08 February 2021

You're Out of Touch

I have about a million reasons for avoiding my writing. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating. A little. I haven't really been working on Uneven Lines for months now, and there really are several reasons. It's hard. I don't know how to wrap it up properly. It's too long but I don't know what to cut. No one in their right mind is ever going to want to read it. I'm writing a book with a teenage protagonist that really is a book for adult readers. Wait a second...do I even know how to write realistic teenagers??

When I started this book almost 10 years (yes, 10, literally next week, don't remind me) ago, I was 23. Not exactly a teenager, but certainly closer to my teenage years than I am now. The teenagers back then probably weren't that different than the teenager I had been. But in ten years, a lot can change. I'm not sure if my teenage characters are characters who would really exist today. 

Now, I think certain aspects of teenagers never really changes. You know, certain behaviors and attitudes. I'm not even talking about language, because I don't really want to use any type of slang in my book because that would set it in a very specific time. I don't really want to commit to a specific year (just not 2020. In fact, I think it takes place in an alternate universe where 2020 never happened), maybe because I don't know when I'll actually finish and publish the thing, but I'd like it to not feel dated not long after it's finished. 

It's more the little things I think about. When I started this story, I had just gotten my first smartphone. Emojis weren't even a thing. A lot of the social media that exists now didn't exist back then. I really don't know anything about Snapchat or TikTok. I would assume my characters would be using these platforms religiously. But how do you find that balance that feels realistic? If I mention these things too much, doesn't it seem forced or make it very obvious that I don't know what I'm talking about. But if I don't mention them at all, doesn't that feel unrealistic? 

My characters use their phones. A lot. Texting is definitely a thing in the book. I don't know if I'm overthinking all of this. I know that Jordan is the type of person who wouldn't post too much on social media even if he did have accounts, at least not at the beginning of the book. He's an aloof and closed off person, but he also says he's popular. Does that make any sense at all? What makes a person popular these days? I even worry his coming out subplot feels dated. Part of me feels like a real teenager in Jordan's specific circumstances would never feel the need to be in the closet in the first place. But changing that up would mean changing A LOT of the book, main plot included. 

Also, I keep seeing that teenagers on TikTok are saying that skinny jeans are out, and you can pry Jordan's skinny jeans off his cold, dead legs. 

I know what you're probably screaming at your computer screen: RESEARCH, SARAH! RESEARCH! I should read more about social media, about what teen's lives are really like these days. I know, I know. I think I just worry that I'm not going to get it right no matter what I do. And having been working on this story for so long, the idea of figuring out so much stuff is exhausting. But I suppose I have to do it if I ever want to actually finish the thing. 

How do you keep your characters/ideas current? Do you use Snapchat or TikTok and can you explain it to me XD ?? Ok that was a joke. Kind of. 


  1. Maybe your story can be set 10 years earlier since that's when you wrote it or you don't need to focus on the social media too much. Remember, it will all become outdated at some point. I worked on my first manuscript for 10 years. I could not get it just right and moved onto my current one, which is going much better. Maybe you should try that too. I can still go back to my first one later, though I would need to rewrite parts of it based on how I've grown since I last looked at it.

  2. I was going to say the same thing as Natalie. Set it in the past. You can write a story that won't feel dated if you focus more on the characters than the stuff.

  3. And I was going to give the same advice too! Especially if that's when you started writing the book, you'll have in-depth knowledge of the period, because it's already written.

    Now you can focus on cutting. Have you tried to read it aloud? That's the way I figure out what the issues are.

  4. Just stopping by for IWSG this month, only a week late! Your post really hit home for I'm pretty sure I've got this story in my files that's over 10 years old. No, I didn't scream research at your post. I do write historical fiction and immerse myself in the setting/history as I write the story. I read somewhere that people read stories because of RELATIONSHIPS and how characters resolve conflicts, not caring quite so much about the when and where. They want characters they can identify with. Your comment about Jordan and his skinny jeans made me laugh out loud and wonder why he felt that way. So, I hope you'll keep working the story. The advice others give here to set your story in the past rings true. Hope 2021 brings you insight and forward progress!

  5. I agree with Natalie and Alex. It doesn't have to be a present-time book. It might feel weird, but you never know.