said, just make sure he sounds like a kid when he talks. That's one I get hammered on fairly consistently.
 

AuthorJ

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A lot of things could give a teen's mind trouble. Not being in the best schools, competing with peers for the hottest gal at school or in the neighbourhood.
 

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For my part I was extremely concerned about getting over a speech impediment. I was even more concerned about how I would cope with life if I did not succeed.
 

Lineykins

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Thanks to those to responded to my actual question, and I'll even thank those who went off on a tangent, 'cause I appreciate your time regardless.

Just to clarify - I was not asking a question about the general difference between teenage boys and girls. I was asking for people who were kind enough to share specific examples of what might have humiliated a contemporary male teen. (themselves or someone they know).

I did not state that I was writing "a book for boys". I realise that I am writing MY characters (plural, this is not for my main character), but that doesn't mean I can't find some inspiration from real life incidents.
I also did not ask only for responses from white/anglo heterosexual males - in fact I would be delighted to have a response such as "as a gay teen, I would have felt humilated if......." etc. I like to have a diversity of characters (ethnicity, gender, background...) because that reflects the diversity of life.

I am female and it has been, ahem, a few years since I was a teenager. I asked the question in the hope you would share a few ideas with me that I might not think of.

Thank you Triceratops - I would never have thought of the importance a car - this is exactly the reason I started this thread.

Jonathan Dalar - thank you - that was a wonderful insight. I love your writing, so evocative.

Thank you Technician for the speech impediment example, and thank you to all who have given examples - I very much appreciate it.

I would love to hear more from anyone who would be generous enough to share examples from their own life.

Lineykins
 

Question

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I think -- by and large -- teenage guys care more about image than anything else, because self-worth is tied in to pretty much everything in their life -- friends, love, power, etc. How you are seen determines pretty much everything.

The guys at the bottom are treated like dirt (usually badly bullied), and the guys at the top are looked up to. Nobody wants to be at the bottom. You're also more likely to avoid getting rejected by the girl you like if everyone looks up to you. How 'in demand' you are affects the importance people place on you, and so being some kind of social pariah will usually get you rejected, even if you may have stood a chance under another situation, simply because your LI doesn't want the social stigma attached to being an item with you. So. Anything to do with public humiliation, or being put down, or feelings of helplessness will make for great 'male' fears.

I'll talk a bit more about rejection. The shame of rejection is every man's fear. Not only does it hit your self-esteem because yet another person doesn't want you, it can also be humiliating when word gets out, because other people know it too. It gets worse if they find it funny, or think that you were an idiot for thinking you had a chance. Maybe it even makes them think less of you. Either way, it hits your self-esteem bad (and, at that stage, your self-worth -- because most people don't become certain that they are worth something regardless of what people think until much later).

Guys want to date their crushes, but it takes a lot of courage to ask them out, and there's usually this long dance where a guy tries to find out how a girl feels about him so he can know if he'll get shot down or not. If he's going to get rejected he doesn't want to get rejected and lose face doing it. Which is why a lot of guys do the assholish things they do (i.e. taking the piss out of a girl who rejected him afterwards, in order to shrug it off in a "she's not that big a deal anyway, I don't care" way), but these are usually really immature. It doesn't help that most girls are so tight-lipped, even when they're interested. Haha. I guess they're usually trying to save their own pride.

So anyway, to sum up: shame (especially public) and helplessness/powerlessness (especially public). It's stuff everyone can relate to, really. So...
*Being the one to ruin a crucial game in whatever sport. It's the school's one chance to pass through into the finals, and he's just joined the team, and he blows it. He's the reason why they lost, and everyone knows it. Everyone is angry and feels that he should just quit.
*Asing a girl out in public, after pouring lots of money and effort into it. Maybe in the middle of a game, when everyone is sitting on the sides. And the girl puts on a disgusted face and says no. Then maybe her dad hits him and tells him to stay away from his daughter. Afterward, everyone calls him a creep.
*Someone punches him in the balls (nooooooo)

EDIT: This is probably important for anyone else writing FOR guys: Most guys I know want to feel important. Action -- where the main character shows up in a really cool way at the last moment -- is cool because things turn around, but also cool because the MC is important. They're crucial to the way things pan out. It's that self-worth thing again. And power. Fantasy stories where a single person changes the outcome of an entire war... any form of badass... etc. All these action tropes are usually related to how other people view the character. They're capable and admired and useful. They can do things others can't do. I think that's what a lot of people get wrong when they write guy characters. They don't put enough emphasis on self-worth and image, and then they come off as not-"guyish" enough.

It's also the reason why introspection and so on don't get as much room in the mythical "guy" book, because it's not so much about how the character changes as how the world around them chances (especially when it comes to how the world views them).
 
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Quite the most important advice I ever had from my Father was that I should learn to laugh at myself and not to take myself so seriously. This is not easy advice for a young man or adolescent to understand or really comprehend. I have learned that this technique is a valuable weapon which can demolish any attempt anyone might make to do it for me. It works every time and life is so much more peaceful as a consequence.
 

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Some boys have experience with some of these:

Being authentic when so much pulls them towards fitting in to one group or another. Figuring out what being authentic actually is.

Music. Lots of stuff about pop music--listening, playing, envying, status games over it, buying the best equipment, trading music, feeling like the only people who understand your emotions sometimes are the musicians who write the songs you like. Secretly preferring folk or Sousa when everybody around you likes rap--that sort of thing.

Family struggles. alcoholism, unemployment, impending divorce, new boyfriend for mother, accidental late pregnancy for mom. Everything that affects the adult has an effect on the kid.

The horrible awakening to the fact that your parents had sex and liked it as much as you do. (though surely they don't still. eeek!)

SATs/whatever the equivalent is in the country its set in. College applications. Thinking of losing a comfortable peer group once you all split up for university.

Money. Earning it. Stealing it. Wanting more.
 

Lhipenwhe

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Being a teenage guy not so long ago, I'll offer a few things.

Image: Body image, social image. The body image issue doesn't seem to be talked about as much as it is for girls, but it's important. As a guy, you want to be in shape and look good. That means working out, wearing the clothes that are in fashion (in shape relates to the sports thing). There might not be a lot of pathos involved, but it can still be hard not being 'in', especially in the 'upper' crowds. I had neither, and it wasn't... pleasant.

Academics, depending on the teen, can be pretty crushing. It's not just for college, although that's definitely important. There's a chance you'll be ridiculed if you hold yourself up as smart and screw up, and you'll definitely be popular to work with if you're at the top of the class.

That's all I can think of besides sex, which has been covered.

... and I am reminded of why I hated being a teenager.

:Soapbox:
 

thebloodfiend

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What kind of guy is this? And are you looking for specifically "male" problems? Because most important teenage things are universal to both sexes. Once upon a time, I read a lot of (bad) chick-lit, and as I read over this thread, I'm coming to the conclusion that teen guys and girls share a lot of the same (petty) issues. Public humiliation is standard for anyone. Same for self-importance. The only ones I can think of that are specific to guys?

***

Popping a boner in public and humiliating yourself in front of someone important.

Being the douchebag who's trying to pressure his GF into sex by calling her a prude/frigid bitch because "the guys" are wondering when you're going to lose your v-card.

Wondering wtf to do when your GF calls and says -- a) she's pregnant, or b) says the condom broke and she needs cash for plan b.

Wondering why people always assume that your white girlfriend must be fat and named Tracy if you're a black guy dating a white chick, and if you should bring her home to mom and dad.

Hoping the other guy online that you're meeting later doesn't realize that the closest you've ever gotten to fucking a guy is with your five fingered friend.

Bringing home a black guy to your stereotypically strict Asian parents who expect you to marry another Asian or a white girl.

Coming to school in drag.

^The above are random compilations from real (and fictional) events that I've witnessed first hand.

Something funny, though. This:
It's also the reason why introspection and so on don't get as much room in the mythical "guy" book, because it's not so much about how the character changes as how the world around them chances (especially when it comes to how the world views them).
Is what quite a few of the male YA writers on this board write. They're introspective as hell.
 
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missesdash

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I remember all of my male friends worried about getting a job and buying a car. Having a car was a big deal. Beyond that, keeping their GPA up high enough to not get kicked off of a sports team. Dating a girl they didn't really like but being too comfortable to dump her. Sex, obviously, lots of that. Realizing their gay or denying that they were gay.

Starting a band or 'getting serious' about their music, writing, whatever creative thing they did. Not growing up to be like their father or occasionally older brother.
 

KateSmash

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Honestly, every teenage guy I knew wanted nothing more than to survive high school and get out of our podunk town. Both towns, actually. Considering how the one town is a dying exurb with a depressing poverty level and the other town is really nothing more than a glorified retirement village with a Walmart, I can't say that I blame them. :Shrug:
 

sadbeautifultragic

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Alrighty here I go again.

Okay, well, first off, there are a LOT of teenage boys who are in "bands" that to put it lightly don't really make good music. My ex-boyfriend being one of them. He could play the guitar, and a couple of his other friends could play other instruments and one of them thought he could sing, and basically they'd play/sing all at the same time and ugh. Anyway, that was his whole life until he turned 17 and his mom told him no job = no cell phone. Then he had to come to the realization that his "band" wasn't actually a band and he needed to get a real job. So that was him.

I'm not going to speak for my oldest brother because if he wants to he can say it himself, but there are four others who are going through/have gone through high school who I think I have down.

I would start ranting if I talked about all of them individually, so I'm just going to say some universal things that were/are important to my brothers: being better than everyone else, losing virginity not because they want to but because their friends are constantly "ra ra ra you nail her yet?!"... which I guess brings me to peer pressure, I know drugs were a BIG part of Brother 3's life at one point during high school, and I think the one thing that every single person in my family seems to have an obsession with is revenge. Just getting back at people who've wronged you, or thought they were the bigger people when they were the opposite, things like that.

Acceptance within family, also. If you PM Seth? he can give you a looooot of insight into that field of teen-dom (and life-dom, really.) Actually, he probably knows how to put into words all the teenage boy crap a lot better than I can.

Anyway, that's me. Hope I helped. :)


-t.
 
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Lineykins

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Thanks everyone for your wonderful responses.

I know I have asked what, for some, might be a sensitive/personal question so I really appreciate you sharing your examples with me - it is very helpful.
 

MysteryRiter

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"You're not writing A guy, you're writing YOUR guy. You know him really well." and I remember this every time I get stuck.

I love this quote. Hannah, you are a genius! (And your vlogs are hilarious--I've watched all of them--but that's not relevant...)

But yeah, everyone pretty much said it. I also think you need to take into account what kind of teenage boy you have here, because their worries will vary, though not much. The universal:

- Social image
- Physical image
- Girls
- Sex
- College (if your MC cares about school)
- School work (if your MC is one of those kids)

...And other stuff that go off those.
 

Seth?

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Okay well, when I was in high school, my entire life revolved around being gay and when I was finally going to grow the balls to come out. It was constantly "Okay, I'll tell my family tonight." and then "No no, we're too busy... this weekend" and so on. Finally on the day I left for college I was just like "oh btw I'm gay. Oh and go in my closet and I left a bunch of skirts I like but don't fit into anymore, give them to my sister" and I can't even BEGIN to explain how awesome that was, to get it out and then immediately be like "K BYE UNTIL CHRISTMAS!"

So for me, as a teenager, I was obsessed with just being able to be myself and be accepted at the same time. And sex mattered, but it was sex with guys and this is very taboo in my family so I kind of always tried to push those thoughts aside, so in the long run, sex was probably one of the last things I thought about intentionally.

So yeah... there's that. High school and being a teenager is hard to sum up in a few paragraphs. Someone should write a book about it or something. ;)