Teen Talk - Writers Forum

Kimba · 11-29-2006, 03:28 PM

Okay, here's the scenario. A group of teenagers are standing on an overhead bridge watching the cars go by. One of them has the bright idea of throwing rocks on the cars to see what happens. The group argue amongst themselves then one decides to do it anyway.

I'm a bit out of touch on youth culture of today [both my siblings are in their mid-20s] so here's my question. What sort of language/slang do teenagers use in these sorts of situations?

I don't really mind which culture you advise on [whether it be British, American or Australia]. i just need a general idea. Thanks.

imrhati · 11-29-2006, 03:35 PM

well it is sort of ahrd to pick otu slang that you use everyday becuase to us it seems like normal talk. How about you write a scene how you think they would sound and us teens will help you edit the dialogue to seem more realistic.

Kimba · 11-29-2006, 03:48 PM

I'm a scriptwriter and haven't actually started writing the script yet. That's why I gave you the scenario, asking for a general idea.

Normal talk is exactly what I'm looking for because I know your normal talk may vary slightly different than the normal talk of my generation. No offense but sometimes when I hear teenagers speak, it almost sounds like they are talking a foreign language.

Winged Sandals · 11-29-2006, 03:50 PM

I'd have to agree with imrhati on this one. We need a little more to work with. What kind of words exactly are you looking for? Words to describe the event or-?

Kimba · 11-29-2006, 03:56 PM

Well, I thought the scenario was enough to get you started but I was obviously wrong. The language I'm looking for would be the sort they think about the idea of throwing a rock of a bridge and the person about to do it.

Can't really think of how much more specific I can be here.

Winged Sandals · 11-29-2006, 04:01 PM

Are you looking for us to write a dialogue then? (Sorry, just checking, heh. It seems to me that you're asking for just random words, which would be hard to produce even if there were context.)

Kimba · 11-29-2006, 04:03 PM

A dialogue would be very nice since I'm writing it as a script.

Winged Sandals · 11-29-2006, 04:08 PM

Hmmm... Well, my friends would probably say something along the lines of:

Friend 1: "Woah! Did I just hit a truck?"

Friend 2: "Dude, that's freaking hilarious."

Friend 3: "What the crap? It's not that funny. It's just a freaking truck."

And then there would be a lot of swearing, heh. But slang is a difficult thing to pinpoint. Everyone uses their words differently. You're best bet would probably be to stick with the basics (like "c'mon", "hey", "holy -insert any word here-", and all of that jazz...).

safari invasion · 11-29-2006, 04:12 PM

Like Sandals said, if you're using teenage characters, be prepared to write using an excess of vulgar language. A lot of fuckings and goddamns and such. 'Freaking' makes them seem kind of like it's Sunday noon and they still have the morning's sermon in the backs of their minds. Maybe you were doing that for some other benefit of readers here, but I just thought I'd reiterate.

EDIT: Also, try turning on MTV if you have it. It's over the top and pathetic and sad and dehabilitating and whatever, but then again, it might work for what you want. I don't know if it's brodacast in Australia or how that works or if you know what I'm talking about, but yeah. There's that.

Kimba · 11-29-2006, 04:13 PM

Mmmm. That helped a bit.

Thanks.

If anyone wants to add anything else, I'd more than happy to listen.

Winged Sandals · 11-29-2006, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by safari invasion

Like Sandals said, if you're using teenage characters, be prepared to write using an excess of vulgar language. A lot of fuckings and goddamns and such. 'Freaking' makes them seem kind of like it's Sunday noon and they still have the morning's sermon in the backs of their minds. Maybe you were doing that for some other benefit of readers here, but I just thought I'd reiterate.

We alternate between freaking and fucking, haha. A good point though. See? Everybody talks differently. XD

Kimba · 11-29-2006, 04:29 PM

Well, the script would probably need to be dulled down slightly to keep within the TV classification code [I'm aiming for a PG rating] but I get the general idea.

aspiring · 11-30-2006, 02:41 AM

Go and hang around shopping malls or wherever teenagers hang out. I agree with the others - we can't just give you a load of slang without any sentence framework. If you can't even get started on writing the scene, then you need to get out and start listening to kids. Take a notebook.

lisajane · 11-30-2006, 03:42 AM

Get yourself on a train during school travelling hours, and just listen in to a bunch of schoolkids.

Kimba · 11-30-2006, 04:02 AM

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll definitely take them on board.