Young Writers Society

Hi, I'm Crysi...

"Hi, Crysi!"

...and I have a problem. You see, I-I-I have trouble writing characters of different ages!

"It's okay, we all have problems!"

Obviously.

Anyway, if I try to write a younger character, maybe around 8 or so, my readers end up being surprised when they find out she's 8. "What? I thought she was a lot younger..."

I know it's easiest to write characters around your age, because you're in that mindset and everything. Now, I'm an only child, and I don't see kids much younger than me very often. Older people I think I can manage - I'm around adults a lot and I have a few college friends. But I'm never sure what the attitude of a kid around 12 (the current character I'm trying to write) would be. What would the language be like? Slang? Attitude toward adults, schoolwork, etc.? What would be cool? Intelligence levels? What would they be expected to be familiar with at that age?

Most of all, how can I figure out the answers to these questions without having to ask each time for separate ages? Lol. Thanks guys.

Me? I'm quite blessed. I have younger sister who are 9 and 14 and I work with my church's children a great deal and see a lot of small kids in action. I personally get a chance to watch kids from five months to 6 years old.

Basically, there is no way to figure it out except from watching and observing. Twelve year olds are some of the hardest for me, so I don't have any specifics on that. I would suggest though, that you find somewhere where you can just sit and watch kids or interact with them in some way. Babysitting is surprisingly a good place to do this or you can just sit at a park nearby and watch (I wouldn't suggest being too obvious about watching however, considering some parents may not like this. However, if babysitting, watching the children is definately required.)

Addie's just turned thirteen, so you could ask her.

But my general observations of kids about that age is they tend to hold back more in a classroom setting because they're embarrassed (a generalization, as will most of these observations be) and the boys and girls tend to separate into cliques according to gender. Some of the boys and girls will think the opposite sex is still completely gross, whereas others may be slightly interested and then there could be those that are already immersed in the tumultuous world of dating.

For younger characters, you might try to think back to the different things you learned and books you read at that age. Then you can kind of figure out how knowledgeable they might be in certain areas and how ignorant they might be in others. Also, try to remember back when you first discovered and learned various things. It depends on the individual you're trying to create really, but I'm sure you can figure out around what time in life he/she figures out that dirt tastes bad, people of the opposite sex are kind of "cute", and he/she will someday be an adult (and he/she either can't wait for or are terrified of the prospect).

For older characters, yet again, you try to think about what time in life you learn certain things, and how the events in the specific person's life may affect that. For example, if said person "finds him/herself" in the late twenties, he/she might be happier and more sure of him/herself during their thirties. Also, for this one you might do interviews with older people (like your parents). Ask your mom or somebody when they decided to start a family, or go to college, or do whatever they're doing with their life. Ask those older people to relate the major events of each part of their lives and how it changed them.