Serious teenager?

Reminds me of John Bellairs books with Johnny Dixon. The genesis of the character is that his mother passed away recently (of cancer) and his father went to fight in the war, so he lives with his grandparents. He is very serious and adult-like; in fact his closest friend is an adult neighbor. It works splendidly, in my opinion, and I loved those books as a kid. Probably because I was one of those serious "adult" children. (Not because of tragedy - I was an only child and my parents treated me like an adult.)

I really don't think that this dramatic of an event will create a serious teenager. In fact, I don't believe that this dramatic of an event and upbringing will necessarily yield a serious teenager.

If her grandparents believe that they had screwed up one of her parents and were determined to make this kid turn out right by being stricter, then this may happen. A lot of children that have been through such events, though they may have more experience with grief and whatnot, are not necessarily more 'serious.'

I'd say it would more depend on the grandparent's upbringing than anything else.

Teenagers have a range of personalities like adults, right? I don't see any problem with a serious, cautious young person. (I was one back in the day.) You don't even have to rationalize/ psychoanalyze WHY she is more solemn, it might be just the way she is, the way she sees and interacts with the world. Isn't it a kind of stereotype to think all teens are bubbley, impulsive fun-addicts?

On the other hand, if you're worried that the "voice" of your WIP is too adult in a way that makes her unbeleivable as a teenager... then I don't know. But I personally love to read about outcasts, geeks and odd individuals. "Normal teenagers" are boring.

xxxrae

People come in all forms. The five-year-old next door is a very serious five-year-old, and I suspect she'll be a serious teen. Kids forced to grow up faster than normal would likely take on more "adult" and serious traits. As long as you have a plausible reason for her personality and behavior then you're probably fine.

The other question would be is she too serious for your readers. Teens typically prefer to read about other teens, so if your protag is too adult it could turn them off. Does she have qualities and problems teen readers can relate to? If yes, then you're good. If no, then perhaps re-think a few things.

How exactly old is she?
I've found plenty of teens get pretty serious at 15/16, but there are always ones that act like 5 years olds still of course.
At least around where I live, some people move out, or get married, or start work at that age.

It's important to remember people's moods differ. A funny or stupid teenager can be serious sometimes, and similarily, a serious teenager shouldn't be serious all the time.

She may be affected by her past, but it won't turn her robotic. You just need to balance the seriousness a bit heavier than the relaxing and humour. If she has the natural emotional range of a person still, the readers will always find something to relate to.

Sounds intriguing.

I am/was always a serious child. But at the same time I could be so silly that made people think there was something very wrong with me!!!

Something like that is very good at putting things into perspective. A serious tragic event. So, yeah. Naturally the kid would be able to see things differently than other kids. That'd make him more serious. Of course.

I was a pretty serious teenager, and worked really hard not to use slang etc. For that reason I never really related to any of the tv shows out there that were meant to be "about" teenagers. But I also didn't relate to Dawson's Creek either (talk about serious teenagers . . .)

Teenagers are just people, individuals.

I was a very serious teen. (Think Daria) I don't think it is a stretch for your MC to be serious at all, and if it works with your story, then go for it.

Danthia said:

People come in all forms. The five-year-old next door is a very serious five-year-old, and I suspect she'll be a serious teen. Kids forced to grow up faster than normal would likely take on more "adult" and serious traits. As long as you have a plausible reason for her personality and behavior then you're probably fine.

The other question would be is she too serious for your readers. Teens typically prefer to read about other teens, so if your protag is too adult it could turn them off. Does she have qualities and problems teen readers can relate to? If yes, then you're good. If no, then perhaps re-think a few things.

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I disagree. A lot of teens do not like to read about other teens. I hate reading about other teens, I get enough of them in my everyday life and do not want them littering my entertainment, too. I also find the way that most teens are portrayed in fiction (television more than books, but still in books) to be extremely unrealistic in the direction as they are not serious enough.

I do not relate to typical 'teen' problems at all, and in fact find myself relating to characters in the most unusual places. That said, just because I say this doesn't mean publishers will think this.

Haphazard said:

I disagree. A lot of teens do not like to read about other teens. I hate reading about other teens, I get enough of them in my everyday life and do not want them littering my entertainment, too. I also find the way that most teens are portrayed in fiction (television more than books, but still in books) to be extremely unrealistic in the direction as they are not serious enough.

I do not relate to typical 'teen' problems at all, and in fact find myself relating to characters in the most unusual places. That said, just because I say this doesn't mean publishers will think this.

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A lot of teens do like to to read about other teens. You might not, but most do, which is exactly why most YA is about teens. You said you don't relate to typical teen problems...which probably explains why you don't like to read about teens. But since they are 'teen' problems because a large number of teens deal with them, that's what those people will want to read...

just wanted to say that...

I was a serious teen too, because most of my social contact was with adults. So of course it does happen. But the question you have to ask yourself is if your story needs to be in YA then. Usually YA involves some component of self-exploration and discovery, and if your teen's already a fully-formed adult inside, most YA editors are going to say "pass."

So think about how your teen is changing and don't worry about how serious she is. Have you read the Artemis Fowl books? He's a MG hero who acts 40!

I'm not sure if it's too late to respond to this thread :-0

I was a serious teen, and so was my ex husband and oldest son.

My son homeschooled, started working almost full time at 14, in the company of mostly immigrant adults. He saved most of his money and started putting himself through college at 16. He graduated at 19 and moved across the country to escape our unhappy home. At 21 he is managing his own store already.

He recently fired a 20 year old employee for being late 3 times and wearing sneakers to work :-0 When the young man's father came in to try and reason with him, he gave the man a sermon on his poor parenting skills :-0 I don't think the poor man had any idea that his son's manager was only a year older than his son!! My son works hard to cover up his age, and usually only old women guess his secret.

I did my best to raise my boys, but...well, my ex and I made a LOT of mistakes :-0 And the boys paid for it. People look at my oldest in amazement and think he's just incredible...but...well...I think he was motivated to succeed through fear and pain. His success is bittersweet to watch.

He has a few little boy secrets though I think most precocious children have at least one childish habit, hobby or interest. Something totally out of character with the rest of them. Almost a split personality type thing. Find that for your character if you think it fits into the story.

Don't pigeonhole your demographic. Teenagers get a lot of unfair rap, with most adults assuming they're delinquents, too juvenile or too self-absorbed.

There are a lot of teens out there doing wonders for charity work, raising their siblings while parents are at work, getting jobs of their own, becoming valedictorians and working on athletics.

Teens are smart. They know how to work through decisions like everyone else.

There's something to be said, too, for teens who may be "average" in the realms of athletics, academic achievements, and charity work, but are respectful and friendly to their parents, their peers, and that person behind them in line at the grocery store.

I have to resurrect this topic because I recently had someone tell me that my MC in my YA contemporary fantasy sounded too old. He's a senior in hs and soon to turn 18 and an only child who completely respects his grandpa and has a part-time job. I don't think it hurts to have a teen MC who is responsible, especially when he has problems because of what he inherits.

The published author beta reading for me has said that his voice is too old, that her editor said the same about her MC at one time and she changed it. Is it wrong? I don't like "typical" teen characters, or at least the MC. Sure, teens have problems, but as many of you have said, there are teens who act older, think things through, and may be solemn. Do those kinds of characters not sell, even when they have their social and parental problems?

Should I change my character's voice to satisfy the general editorial consensus?

Ask WHY he sounds too old. Make them give examples.

Buy the 3 books written after the "Dark Angel" TV series ended suddenly without properly wrapping up the story line. The Author's voice is too old and sounds totally out of place and intrusive. Make sure you are not doing what this author has done. The books sold well because of the unusual circumstances, but there was a lot of complaining about the books.

Maybe your character can stay the same, but your writing might need to sound younger. Does that make sense?

yes, it does make sense. I'm thinking it may be the vocabulary, but I'll ask her. Thanks!

Another book that might help is Ender's Game Most of the characters are gifted children. The children are old beyond their years in some ways, but still very much children in others.

If you want to use gifted children as your MCs, you might want to study the topic of gifted children, more. Especially the fears and idiosyncrasies that are common in these children. Many children of high intelligence are not labeled "gifted" because they also have learning disabilities or mental illnesses that are more noticeable than their gifts. These are the most fascinating children to read and write about.

Children can be ultra serious and they can be frighteningly intelligent, but will be children, at least in secret. And their narrators and moms know those little secrets. Maybe your MC sucks his thumb or still sleeps with a teddy bear.

Does your MC wake up with nightmares from the pressure? Do other characters tease him about his mannerisms? Maybe add a scene where another character tries to get him to lighten up and he just cannot. Can he loosen up enough to dance? What happens when he spends time with other children? How do they perceive him? How do you write about the other children compared to him?

wildcatter67 said:

Another book that might help is Ender's Game Most of the characters are gifted children. The children are old beyond their years in some ways, but still very much children in others.

If you want to use gifted children as your MCs, you might want to study the topic of gifted children, more. Especially the fears and idiosyncrasies that are common in these children. Many children of high intelligence are not labeled "gifted" because they also have learning disabilities or mental illnesses that are more noticeable than their gifts. These are the most fascinating children to read and write about.

Children can be ultra serious and they can be frighteningly intelligent, but will be children, at least in secret. And their narrators and moms know those little secrets. Maybe your MC sucks his thumb or still sleeps with a teddy bear.

Does your MC wake up with nightmares from the pressure? Do other characters tease him about his mannerisms? Maybe add a scene where another character tries to get him to lighten up and he just cannot. Can he loosen up enough to dance? What happens when he spends time with other children? How do they perceive him? How do you write about the other children compared to him?

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His friends act like typical teens and at least one remarks about his behavior, but as a close friend, a little teasing is tolerated.

Most of what you're talking about "thinking things through" or "respect for his grandfather" is about his attitude/personality not his voice. Are you certain you're looking at the right things? I was a very non-impulsive teen and spoke respectfully to my parents but I did not sound like I do today. My voice was different, my word choices, pacing, tone, structure of sentences, allusions, etc were different because although I tended to be "weird" (in that I did think everything through before doing anything and because I was very polite and respectful of all adults), I was still a teenager.

I think you might need to look NOT at what your character is doing, but how he is doing it. Listen to the sound of his voice, not the content of it. That might be the issue.

Am I seeing double - or what?

Strange - I could have sworn I saw two threads the same. Ah well.

Wait - I'm right. Left click on 'Writing Studios' sub-Forum, and this thread is shown to be in two Forums!

I think the thread's already established that teens come in all stripes, just like adults. Taking that as a given and moving on, keep in mind that seventeen-year-olds practically are adults. They're less than a year away from being able to vote, sign contracts, and make their own major life decisions under the law. If they commit crimes, they're seen as adults.

When I was seventeen, I dropped out of high school--not because I was a screwup or a slacker or any of the other labels one generally applies to dropouts, but because I'd come to the rational, adult decision that I needed a different environment. I called my mom from the registrar's desk to tell her I was withdrawing. She listened to my reasoning, then told me I had her blessing.

I was managing my own money when I was seventeen--not a few bucks of spending money my parents gave me for chores, but the paychecks I'd earned at work.

Seventeen-year-olds can see what the world's like. They can operate heavy machinery. They have decisions to make about what they're going to do after high school. Do they have a lot further to go before they're fully grown? Of course. But they have a lot more in common with people five to ten years older than them than they do with people five to ten years younger.

Teenage years are a time of rapid, profound change. The difference of a year when you're a teen can have a bigger impact than half a decade would have on an adult. People that portray all 'teenagers' as if they're facing the same 'issues' tend to write unrealistic characters that don't resonate with readers. YA writers need to look critically at their characters' specific situations instead of making generalizations about how 'teenagers' as a group live and behave.

Which is a long, roundabout way of saying there's nothing wrong with a 'serious teenager' as long as you portray your character authentically and treat her as an individual and not a demographic.