Q 1. #momswritersclub Among the many choices to make about a new character is their age. How do you decide how old your characters will be? Do you tend to write characters who are you age or not?
Comments
Log in with your Bluesky account to leave a comment
Yeah, I think the timeline and the character's role in the story dictate their age a lot for me too. And their connection to other characters (if they went to school with someone say).
I am actually breaking all the rules for my WIP (HF). I asked myself who tells the most interesting story (the answer was, well depends on who was present at each scene)… so I ended up with MPOV single timeline, the youngest is 7, the oldest is 71! I think I’m pulling it off, it’s def. Faster paced
That's great! I always write MPOV - usually at least 5 or 6 characters, sometimes more. So true that differently scenes play out differently in different POVs. One of my first decisions when I start a scene is whose POV it is in.
Since my stories tend to feature coming-of-age or new adult themes, my characters tend to be in their late teens or early-to-mid 20s. I enjoy writing about characters navigating that stage of life in a historical setting. #MomsWritersClub
Makes sense! In my experience, new adult gets shelved with adult, but it shares similar themes with older YA, sort of that on-the-cusp-of-real-adulthood thing. Some agents look for it, but as far as I know it isn’t recognized as a real category.
Yeah, it's unfortunately not really recognized as it's own category, from what I've seen. I think it's best to query it as adult with crossover appeal.
A few years ago it seems like New Adult was getting talked about as a category but never quite took off on its own. It makes sense to me because especially with contemporary settings the issues of those in their early 20s are so different from those in their early 30s.
Yes age shifts in historicals in a way because people often grew up younger. If I were writing the Rannochs in the present day I'd have made them a decade or so older.
Very true! Some of my characters in their early 20s are in a different place than I was at that time of life, as expectations were different. I like finding the universal themes that still apply.
Me too! But I find my characters in their 20s are often going through things (including childbirth) that I went through in my 40s. Of course I also have a historical character who had her first kid at 38.
I guess the farther back you go in history, the more quickly the characters are forced to grow up. I love that you included a character having her first kid at 38!
As a YA writer I know my characters will be teens, but there’s always the question of older or younger YA, topics that are important/necessary for each group to tackle, etc. I tend to set my MCs at 16-17, mostly because that’s the age where the world opened up for me (and I taught for years).
I hadn't thought about it, but with YA age is super important - a year or two either direction can totally shift the story and the type of theme you might address. M reads everything from middle grade to adult (including YA) so she's reading MCs who are 12 - early 20s.
Yeah, agents can be picky about it too. I think it’s also a thing in MG. Which begs the question—why not in adult? I guess maybe it’s because we’re better at self-selecting?
You mean why isn't the exact age a bigger deal? Well 25 vs 26 isn't as much of a shift as 15 vs 16. At this point a character ten years younger than me can feel like they are "my age." But tweens and teens change so much year to year.
I guess I meant like “younger adult” vs “older adult” but honestly I think I just answered my own question. Who wants to look for books in the senior section? 😂😂
This could also be difficult because some 16-17 year olds can be super mature while others are still trying to discover who that are. I tend to write characters who are still trying to find their way in life.
But I guess that also goes for adults though. 🤷🏻♀️
Yep. You’re the artist behind the words, so you get to choose. That’s what’s so great about writing this age too—sometimes those characters who think they know themselves haven’t been tested by life experience. It’s fun to give them that!
Subconsciously, yes. I started my first novel in my late 20s and the protagonists are young women (17 & 22). My second project features a woman close to my age (38). All three of them are at major turning points in their lives #momswritersclub
That's cool. With my first books I was actually younger than my MCs. When I started my series I was the hero's age. Now I'm older than his father (who is a relatively young father :-).
M: I often make them teenagers since I plan for my books to be preteen & YA. They're older than me - I want to write stories with romances so they're not younger than 15 or 16. T: A lot of it has to do with their backstory. My MCs are in their late 20s/30s. #momswritersclub
Definitely tend to write characters in their 20’s (coming up on half my age! 😱) because of all the things I wish I’d known or seen in media when I was that age, but I’ve been stewing about with 2 ideas for MC’s that are a little closer to my age.
I’m 42 and I write characters in their late 30s and early 40s because it’s an underrepresented age group in romance. I call them coming-of-middle-age stories.
That 2nd phase of adulthood has its own challenges that should be explored more in media.
So with MG I like to feature 12 year olds because kids tend to read up and that way I can include as much of the MG audience as possible. With adult, my MCs are mostly in their 20s as the story lines I chose were sort coming of age themed. #momswritersclub
For my stories, the characters ages depend on the plot and usually how much life/work experience I want them to have. My MCs are all adults. They tend to me a bit younger than I am.
#momswritersclub
Plot can determine so much of characters' ages - and life/work experience. I write a lot of spies - so usually they can't be too young - unless they're on their first mission...
Comments
But I guess that also goes for adults though. 🤷🏻♀️
I’m 42 and I write characters in their late 30s and early 40s because it’s an underrepresented age group in romance. I call them coming-of-middle-age stories.
That 2nd phase of adulthood has its own challenges that should be explored more in media.
And we still get busy.
#momswritersclub