Writers Tricks of the Trade MARCH-APRIL 2015 | Page 23

PRESS CONTROL THEN CLICK BUY TO PURCHASE A BOOK FIVE CONSIDERATIONS WHEN WRITING FOR TEENS CINDY DAVIS, FREELANCE EDITOR Editor/author Cindy Davis, of southern New Hampshire shares tips with us. In her “spare time”, Cindy researches new and different venues and plot ideas for her mysteries. Writing for teens is probably more difficult than writing for any other age group. Teens have intense opinions about many subjects. They are emotional, with hormones flying uncontrollably in all directions. They are short of attention, impulsive, and quick to anger. But, they’re also shrewd, intelligent, naive and yet, worldly. When teens like something, they dedicate themselves to it with a passion that some of us older folks have let dwindle over the years. CINDY DAVIS FREELANCE EDITOR With all this in mind, how is it possible to capture their attention and write an interesting article or book for them? PASSION Use their intensity as a tool rather than an obstacle. Since their intensity is focussed primarily on their emotions, center the story around something they are passionate about; sex, parents, sex, drugs, sex, music, school, and last but not least sex. BUY But, of course, even though you understand what they’re passionate about, you can’t exactly write ‘drugs are bad’, ‘unprotected sex is dangerous’, ‘listen to your parents, they know best’, or ‘if you want a good job, get an education’. It’s a sure bet they won’t read past the first sentence. Then how do you ‘get to them’? IDENTIFICATION First, find a subject you can identify with, something you felt passionate about at that age. Were you into drugs? Did you have sex without protection? Did you have trouble in school? Did you have overbearing or neglectful parents? How did you deal with the problems? Did you handle it from a purely emotional angle, or were you sensible and methodical? If it was trouble for you, there’s a sure bet today’s teens are dealing with some aspect of the same situation. And if it was trouble for you, it should be easier to become passionate all over again. Let the passion show through. WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE PAGE 13 BUY MAR-APR 2015