Pop Culture, Slang, And Day-Old Sushi: Factors That Can Rapidly Go Undesirable

出典: くみこみックス

In ten years, will anybody recognize you if you say "fo shizzle?" Will they stare blankly if you mention Britney Spears' buzz cut or Paris Hilton's jail time? They may well, they could not, but the point is this: If you're a writer of young adult fiction, you cannot afford to pepper your prose with slang and cultural references that reek like week-old sushi.

Far more than in any other genre of writing, writers of young adul...

(And How To Preserve Them From Fouling Up Your YA Fiction)

In ten years, will anybody recognize you if you say "fo shizzle?" Will they stare blankly if you mention Britney Spears' buzz cut or Paris Hilton's jail time? They could, they may well not, but the point is this: If you happen to be a writer of young adult fiction, you cannot afford to pepper your prose with slang and cultural references that reek like week-old sushi.

More than in any other genre of writing, writers of young adult material should be acutely conscious of the fact that what's hip these days is ho-hum tomorrow. In a youth culture exactly where info is instantaneous and trends seemingly adjust by the hour, a fantastic piece of writing can easily be spoiled by out-of-date references.

"Any pop culture references to style or Tv shows change so rapidly," says Dr. Montana Miller, an assistant professor with the Popular Culture department of Bowling Green State University. (Yes, they have a entire department that research nothing but common culture.) "In a way the effort to be relevant to the young audience by placing in these references is futile since the references are so rapidly outdated. Young readers have a high sensitivity to when these issues are contrived. They like to have a lot of detail but pick up on when the detail is getting place in their purposely to capture them."

Because the actual publishing of a novel usually takes a year (not counting the time it takes to write the initial draft), shout-outs to famous people, hot television shows, political scandals, or trends will more than likely ring false to young adult readers the moment the book is actually read. Realistically, pop music stars who right now are the focus of intense devotion on myspace will probably be has-beens by the time your novel is published.

Are there exceptions to this? Are there men and women, factors, or events that turn into so entrenched in the prevailing psyche that they will fly as pop culture references? "Barbie is often going to be a touchstone get the facts for everybody," Miller notes. "But I feel that very couple of things turn out to be that universal and as permanent as Barbie."

Barbie, though, has consistently wormed her way into the unconscious dreams and desires of little girls (and possibly tiny boys too) because she was developed in 1959. That is more than 50 years of birthday parties, Christmas presents, and unfettered envy plastered into every little girl's subconscious. Barbie has earned the correct to be used as a cultural reference anywhere, just by longevity. But what about other less hearty objects? Anybody keep in mind Tickle Me Elmo? Only the parents who clubbed every single other one particular Christmas to hijack the local Toys R Us to make their childrens' dreams come true. The youngsters almost certainly stuffed the issue in a closet someplace, and do not even don't forget they wanted it.

Media is a tough call also. Music, films, tv shows, these all are a large portion of the American experience. But what tends to make a piece of media reference-worthy? Classic films from the '40s and '50s might be a cultural touchstone for individuals of a specific age, but for young adults, the thought is mass consumption, not lasting memories. And people of the older generations had far fewer alternatives for entertainment and media. Pretty significantly everyone saw Casablanca and knows what it is. Fairly much everybody watched Leave it to Beaver because there had been only three channels on the old black-and-white Zenith, and two of them did not operate if the weather was bad. These men and women shared a lot of common references.

Nowadays, even though, an internet search of 'popular culture' will net you much more than 2 million entries. It is not feasible that every single young adult who reads will have the precise identical cultural references these days, let alone bear in mind them in five years, or ten. So, typically, the rule of thumb ought to be to steer clear of hot pop culture references in your writing.

At least two exceptions to this rule exist, although. Very first, if you are writing for a particular genre audience that will share the very same background and cultural history, some pop references will ring correct. The sci fi geeks who frequent Comic Con all know the Star Wars mythology, and far more than most likely share at least a passing expertise of items like the Dungeons and Dragons function playing game and learn more here the old Star Trek series. Sub cultures have their personal history and language, so utilizing their personal internal pop culture references may well operate if you're familiar with that world, but again, you should be totally confident that you do know what you're talking about. Sports, read more surfing, the goth culture, punk music, the gay teen scene, all these are sub groups beneath the young adult umbrella, and all have their specific common references.

The second exception, according to Miller, is the situation exactly where a teenager writes the account of his or her personal experience. In that case, pop culture references that may well go stale are acceptable since the pieces are more like documentaries or memoirs, and so the point of view is that of a genuine person who is recounting the facts of his or her life. One instance is a French bestseller, Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow written by Faiza Guene, a college-aged student who writes of her experience as the child of Algerian immigrants raised in Paris. Despite the fact that labeled as fiction, the novel draws heavily on Guene's own experiences, and since of this and since of her age, cultural references in it automatically retain their credibility.

An additional concern in writing for the young adult audience is the use of slang, which Miller notes is nevertheless "awfully regional." The term for something that's cool in San Francisco, ("hella") is various from the term for cool in New England ("wicked"). Although net and text messaging slang could seem universal since most teenagers use it, the terms change and mutate so speedily that such as them could be risky. One particular current favorite, "pwned" (it means "to be owned or dominated by an opponent in a circumstance"), actually is a corruption of the word "owned" and comes from a well-liked on the internet game called Planet of Warcraft. In 5 years will anybody remember that? Difficult to say, but it's probably safer to leave it out.

All in all, the best bet for YA writers is to capture a reader's attention with universal themes and characters rather than hot pop culture or slang. "If you're an older writer writing for this audience," Miller suggests, "the most important point to capture the loyalty and enjoy of young readers is to focus on themes of relationship, gossip, jealousy, betrayal, the items that preserve readers attached and gripped. They respond better to plot and story lines and themes that are getting even a lot more intense in this competitive planet right now. Kids want to see the sort of pressure they are really beneath now reflected in the stories they read."

Fo' shizzle.