I've had this idea for a short stories series about young adults and all the various problems they might face. It starts out with an introduction by myself and a short suicide note that I created once in a creative writing course. Then it is followed byt five to ten short stories about things that really matter to young adults. I want to cover the gamut of possibilities and I want every story to end realistically. This means that not all the stories will end happily. Some of my different short story ideas include:
1) Sexual Abuse/Rape
2) Teen-Parent relationships and possibly divorce/abuse
3) Drug/Alcohol use and abuse
4) Getting beyond high school and like after it
5) Premarital Sex and Pregnancy
My question is, did I miss anything. I want it to be relatively comprehensive and cover enough subjects that every teen could take something from it. I know how I want to end it. With MY story and show how I came through it alive and for the most part whole and healthy. I want the girl in the suicide note to write another note, only this one would take place some time in the future showing that she some how made it out of the teens alive too. If there are any subjects that anyone feels I missed I'd love some input.
Also, should I have the same cast of characters in each story but with different characters being the main characters or should they be completely new characters?
Thanks again!
-Debby
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-Debby Jensen
Newbie
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Jul 6, 2008 - 13 56
some of the things i can think of:
-Wanting to be accepted by family/classmates (it may sound cliche, but being the outcast in your class, or even in your family, sucks more than stupid children's movies have given it credit for.)
-Sibling rivalry. Some people don't outgrow it.
-Putting up with step-parents, -siblings.
-Dealing with the death (possibly suicide) of a friend or family member
As for the characters, i think they should be the same group of kids with different MCs every story... it just seems like a cool concept that they all know each other.
I hope i helped... somewhat
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Jul 6, 2008 - 21 48
You definitely did. I think what I'd really like people, and YA's specifically to get out of it is, that everyone has problems and we can all overcome those problems. I think the same group of kids thing would be awesome actually now that I think of it. It makes it so I don't have to create a new set of characters for every story. Thanks for the input. I'm going to try to intermarry some themes (like the teen-parent relationship/divorce can also maybe show the issue of remarriage and step parents etc). Thanks again for the feedback!
-----------Debby Jensen
Newbie
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Jul 31, 2008 - 11 48
For me, it depends on the age of the target audience (and the characters as well). What's important to a 12 year old isn't as important to a 15 year old. So, I'm assuming high school age-ish:
*driving and the perils of that (texting, cell phone, driving too fast, blah, blah, blah)
*being an outcast (even in one's one clique - that's painful)
*teen sex parties (and subsequent problems: pregnancy, STDs, bragging, etc)
*online bullying
Just a few that I thougth of. I suggest wandering myspace or facebook for a few ideas. There is a lot of angst, problems, difficulties, and trauma out there. And a lot of peer-to-peer problem-solving.
Cheerio ~
CN
50,198 / 50,000
Jul 31, 2008 - 12 13
Remember when they used to have "afternoon special " on TV for young adults with problems. I think it is a great idea. If you decide to use the same cast of characters, think about Soap Operas. The same characters "live" in soap operas and different ones have different problems to solve.
----------To try is to risk failure. Not to try is to assure it.
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Jul 31, 2008 - 20 01
I think that having the same cast would be a good idea because when you think about it all your friends are going through different things while your going through stuf. Being accepted is a major one because life sucks when you don't have any friends. Body image is also a struggle, you have people all around telling you something is wrong whether its true or not. hope this helps a bit!
50,372 / 50,000
Aug 11, 2008 - 16 54
cool idea, i think it would be good if the characters where friends of each other...or where mentioned in other short story's, but not the same ones. Good lick!
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