“I think that often as writers age, their
stories seem to age with them, become less accessible to young readers and feel
more irrelevant to them. So it’s important to keep reading, to keep watching,
to keep playing and studying, so that you keep learning to speak in the same
language of the heart as your fans.” David Farland, “Fixating on a
Story”, David Farland’s Writing Tips, November, 10, 2018.
David’s words jumped out at me. I cheered.
Finally, I have an excuse to continue with my guilty pleasure of watching teen
coming of age movies. My excuse used to be that I liked to keep a beat on
the things being presented to my children. In reality, I love to see the
journey of a young person. I love to see them conquer, to fall in love,
to have hope for the future, to learn. The stories take me back to my time as a
young person, reminding me of all that I have faced and conquered.
Over the years, I have had the honor and
pleasure to watch my kids and my dear friend’s kids conquer their worlds.
Just this year, dear Brit and James graduated from college. Now, I am
watching them swim the waters of adulthood in finding jobs and going on to the
next phase. Our dear Melissa has three children in grade school. I am
having fun watching them grow and can’t wait for them to hit the teen years and
see them conquer.
I have always hated the saying, “kids these
day,” .... grumble, grumble, grumble. Fill in with some lame complaint.
“We didn’t act that way. We were more respectful.” I have seen the news clips
of the flower children movement from the Sixties. Many of those youth were far
from respectful. I was a pretty great kid, and I know I wasn’t respectful
24/7. I have never wanted to be one of those old people who say such stupid
stuff. Instead, I put myself into memory mode. And I keep myself young by
watching the current story of our teens. They are amazing people.
Best of all, I can now say I am doing research
when I watch teen shows.
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