Minors having sex, drinking...

[Hesperides]

What are the rules on that? I'm a novel virgin. My MC is 17 and drinks, does drugs, and has sex.... is that allowed? Will that be frowned upon? And if so, how important is it to stick to your guns vs. changing the age?

Sorry so many questions, lol That's why I joined - I need help :)

[scarletpeaches]

Seventeen is underage?

[IdiotsRUs]

Not here no ( well at least on the sex part).

Not that I waited till I was overage anyway :D

17 year olds do swear / drink / bang. If your character would, then do it

[Hesperides]

Seventeen is underage?

lol
I know these days it doesn't seem so... but I think it's 18 sex-wise and 21 for drinking? I was just unsure of how others would respond. Maybe it's from growing up in the South? :)

[Kathleen42]

There are a few threads dealing with this over in YA.

Personally, I recently read a YA title where the main character (17) took up binge drinking and frequently showed up drunk at school while trying to cope with rape.

Gone are the days when the teen section was dominated by Sweet Valley High.

[IdiotsRUs]

lol
I know these days it doesn't seem so... but I think it's 18 sex-wise and 21 for drinking?

I take it you're in the states then? ;) Doesn't it depend on which state?

[scarletpeaches]

The age of consent here is 16. For drinking, it's 18.

But...sheesh. The amount of threads asking "Can I write this?" is unbelievable.

Are we only supposed to write that which is moral and legal? If that were the case, I wouldn't have any manuscript pages left.

My female MC is bisexual, drinks alcohol and has sex outside of marriage with people she's only just met. My male MC also drinks and has sex outside of marriage.

Plus...

*gasp*

...he smokes!:eek:

[J C Coy]

I have a secondary character who was an underage male prostitute...my wip is not a YA but an urban fantasy and I was advised to up his age to eighteen. I was told by my CP, a multi-published author, that editors would have a kitten over it. I didn't feel like taking the chance so I upped his age one year.

[ChaosTitan]

Sorry so many questions, lol That's why I joined - I need help :)

Head over to your local bookstore (or library, if you're strapped for cash) and find the YA section. Start reading.

One of the greatest tools a writer has is being well-read, especially in your chosen genre. A large number of books coming out in YA right now (as they have in the past) deal with "adult" topics such as sex, drugs, drinking, etc...

[psaluka]

lol
I know these days it doesn't seem so... but I think it's 18 sex-wise and 21 for drinking? I was just unsure of how others would respond. Maybe it's from growing up in the South? :)

That's interesting:)-About five years ago I subbed for a rural high school in Arkansas. Not sure that's really considered South (New South, maybe?)...but I was astounded by how much sex the kids were having. They also smoked loads of pot and drank constantly. It was wild how totally open they were about it (or maybe they were with me because I was still pretty young at the time). I remember at least a couple girls dropping out to have babies (which happens a lot up here, too). If there was a specific age for legal consent (for anything), no one seemed all that worried about it. Which was bizzare since we were living in a heavily Baptist/dry county.

I agree. A lot of kids do this stuff. You should write it if you need to.

[scarletpeaches]

There will always be people who object to the content of any book. So what? They shouldn't be reading it after they become offended.

Then again...shock value might do a lot for you publicity-wise.

Just stay true to the characters. As I've said a bajillion times before, if your characters would do it, you write it.

[WendyNYC]

Yes, it's allowed. The best example that springs to mind is the Gossip Girl series.

[scarletpeaches]

I'd go so far as to say there's nothing that 'isn't allowed'. It's not a matter of allowed/not allowed. Just 'does it serve the story'?

[Hesperides]

Thanks, everyone :) Since the MC is based on Me, it feels weird to change too much, you know? Thanks for answering the newbie's Qs!!!

[Gynn]

What are the rules on that? I'm a novel virgin. My MC is 17 and drinks, does drugs, and has sex.... is that allowed? Will that be frowned upon? And if so, how important is it to stick to your guns vs. changing the age?

Sorry so many questions, lol That's why I joined - I need help :)

Stephen King's "It" has underage sex (12-year-olds), so yes, it can be done.

[Shweta]

If the book's YA, then there may be constraints on how you handle those topics (while being publishable as YA), but that's the extent of it.

And for that "how" I'd suggest reading some of the edgy YA out there. As far as I can tell, the one thing you can't really do in YA is avoid the consequences of those actions, good or bad; but my YA reading only occasionally ventures into edgy, and I could well be wrong.

[Hesperides]

If the book's YA, then there may be constraints on how you handle those topics (while being publishable as YA), but that's the extent of it.

And for that "how" I'd suggest reading some of the edgy YA out there. As far as I can tell, the one thing you can't really do in YA is avoid the consequences of those actions, good or bad; but my YA reading only occasionally ventures into edgy, and I could well be wrong.

You know... I never even thought of my novel being YA. How ignorant and naive of me. I don't ever read YA since I'm not one... Huh. I guess I have more research to do!! Thanks!!

[Red.Ink.Rain]

Yeah...one of my characters was a prostitute; then she was raped and became pregnant. She has two best friends who found her after the attack, took her in and cared for her and the baby, and now they're both in love with her. Plus there are some other mentions of assassins, more rape, giant bloodsucking leeches, a horrifying caste system, suicide, and brainwashing.

Censorship is sooooo last year.

[Sage]

May I point you in the direction of the "Edgy YA" thread? It's a sticky in the YA subforum.

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71220

:)

[Clair Dickson]

The book may not end up in high school libraries, but other than that, there's no limit really on what you "can" write.

And in my state, it's 16 for sex, 18 to be not a minor, and 21 for drinking. (Unless you sneak across the border to Canada where it's only 19 for drinking, though that may stop soon.)

[Horserider]

Teens in real life do that stuff. Why NOT?

[Shady Lane]

Thanks for linking, Sage.

Honestly, I wonder how many people asking these questions have done enough reading in their genre (typically YA) to be writing it.

[Hesperides]

Thanks for linking, Sage.

Honestly, I wonder how many people asking these questions have done enough reading in their genre (typically YA) to be writing it.

It wasn't intended for YA, so I didn't think to go wondering through that section. Can't say I will even now... I believe I'll keep to my original plan... but thanks!!

[jubileerocker]

I've been keeping in mine that if it's on television or in movies then it's allowed. Look at 'Juno' and 'The secret life of an American Teenager' pop culture has become a lot more realistic since people gotten to be more intrested in Taboos. Reguardless of what you put out there someone is going to hate it. 'Harry Potter' gets knocked by bible thumpers along with Twilight and morally those are great books. People can bash you for writing about rape and murder and watch CSI. Sorry since I have a family it's hard to sit alone and read so there's a lot of family tv in this house

[Hesperides]

I have a family, too - of very young boys, so there's not a lot of sex/drugs, etc on TV here, either!

[jubileerocker]

I have a family, too - of very young boys, so there's not a lot of sex/drugs, etc on TV here, either!

My son's only six months so when we're watching a horror movie he hears the screaming and what's to see what's going on on the tube. We have to spin the bouncer around so he doesn't watch the slashing... it's pretty funny but I don't want him seeing those images.

[Prawn]

The age of consent here is 16.

Then I am prepared to consent twice.

[Kathleen42]

Thanks for linking, Sage.

Honestly, I wonder how many people asking these questions have done enough reading in their genre (typically YA) to be writing it.

Could be just like me, I suppose. I hadn't considered writing YA until I realized that the story I wanted to write would be better served in that arena.

Of course, once I decided that I would be writing a YA title, I spent much more time haunting that section of the bookstore.

[Kathleen42]

It wasn't intended for YA, so I didn't think to go wondering through that section. Can't say I will even now... I believe I'll keep to my original plan... but thanks!!

If you're not intending it to be YA, I'm not even sure why you are concerned.

If it wasn't intended to be YA but looks like you will end up having to market it as such, I'd check out the boards.

[Charlie Horse]

One thing to keep in mind, and I'm sure you've already thought about this, but throwing in sex, drugs, etc. into a book IMO should have a purpose relevant to the story. In other words, there needs to be a reason, just like a good comedian has a reason for using swear words in his/her routine. If it's done gratuitously, it just takes away from everything else.

That said, I'm all for it, no matter what the age of the character. It's not like you're being unrealistic in your portrayal of modern day youth (Charlie shudders thinking about his 14-year-old daughter).

[Philky]

Write what is real. If this defines your character and portrays him/her in a real light, write it.

[timewaster]

The age of consent here is 16. For drinking, it's 18.

But...sheesh. The amount of threads asking "Can I write this?" is unbelievable.

Are we only supposed to write that which is moral and legal? If that were the case, I wouldn't have any manuscript pages left.

It depends. If you are trying to get a YA published you may be able to sell something that has sex and drugs in it but it will depend on how it is done and what kind of 'take' you have on those things. You can deal with pretty well anything in YA if you deal with it 'well.' Publishers of children's fiction tend to be concerned both about children and their own reputations.
Including underage sex/drugs/child abuse etc will also impact on the books' marketability and what you gain by being edgy you may lose by being ignored by libraries and schools etc.

If you are writing for adults your moral position as an author matters less so long as your book works. It is still true though that it isn't what you write about but how you write about it that matters. IMHO

[scarletpeaches]

I don't know if this means anything but I once got a rejection on a manuscript where the MCs were all in their early twenties, slept around, drank a lot, blah blah...

I targeted it at the mid-20s market and it got rejected on the basis "We don't do Young Adult or children's fiction."

:eek:

Huh???

Maybe they got two rejection slips messed up...*shrug*

[Tanya Egan Gibson]

The teenage characters in my novel drink, take drugs, curse, & have sex. No one in the industry ever suggested I change any of that. Like other people have said in this thread, just write the story the way it feels right.