Textspeak. It's what all the teens are
my name is erica and I'm a techno-newbie. *this is where you say, Hi, Erica.*
I'm the only person on the planet who doesn't have a cell phone (seriously, my grandparents have one and they never leave the house). I write contemporary, realistic, current-times YA and MG. I NEED to know what the trends are, right?? Or is it true that by the time I get my book written, edited, agented, and published, anything technology-related will be obsolete anyway (not including sci-fi - has anyone watched Back to the Future 2 lately? Funny interpretation of the year 2015...). Right?
In an earlier draft of my ms, I had the mom ask the mc about connecting with others on "one of those social media sites" because I thought I could always change that later (you know, in case Facebook went the way of
So would a senior in high school post something like "Pizza at (insert pizza place name) tonight at 7. Be there!" (no, the post doesn't appear in my ms, but he does post it from his phone)?? I hope they wouldn't post "My parent's aren't home, let's get drunk", but this one's pretty mild, so he might? Right? Help me, I need someone's expertise here!
How do you tackle technology in your ms (bonus points if you use textspeak - well, in your novel. If you use it with me I'll just have to email you for the translation)??
Today's featured "O" book is a hint to which fabulous book we're giving away tomorrow - make sure to come back!
Also, just because it's funny:
I try and stay away from technology. And if it's in there I have them but text or call but I don't focus on it. I think social media will be around for awhile.
ReplyDeleteLOL Someone used "Oh" for their O word today.
ReplyDeleteDon't feel bad. I don't have a cell phone either. I don't really need one, but do plan to get one eventually.
I was the same about mentioning social media in one book I wrote. I was vague. Now if I mean the character googled something, I will say googled. Before I didn't, which made it sound odd and long winded. My characters text each other, but I don't dwell on it. I might include part of their messages, but that's about it.
Try this website: failbook.failblog.org
ReplyDeleteTrust me everything you find on there did happen. It will give you a good idea into teen or people are inclined on posting on their facebook.
I don't think the example you have here is out of the ordinary. I'm not a teen, but I can see myself posting that on facebook.
Aww. I have help fro middle school to retirees. There are people in their 70s who are better at this than I. ;(
ReplyDeleteOh. Em. Gee. I can't believe you! I totally told you I was going to do texting for O, and you still did it too?! You total skank! Now I have to go home and change everything!
ReplyDelete...and that is why I don't write teen characters. (Although, yes, my topic today was teen texting.)
As for technology, I do include a couple cell phones and such, but I try to keep most of the tech out of my ms so it won't feel dated five years down the road.
Hilarious. BTW, your teens do post on FB, you are just blocked from it because they have put you on the grown up list. Trust me. Lots more is going on there than you think:)
ReplyDeleteOMG - these commenters are my favorite people in the whole wide world - thanks, peeps!!
ReplyDeleteerica
Wow. I don't think I know a single person over the age of 10 that doesn't have a cell phone!
ReplyDeleteI am generally not a fan of textspeak in manuscripts. I haven't ever seen it done well without looking cheesy and distracting.
I don't know but i'll ask my stepdaughter, she is 16 and a text-nut. Her facebook posts are really hard to interpret - not so much teen language or text language, as just insider stuff between her and her friends... no doubt to also confound parental units and other fam members! Oh, and she also posts snippets of lyrics from favorite songs. And so do her friends. I get a feeling that's pretty common. Esp. remembering when I was a teenager and I knew ALL the top songs and could sing them by heart.
ReplyDeleteHehe, OMG was my "O" post too :D
ReplyDeleteI haven't read a book yet where the teen is engaging in any sort of social media. Maybe most people ignore it? I'm probably just reading the wrong books.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could help but I barely know this stuff myself. I do have a cell phone but it's a tracfone. We don't really get cell service in our area so why bother with the monthly plan. Anyway, I'm in the same boat because I write MG/Ya and I don't put the stuff in my story. It hasn't been needed yet. I'm sure there will come a day that it will be needed and I'll have to do research on this topic.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could help but I'm in the same boat :) I'm going to go check out the failbook.failblog site someone mentioned. But mostly I try to avoid mentioning technology too much, or say so-and-so texted but not the exact words. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHey, Erica. I sympathize. I don't have cell service at my house. I learn a lot from my niece and nephew on Facebook. Mostly, I get around the issue in my books by writing about pre-cell times and places.
ReplyDeleteI almost made OMG my o-word, too!
ReplyDeleteSo, can't help you with the teens (although all my teen friends are on FB all the freaking time) or the speak, but the other day at uni some of my pals were being all early-20s and I felt left out, so I fell back on the old "I don't know about you kids these days." Which got a laugh (fortunately!), but one of them said "I hate that you can say that!" Hee hee hee.
There is some texting in The Pull of Gravity. Virtual communication -- fb, texting, now twitter -- always shows up in my manuscripts. It's such a huge part of life now. And my life. Let me know how you think I did.
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