Channeling my Inner 16-year-old

First off, thanks so much to the Fictionistas for letting me crash your blog! I always wanted to be in with the cool kids. ;)

Secondly, I must admit, I am not a fully initiated YA writer yet. Three years ago a friend of mine suggested I might start writing YA. She said I had a natural voice for it. ‘K, I wasn’t sure if I should be flattered she thought I’d be a natural at something, or offended that she was calling me immature. So, I blew her off. Two years ago, she suggested that YA might be a good direction for me to go in. I write adult fiction. You know, ‘cause I’m an adult. Again – blew her off. Last year, repeat. This past December, persistent thing that she is, my friend again suggested YA. Okay. Fine. For the love of heaven, I’ll try it if you just stop hounding me. But I’m not going to be any good at it. It’s been years since I was a young adult. Teenagers are going to know I’m a total fraud. I’m not hip. I’m old.

But, to shut her up, I started writing. And you know what? As soon as I did, I realized something about myself. I am not all that adult after all. Deep down (okay, maybe not even that deep), I’m still pretty much 16. And, as I started writing about my sixteen-year –old character, the story flowed so naturally, it was like I was back there in high school again in a heartbeat. How fun is that?! Can I just say, my friend is a genius. YA rocks.

Though, I will admit, I did have to go find myself a focus group of teenagers because, even though it was scary easy to slip back into the mindset of being 16 again, the fact remained that the world has changed a bit since I was in high school. I found myself having to make a few minor adjustments as I went along.


High School in the ‘90’s:

Walkman

High School now:

iPod

(I just got my first iPod. Have I figured out how to load songs on it yet? No. But it looks shiny and pretty.)

High School in the ‘90’s:

Passing notes

High School now:

Texting

(Whoever invented this is a genius. The guy who’s even more of a genius? The one who invented unlimited texting plans. I bow to your greatness, sir.)

High School in the ‘90’s:

Flannel

High School now:

Hoodies

(Who knew sweats were so stylish?.)

High School in the ‘90’s:

Kurt Cobain

High School now:

Daughtry

(Yay, rock is cool again! Ya’ know, as long as you bathe and shave and trim your hair now and then.)

So, anyone else have any teenage 2009-isms I should know about? Bring ‘em on. Now that I’ve discovered the joy of YA, I need all the help I can get dragging my inner sixteen-year-old into the new millennium as I write this first new adventure.


~Gemma
www.gemmahalliday.com