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My reading list grows exponentially. Everytime I read a book, it'll mention three other books I feel I have to read. It's like a particularly relentless series of pop-up ads.
-A.J. Jacobs

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Brain hurts. Must Write.

This junk in the Texas air is making my brain hurt. Like crazy. It hurts to read. It hurts to look at the computer screen. Heck. It hurts to think.

I want to write. BAD. Instead I'm contemplating drilling a hole in the middle of my head to relieve the pressure.

Done complaining. Promise.

My main reason for this post is because I am trying to find my inner 13 year old boy so that I can bottle him up and use his lingo to get me through writing the rest of Post-It Bandits. I want my writing to be true to a 13 year old boy, but don't want it to be stereo typical or total tween-talk. I hang out with 9-10 every day, so I have first hand access to their langauge, but it's not every day that I hang out with a 13 year old.

That would be oogie if I did. Unless I was their teacher. Then it'd be a different story. Point being, if you are one of those oogie people that hang out with 13 year old boys, or if you teach them or are a parent to them, I need your help. Maybe you used to be a 13 year old boy. Ladies, please refrain from using this as an opportunity to come forth with your past as a man. I don't want to know.

Tell me some of those ticks that they have, how they treat adults, phrases they use all the time, how they spend their spare time (that's not so stereo-typical), and anything else that you can help me out with.

I'm scheduled to go hang out in a 7th grade classroom in the upcoming weeks AND. Cannot. Wait. It is going to be the best thing ever. I Hated middle school. Quite possibly more than high school, which I hated with a passion. I almost feel like giving the students an obligatory messages of:

Middle School Does Not Last Forever.
Sitting At the Cool Table is Not Going to Mean ANYTHING in Ten Years.
Just Because You're An Ugly Duckling Now, Does Not Mean You Will Be Later In Life.
(and the opposite) To Mr. Hotshot: You Will Be Bald and Fat At Your Ten Year HS Reunion.

Anyway, if you have any brilliant nuances of a teenage boy, please enlighten me. I found out the other day that a 13 yo wouldn't say: No biggie.

So any help would be greatly appreciated! Happy Hump Day!

9 brilliant remarks:

Jemi Fraser said...

Sorry - I teach 10 & 11 year olds. 13 year olds are definitely much more aware - of themselves, the opposite gender, of the world... They're under lots of pressures at this point - alcohol, sex, drugs are being introduced to many of them at this age. Scary.

sarahjayne smythe said...

Sorry. I teach high school and it's been many years since I did my obligitory time in junior high. But I hope your head stops hurting and you feel better soon. :)

Unknown said...

Haha I don't teach at all so I would be no luck to you at all... I know how I talk and I know what I say... "no biggie" is a phrase I would use... LOL

Good Luck!

OH and I love your last part those messages couldn't be more true though when your in the middle of them they matter the most!

Tina Lynn said...

I'm trying to channel my inner sixteen-year-old boy and it sucks. So, I'm there with you.

Allie said...

i am not a boy, but i do have a 13 year old brother. he and his friends are almost as cliquey as girls, and they lovelovelove sports. they say "dt" all the time (ex. i'm so down to sleep = i'm so dt sleep)
also, they try to act like the older boys and say inappropriate things about girls even though half the time they don't know the meaning of what they're saying.

Ellise said...

I just finished The Strange Case of Origami Yoda and it was full of the voice I think you're looking for. Very cute book written in a quasi-diary form.

Olleymae said...

Your obligatory messages are awesome (and so true)

I have a brother who is 13 almost 14. He's super cool at his school--so unlike me--but he talks pretty much the same as adults do in normal conversation. He doesn't use many slang or buzz words, because it might sound like he's trying to hard. Oh, and his version of cussing is saying, "crap." I think the biggest mistake I see in MG and YA is that people try to make their characters sound too hip and edgy and use words that will be out of style in 5 years and they top it off with cuss words 90% of kids don't use on a regular basis.

Kierah Jane Reilly said...

"To Mr. Hotshot: You Will Be Bald and Fat At Your Ten Year HS Reunion." Soooo true!! How sad is it to reach your peak in 7th grade? I actually went to middle school with my husband, and what he said is that boys are deathly scared of girls, so to cover that up they try to act all cool. And my friends who have 13 year olds tell me that it's the girls who are the aggressive ones nowadays. Girls are constantly calling up the boys and like I said, most of the boys are just confused bystanders who are very good at covering up their fear by acting cool. And one of my 10 y.o daughter's friends has a 13 year old brother who is constantly saying "epic." It drives me crazy because everything is "sooo epic" or else it's "sooo not epic." Anyway, hope this helps!

prashant said...

I don't teach at all so I would be no luck to you at all.
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