I'm getting ready for a pass on a bro/sis story to add in dialogue and other finer details etc. but what I think I need is some where I can get a refresher on teen talk as it were.
can anyone point me somewhere I can see realistic teen dialogue patterns. doesn't have to be right up to date. just refresh my memory how teens talk. It's a long time since I was one and even when I was one my speech patterns set me apart from my peers by quite a bit.
I'm not sure they know how.
Everything is text message emojis.
Like, OMG!, who ever thought we would look upon Valley Girl speech with nostalgia?
If I were writing a teen story set in the current era, my go-to would probably be looking at popular YA fiction (as in, popular with the target age-group). If it rings true enough for that audience, it's likely true enough for any other audience.
This. Focus on contemporary stories, of course. If possible, check reader review sites like goodreads, to see if anyone complains about unrealistic dialogue.
A friendly librarian might be of assistance in your quest.
That's where I find 'em. My local branch has several.
Where else would you go to find any kind of librarian?
That's where I find 'em. My local branch has several.
Where else would you go to find any kind of librarian?
In a library?
Some libraries have workers that are part time and even worse some are far from friendly and heaven help you if you even think of asking them to do their job.
Some libraries have workers that are part time and even worse some are far from friendly and heaven help you if you even think of asking them to do their job.
This may be true, but you have a better chance of finding a friendly librarian in a library than in the local biker dive bar.
The reddit group r/WhatsThatBook has a bunch of them. It's basically a giant version of SOL's Lost Stories forum and I know several self-identified research librarians enjoy answering queries in their downtime.
I would imagine that there are some corners of Reddit where you can find good examples of teen written language. I'm not sure specifically where - maybe something related to particular video games, TV shows, maybe athletics. I posted a meme once and learned 4-5 new words from the comments. :)
If you could find the right feeds, video services like TikToc, Twitter, and Youtube would probably give you lots of examples of spoken language. If your characters have specific interests, try searching for those. You can find tons of videos on Youtube of teens playing music (sometimes astonishingly well), or dying hair, or setting things on fire.
Or you could try loitering at a high school. ;)
While there are "teen talk" style groups on reddit, the p[laces that really get a lot of teens are less obvious but very useful for seeing how teens think as well as how they write. Unfortunately, many of the best groups are also self-help related, so you have to tread carefully.
For example, there are a number of groups where teens, especially girls, can ask medical and sex related questions with a reasonably good chance of getting a real answer without a lecture. Then there are groups like Raised By Narcissists, which have stories by adult abuse survivors and questions from teens. Then there's all the "cringe story" groups about parent and adults bossing teens around. And so on.
The problem is the specific groups that are popular move around. Something that was all teens three months ago might be all adults with the occasional teen question when you check it out.
I occasionally go to Starbucks, more for their internet than their coffee. (Good teas, and iced teas.) Teens come in after school and chat at a volume that's easy for me to hear (I'm 50% deaf).
They provide a good example of current teen speech and idoms, slang, etc.
Sometimes four to six members of a women's roller derby team come in. I have chatted with them on occasion. They are mostly just past college age, but I feel more comfortable chatting with them than the high-school age girls. 2 of them are veterans.
Before the Covid-19 one of the batistas would read chapters of a paranormal mystery set in Paris for me. So too a high school girl who wanted to become an English Major.
I usually bring a couple of binders of notes, or sometimes a chapter or two of what I am writing. Both young women had asked me about what I was writing. Sadly, I have not seen either for two years.
Even if you just sit and listen.
Food courts at a Mall are another possibility.
I recently went to see a movie in a theater, both before and after the movie the teen girls were talking loudly, so that is a possibility too.
When is your story set? The various examples given would help with contemporary teen dialogue, but if the story was set in the 1980s for instance there would be some changes to the teen dialogue.
In those cases, YA books written in that time frame that were popular might be the best source. Possibly some 'teen movies' set in that time frame might work as well.
as far as time setting I was thinking anytime in the last 20 years. so I'm not looking for a narrow band of clique talk. but more so a generally universal pattern if such a thing actually exists
It's not so easy to do. I teach Votech at a nearby high school. So I hear their variation constantly. Had a transfer student (Air Force brat) come in with a totally new variant at the beginning of the year.
She's had a hard time getting along with the others. Definitely a difference in attitude and speech patterns.
They share social media in common. I suggest you start there. There is social media speak, then there is the regional teen speak. Unless you have some local teens around to guide you, it's going to be near impossible to pick up the latter variant.
