• Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • TikTok
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Tahlia Newland

Editor, Author & Artist

  • Editing Services
  • About Me
    • Creative Arts
    • Performance Art
  • My Books
    • Psychemagination
    • Metaphysical Fiction
  • Blog
  • Contact

What is it like to be seventeen? And why that’s the age of my heroine.

June 10, 2011 by Tahlia Newland

Seventeen is a wonderful age, so is eighteen. Why? Because you’re ready and rearing for action. You have the freshness of youth but you’re mature enough to know you’re alive and make your own decisions, (if your parents let you). You have the security of a home and money, (unless you’ve already left home) but should have enough freedom to go forth from that base and try new adult-type things.  You’re about to leave school (which most of you are over by then), have your whole life ahead of you (provided you don’t crash your car tomorrow) and almost everything is possible, at least in your mind.

Even if you don’t have the grades to be a rocket scientist, you can visualize what it might be like. In your mind, you can try your options out for size to help you decide which direction you want to go in. Once you get over the scariness of choosing a path and the sadness of leaving school, and, for many of you, moving out of home, (even if you hated it, it’s kind of sad when you realise that that time is over), you’ll find your feet itching to get going. You’re ready to embrace the future.

As a fantasy writer, I can throw anything at a seventeen or eighteen year old and know that they’ll handle it one way or another. They’ll even laugh in the face of danger and turn something boring into an absurd game. They’re more likely to accept and adapt to the weird and wonderful, and they have a natural curiosity about what’s out there in the big wide world. Some days they feel invincible (which is great for heroics) and other days vulnerable (which is great for reflection) and they’re not too experienced in hiding their vulnerability (boys try hard but we can still see it) which makes other characters want to care for them. They experience everything very vibrantly, especially the buzz of relationships with the opposite sex and that makes for exciting writing.

Adults can be too close-minded to see what’s in front of them, and refuse to accept things (like my little girl is all grown up) even when it’s thrust in their face. So if you want them to crossover from reality to fantasy, they’re more likely to be boringly resistant. They are more set in habitual ways of reacting and more reticent to try new things, so they may actually refuse to pick up that sword, until it’s too late to save themselves. They also tend to be a lot more serious.

Teens are also more likely to have déjà vu and other senses of being somewhat outside of reality, and people with these sort of experiences are more likely to accept that there’s more to the world than meets the eye. Like Ariel, as a teen, I had a suspicion that we were only seeing the surface of life, and now, like her, I know it’s true.

That’s why the Diamond Peak series evolved around a seventeen year old. Ariel is sick of school, she wants to get out into the world, but she doesn’t know where or what she wants to do. She does know that she wants some excitement in her life though and that makes her a perfect candidate for accepting the challenge of going into the hidden realm to rescue her mother. Yes, she’s scared, but she’s also excited, and trepidation and excitement is a heady mix. Seventeen and eighteen year olds often show that mix of emotions and it gives them a beautiful vibrancy. It can also be exhausting.

Do I have the qualities of seventeen and eighteen year olds right? What else can you tell me about being seventeen?

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Book talk Tagged With: characters, teenagers, Young Adult Books

« Review – Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris
Review – Mechanique by Genevieve Valentine »

Comments

  1. Kayla says

    June 10, 2011 at 9:58 am

    Being seventeen myself, I know that you’ve captured the qualities of someone my age perfectly. ^^ Craving change while wanting things to remain the same, open to new ideas but sometimes refusing to accept them . . . A giant bundle of contradictions, and random emotions, that can be both fun and difficult to deal with. xD

  2. Tahlia Newland says

    June 10, 2011 at 10:23 am

    Thanks Kayla, it’s nice to hear that my perception is totally flawed. I like ‘giant bundle of contradicitons and random emotions.’ I wish there were more teens blogging. I love them, maybe because I’ve never fully grown up. Is there a place like Bookblogs for teen bloggers – Teenblogs? It’d be good.

    • Kayla says

      June 10, 2011 at 11:40 am

      Haha, thank you! I wish so, too. I don’t think there is such a place, as far as I know. I’ve never found one.

Search

Recent Posts

  • AI Writing Software: Should Authors Use It?
  • The Crucial Role of the Inciting Incident in Story Development: Setting the Stage for Success
  • The Art of Self-Editing: An Essential Guide for Novel Writers
  • From Pages to Pixels: A New Kind of Book Illustrated with Animated AI Art
  • Writing the Perfect First Paragraph of a Novel

View Posts by Category

Writing a novel? Feeling overwhelmed? Get new insight and inspiration with my FREE Novel Revision Checklist. 

DOWNLOAD  NOW

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Free Book Download  
Get Lethal Inheritance free when you sign up to my new release email list.  I won’t share your details and you can unsubscribe at any time.

My Latest Books

  • Fallout: Recovering from Abuse in Tibetan Buddhism
  • The Elements of Active Prose: Writing Tips to Make Your Prose Shine
  • The Locksmith's Secret
    Rated 5.00 out of 5

Alliance of Independent Authors

Alliance of Independent Authors

All my books are

Seven of my novels have an Awesome Indies Seal of Excellence

Four of my books earned BRAG Medallions

I abide by the ethical author code

I'm an Ethical Author
Alliance of Independent Authors

Copyright

All material on this website is under copyright to Tahlia Newland and cannot be shared without written permission.

  • Editing Services
  • About Me
  • My Books
  • Creative Arts
  • Blog
  • Contact

Copyright © 2023 · Amoré Theme by Oh, Hello Designs on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

FREE Novel Revision Checklist

Written a book? Need some help reviewing and revising it? Download my Novel Revision Checklist for step by step guidance.  

DOWNLOAD NOW

no thanks

{"cookieName":"wBounce","isAggressive":false,"isSitewide":true,"hesitation":"120","openAnimation":false,"exitAnimation":false,"timer":"","sensitivity":"","cookieExpire":"7","cookieDomain":"","autoFire":"","isAnalyticsEnabled":false}