"Old" People Writing for Teens V

[Bookgirl2021]

I remember times when posts happened on RM just for the sake of continuing secret conversations. Those were fun days. Likes are fine, but they're better when a post follows it. And losing secret comments is a small price to pay to have the forums working again, so it's all good.

 

[Netz]

Yes, don't get me wrong - I miss the rep points, too (for quick, private messages), but I like having the option to like a post.

 

[CoffeeBeans]

yeah, I miss rep comments, but I also like being able to react, so I'm really good with whatever we can have so we can have AW back.

Somehow, hearing that you all haven't written multiple drafts in the last year has taken a lot of weight off my shoulders. I know there's no such thing as falling behind, but I absolutely felt like a slacker....

 

[Netz]

Yeah, I've felt like a slacker, too, but having AW down for the last six months (or however long it was) felt like I'd been given permission to slack off. Now the board's up and running again, I don't have that excuse.

 

[Sage]

COVIDtimes has also been hard on a lot of people's productivity. It *feels* like we should all have been more productive because we couldn't go anywhere (hahaha, that's funny, says the girl with 10-to-12-hrs/day in the lab), but for many people, it caused stress and mental health issues that weren't conducive to being creative.

 

[Netz]

Yup, that too.

 

[Kewii]

Hi everyone

It's been a long time for me. I used to post here way back (like 6 or 7 years ago??). I took a bit of a hiatus from writing after having my first born and now have two kids. I also completed a Master's degree in education. But now that that's done and my children are a bit older, I've spent the last year getting back into my writing.

It's nice to see some familiar faces

 

[MaeZe]

I can't explain where all the lockdown time went. Work was slow, visitors few, and the next thing I know it's been a year and a half!

But I'm making up for it. My spring/summer backyard writing motivation has returned. And I've made great use of it. My book for all intents and purposes is finished. There are two chapters that just need a bit more order to them and I did rewrite the beginning one more time. But this time everything in that first chapter is clicking into place.

Yay, our critique group met in-person last Wed! No more Zoom which I had sort of dropped out of anyway because I didn't have the best equipment.

Water under the bridge.

Their suggestions were right on the money—cut out more of the backstory and get right to the life changing event for my character. That is the hook. Much as I love all those darlings I trimmed, what matters is hooking the reader. The rest can come in later.

And it works. I even think I can write that query I had so much trouble with last year. It's amazing how one's writing can grow when one isn't writing.

 

[Sage]

That's great news, Maeze!

back, Kewii!

 

[Kewii]

@MaeZe Meeting in person sounds so great! It sounds like the time you took away (because of the Zoom issues) gave you a good chance to refresh!

@Sage Thank you!

 

[CoffeeBeans]

I am so tired of virtual meet ups for writing. I'm really hoping in person ones can happen in my area soon.

Welcome back folks! *hugs AW close*

 

[Kewii]

We've been quiet in here

How's everyone doing? How's July treating you so far?

 

[holmes]

Hello!! I love the title of this post. I'm curious, when you all get beta readers, do you typically look for teens, or do your beta readers tend to be older? I thought having feedback from the target audience age range would be very helpful, but I think the feedback from my older beta readers has been more helpful.

 

[ZachJPayne]

Howdy, everybody!

I am so tired of virtual everything right now. I want in person things. I never thought I, extreme-introvert that I am, would utter those words, but here we are.

Hello!! I love the title of this post. I'm curious, when you all get beta readers, do you typically look for teens, or do your beta readers tend to be older? I thought having feedback from the target audience age range would be very helpful, but I think the feedback from my older beta readers has been more helpful.

Hiya! I think you're looking for two different things here.

I think getting some teen readers who can read for authenticity and to point out any generational / cultural faux pas is one thing, which may or may not be valuable.

Beta readers, who are adults--and usually fellow writers, but not always--who can point out plot, writing craft, and other technical issues are another, separate issue.

I think they sometimes beta readers get conflated into "everybody who looks at a book before it goes public." But I think it's good to have discrete goals for each of your early readers.

 

[holmes]

Howdy, everybody!

I am so tired of virtual everything right now. I want in person things. I never thought I, extreme-introvert that I am, would utter those words, but here we are.



Hiya! I think you're looking for two different things here.

I think getting some teen readers who can read for authenticity and to point out any generational / cultural faux pas is one thing, which may or may not be valuable.

Beta readers, who are adults--and usually fellow writers, but not always--who can point out plot, writing craft, and other technical issues are another, separate issue.

I think they sometimes beta readers get conflated into "everybody who looks at a book before it goes public." But I think it's good to have discrete goals for each of your early readers.

Yeah, that's a good point. Ironically, the younger beta reader I have is a writer, but the majority of the older beta readers are not. I'm not paying, so I have to take what I can get, but they've all been very helpful. Just in different ways than I anticipated.

 

[ZachJPayne]

Yeah, that's a good point. Ironically, the younger beta reader I have is a writer, but the majority of the older beta readers are not. I'm not paying, so I have to take what I can get, but they've all been very helpful. Just in different ways than I anticipated.

As long as they're being useful.

Honestly, I've given up on beta readers because, even though they're dear friends, all of them are so busy, that they'll go for six months and say "nope, still haven't looked at your book yet, sorry."

 

[KiwiLady]

It has been so long since I've been here. Before the site was down, I couldn't even get on this thread - I could see you were all on it, but I wasn't allowed to come in and play. Hopefully this post will work, now that things are up and running again.

I've had a bad start to my morning - one of those days where you wonder why you're bothering with this writing thing and consider quitting. I'm sure I'll get over it. How is everyone else doing?

Regarding beta readers - I always find writers are better beta readers. I'm not sure if it's because they know what isn't working in a ms, or because they know how hard you worked on it and want to help make it better. Writers in your own genre make the best betas.

 

[holmes]

As long as they're being useful.

Honestly, I've given up on beta readers because, even though they're dear friends, all of them are so busy, that they'll go for six months and say "nope, still haven't looked at your book yet, sorry."

I know! And waiting is agony.

 

[Netz]

Hiya KiwiLady - great to see you back on here! I think the last time you wrote in this thread you were getting work done on your house and you were moving into a caravan (?) temporarily. (Or am I imagining that? ) How are things on that front?

 

[CoffeeBeans]

Kiwi!!! I'm glad you're back around!

I'm traveling for the week and I just finished mostly setting up a new laptop (RIP the old one, it was an absolute hero) and I upgraded to the new version of scrivener, so I'm excited to poke at that.

I still have to write a query but gosh darn it, I don't wanna....

 

[Kewii]

Queries are the worst, aren't they?

 

[KiwiLady]

I am so out of the habit of checking in here!

Netz - you have a good memory. We were going to move into our caravan, but it all got too difficult, so we moved into a rental for 5 months. We were supposed to move back and everything should have been done, but it wasn't. Instead, we spent two months living upstairs without a proper kitchen. Renovations are complete now though, and I feel like I'm living in a palace. Need to do more exercise to work off all the bad food I ate when we didn't have a kitchen. How are your Australian family doing? I can't remember what part of the country they are in, but some states over there aren't doing too well at the moment.

Coffeebeans - I just got a new laptop too! My old one was so old the keys were falling off, but setting up the new one has been an effort in patience. I think I'm there now. What are you querying? Need any help?

 

[Netz]

Queries are the worst, aren't they?

I totally agree on that front!

I am so out of the habit of checking in here!

Netz - you have a good memory. We were going to move into our caravan, but it all got too difficult, so we moved into a rental for 5 months. We were supposed to move back and everything should have been done, but it wasn't. Instead, we spent two months living upstairs without a proper kitchen. Renovations are complete now though, and I feel like I'm living in a palace. Need to do more exercise to work off all the bad food I ate when we didn't have a kitchen. How are your Australian family doing? I can't remember what part of the country they are in, but some states over there aren't doing too well at the moment.

Coffeebeans - I just got a new laptop too! My old one was so old the keys were falling off, but setting up the new one has been an effort in patience. I think I'm there now. What are you querying? Need any help?

Wow, has it really been that long since you started that process? Glad to hear it was totally worth all the hassle in the end. My sister and her family are in Perth, and they haven't had it as bad as other places. They're totally gutted that they haven't been able to come back to the UK for a visit - originally they'd planned to come last July, but they had to cancel, and this year's out as well from the sounds of it.

 

[holmes]

Queries are the worst, aren't they?

Mine is killing me right now....

 

[Sage]

*loves queries*

*misses queries*