Teen Talk - Page 2 - Writers Forum

hobbish · 11-30-2006, 11:05 AM

If one of them didn't want to throw rocks, they would almost certainly be a "pussy" rather than a "chicken". I hate it when people use "chicken" where a teen would definetly say pussy

Crazy_dude6662 · 11-30-2006, 11:23 AM

the group of teens i can picture wouldnt argue.

personally i cant think of a group of teenagers that would argue about that. they would throw rocks/laugh/run
or throw rocks/shout/annoy everyone/run

Ilan Bouchard · 11-30-2006, 01:15 PM

I would suggest you use only timeless slang (i.e. "hey, man," "dude," "what's up," etc), because your script will make no sense and sound awful in about six months otherwise.

I can't tell you how many books I've read or movies I've seen that just seem out of touch and unrealistic because they use yesteryear's slang.

Anarkos · 11-30-2006, 02:16 PM

Or, better, just make up slang.

Kimba · 11-30-2006, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crazy_dude6662

the group of teens i can picture wouldnt argue.

personally i cant think of a group of teenagers that would argue about that. they would throw rocks/laugh/run
or throw rocks/shout/annoy everyone/run

Actually, the rock hits a car windscreen which, in turn, causes the car to spin out of control into the path of an oncoming truck ...

hobbish · 11-30-2006, 03:35 PM

Ha, perhaps I'm just too moral.

Yea, make up slang. Such as

"what are you, you a pussy?"
"Yea, shut up, you jack of clubs."

Hodge · 11-30-2006, 03:46 PM

We didn't have much slang, besides the normal stuff. Cool, awesome, sweet, dude, pussy, fag, queer, etc. Plus swear words. "Fuck" goes with anything! Observe: fuckstick, fuckwad, fuckshit, dumbfuck, assfuck, fucknut, fucksicle...

Kimba · 11-30-2006, 03:49 PM

LOL Well, given that I'm aiming for a PG rating on this, I think I'll leave out the "fuck" word or anything associated with it but thanks though.

Hodge · 11-30-2006, 03:51 PM

Oh, well "shit" works, too. Shithead, shitstick, dipshit, shitstain... Not as versatile as "fuck," of course. But it's still accurate.

Please, please, please don't have them say things like, "what the heck?" though. Only the Hardy Boys say that.

Kimba · 11-30-2006, 03:54 PM

I know "what the heck" isn't teen talk. That's more my generation speak.

Crazy_dude6662 · 11-30-2006, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kimba

Actually, the rock hits a car windscreen which, in turn, causes the car to spin out of control into the path of an oncoming truck ...

kids laugh harder/run away faster

WriteIt · 12-02-2006, 10:35 AM

Because slang is not always universal, you might consider assigning specific speech habits to your main characters to capture the sense of their ages, ethnic backgrounds, and regional location where the story is set.

J.D. Salinger was perhaps the first post-WWII writer to successfully create a three-dimensional character whose speech habits depicted the "vernacular of the day for adolescent males in NYC." Some of the techniques he used included assigning trite sayings (and all, if you really want to know), repetition where the ending of one sentence was repeated as the start of the next, etc.

Reading teen blogs might give you a sense of the "rhythm" of their speech habits.

If you live near a university where linguistics, particularly discourse analysis, is taught, talking with faculty members (or auditing a class even) might be a useful route.

Cheers,
Krys

Cheers,
Krys

Cady · 12-02-2006, 10:45 AM

I think the amount of slang your characters use is based solely on your characters. For example anyone with a degree of inteligence is not going to say shit everyother word, and vice versa your character may think hes a real badass and cuss every time he can squeeze it in. Also you have to remember cliques. The rapper kids;
"You aint got the balls to do that."
"Nigga please." and the rock flies over the bridge.

While a group of rebelious nerds would sound so different:
"Dont do it...someone will get hurt."
"But it would be cool...right? I think you should."
"We are always afraid of everything...I am sick of being afraid..." The rock goes over.

I suggest developing your characters first and then letting them speak for themselves. If you know them well enough the dialog will be natural and you wont have to think about it too much. I think hanging out in the mall would be a great idea. You could see the different cliques kids fall into today. The roles they play in thier clique and the language they use.
Good Luck!

Arin · 12-09-2006, 09:29 PM

Everyone's suggestions are pretty much accurate. You might wanna add in "douche"" or "douchebag" somewhere, too. "Suck my cock," "kiss my ass," "lick my balls," "go fuck yourself," dickwad, bitch, fruit (along with queer, fag, etc) or perhaps a creative rendition of giving the middle finger. I know you said PG, but take what you want from that.

imrhati · 12-10-2006, 09:31 AM

My favourite is the cellhone answer middle finger.