How Real Can You Get?

 

Authors write the stories they conceive. Those ideas can come from a very active imagination or real life. This begs the question just how real can you get about life experiences. Specifically, how real can you get with books for teens about situations they face?
We, the authors of teen books, have learned lessons about graphic description. Don’t go too far or your book won’t sell. But, you argue, so and so major author with big publisher does this all the time. Their books sell.
That is very true. This author with a major publisher does have books that sell, but how are they received. As indie authors, we depend on our reviews to sell books. We can’t afford to have angry parents going to our Amazon page and writing things like “This is not what teens do!” “You don’t need to be so ugly!” or even worse. The few reviews we get would soon be overwhelmed by the guardians of teenagers making sure our book was never purchased.
Yet, those subjects are the ones teens want to see in books. They endure bullying, relationship abuse, school shootings or other violence, alcoholism, and drug addiction. They have lost friends to any number of violent acts, or lost a parent to an ugly divorce. Their lives are disrupted in ways many parents have never experienced personally and they want to learn how to deal with their feelings about this.
This leaves you, the indie author with a great story to tell, in a quandary. How do you convey the sense of violence, of pain being dulled through drugs or booze, even the sheer terror of a school being terrorized by someone bent on killing as many as possible? What can you do to show these teens they aren’t alone in a world dominated by the news of the second on social media.
One way to do this is to focus on the emotions of today’s teen. They’re the same emotions many adults had when they were that age. You’re worried no one will like you. Perhaps you’re concerned about a test you didn’t study for or a friend is sick and you’re scared they won’t recover. These teens need a place to lose themselves in a story where they can say, “That’s me! That’s exactly how I feel!” And a great author can give that to them.
What you need to do is observe teens. See how they interact, talk, approach subjects most parents wish they didn’t know about. This can be done without seeming like a stalker. Wandering the nearest mall on a weekend is one way. Instead of heading straight to your favorite store, walk slowly. Listen to the gist of a conversation. Hear how these teens are communicating. Learn their favorite places to hang out.
This is how to make your book real without being too real. Yes, we’re writing fiction but a dose of reality gives your readers a sense you’ve seen into their lives, even if you live halfway around the world, and they’ll love your story all the more.



About the K.C. Sprayberry
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.
She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair game when plotting a new story.

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