mature or immature?

[shamguy4]

i have not written my book for over 2 weeks!
i was angry at myself for falling out of it and i forced myself to open my book and write
i felt like i was totally out of it and i felt like anything i wrote came out crappy.
hopefully as i write more my "writing muscles" will return

but im having a problem (whats new)

i started the book with the feelings that it was to be for adults

my main character has already established how he is and in my head its hard to see him any other way (hope this makes sense- i know... i created him... an now i cant control him!)

he is 17 years old and i feel like hes a bit immature and i didnt want that

for instance i have him stuck in a room and he cant get out.
frantically, searching for a way out, he gets annoyed and out of anger yells and kicks the door hoping it would open.

is that immature or is that ok and this is all in my head?

i also gave him an imagination -a crazy one- but its kinda part of my story- his imagination always is there either in his way or helping him

like this:
after he kicked the door he stares at it and i write "the door just seemed to sneer back"
is that bad or is that mature and ok to write in an adult book?

and its just his attitude- because of this he seems always uneasy- but maybe its because im only in the second chapter -where you first meet him and he gets into big trouble and hes just in a bad mood and angry at everything-

im sure when he needs to get serious he will

hope this all isnt confusing
maybe i should actually write exactly what i wrote in areas

[The Pelagic Argosy]

Originally Posted by shamguy4

i started the book with the feelings that it was to be for adults

my main character has already established how he is and in my head its hard to see him any other way (hope this makes sense- i know... i created him... an now i cant control him!)

he is 17 years old and i feel like hes a bit immature and i didnt want that

for instance i have him stuck in a room and he cant get out.
frantically, searching for a way out, he gets annoyed and out of anger yells and kicks the door hoping it would open.

is that immature or is that ok and this is all in my head?

i also gave him an imagination -a crazy one- but its kinda part of my story- his imagination always is there either in his way or helping him

like this:
after he kicked the door he stares at it and i write "the door just seemed to sneer back"
is that bad or is that mature and ok to write in an adult book?

and its just his attitude- because of this he seems always uneasy- but maybe its because im only in the second chapter -where you first meet him and he gets into big trouble and hes just in a bad mood and angry at everything-

im sure when he needs to get serious he will

hope this all isnt confusing
maybe i should actually write exactly what i wrote in areas

I think kicking at a door and yelling would be a normal reaction for anyone who found themselves trapped in a room. Except maybe for a frail old person.

I think the good thing about a 17-year-old protagonist is that he could go both ways. He could mostly behave like a normal adult but still be prone to fits of immaturity.

"Where you first meet him and he gets into big trouble and he's just in a bad mood and angry at everything...I'm sure when he needs to get serious he will."

This bit struck a chord with me. I have an 18-year-old protagonist. At the beginning of the story, she's finishing school and is overly concerned with a lot of silly, superficial things like cliques and her appearance, etc. I'm worried that people will get the mistaken impression from the first couple of chapters that it's a young adult novel or that my protagonist will stay so annoying. But the rest of the book will be decidedly adult. (Based on the "good" scenes I couldn't resist jumping ahead to write. )

And, like you, my ideas have solidified in my mind, and it will be really hard to change it, if I have to.

[shamguy4]

grrr! its actually kinda hard to get back into my story i feel like im writing but im not fully there immersed in my book
usually i get so involved if someone says my name i may not hear it the first few times cause im concentrating so hard

[chrispenycate]

I have similar problems with my characters; you'd think they'd have some gratitude toward their creator but no. First opportunity they're off, ignoring the script and what needs doing to make the story work, worse than kids.
Now I'm going to make a silly suggestion; you know you're going to have to edit this when it's written, anyway.
Write on as if what you've already done were perfect; in the situation that the scene has to be taken out because it no longer fits the character, put it to one sîde. In all probability, if it's any good, you'll be able to integrate it into something else, and, in the meantime, your story's going ahead.

[lin robinson]

I don't see any problem with a character being immature, impulsive, etc. Look at Tony Montana... and he's one of the leading T-shirt icons in the world.

[shamguy4]

i started my book with the thoughts of making a serious book
with laughters cries serious moments sad moments... the whole thing

what im really scared of is that i gave my main character a sense of humor
i think thats whats causing the immature atmosphere laughing in the face of danger
but im hoping that when i get to scary areas ill be able to make him quickly become serious (and then will see whos laughing!) (i know im weird...)

i was thinking of changing him to a more serious person
i pictured a person who didnt freak out and yell at doors nor kick them
i pictured someone who basically had everything stable and guess what i saw...
a flat boring character!
i think my character is pretty ok- hes very round and has all aspects- if i work on him right

im writing a sci-fi book that takes place in galaxies and all that
what are good books to read to see all about this genre
im writing a sci-fi and i have not even read a lot of them!

there are tons of scifi words i hear all the time and i dont know what they mean or how to apply them
outpost planet?
remnant (actually this ones quite self explanatory)
rebel yadda yadda

[Marvolo]

Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
Exultant by Stephen Baxter
Check out some of the compilations of short fiction. My favorite short story is Enemy Mine by Barry B. Longyear
Also, the Dune series is very good. I couldn't quite dig 5 and 6 as much as 1-4. Most people don't like number four, but I did.

There are tons of good science fiction books, and way more bad ones.

Also, as to the question of your character, immature is more interesting than mature usually.

The best idea is to just USE the immaturity as a developmental part of the story. Make him learn from the obstacles you've already thought of and BECOME mature in the process, not just turn mature when the situation demands it. That is jumping ahead. If he starts of by kicking doors and personifying the door as sneering at him, then end the story when he finally gets his s**t together and solves whatever the situation is that arises. It is the classic story formula and it works time and time again. Bestsellers use this formula, as well as duds. It comes down to the writer.

EDIT: Lin Robinson speaks the truth. But the important thing to remember about Scarface is this: Tony Montana's immaturity became his downfall and that is one of the moral elements to the story, the underlying point. If you go this route, with an immature character who flies in the face of any good advice because he is either too proud or dim witted to take it, then that needs to become the catalyst for his destruction, like in the scene where Tony finally goes down. If you want a character to change for the better, then his maturity needs to spring from the journey he undertakes.

[shamguy4]

ok thanks

also are there any good star wars books or only the movies were good?
im not such a major star wars freak so i dont know

also i sometimes make up my own ideas and then later read a book and discover someone either used my idea or something similar
i hope that doesnt happen when i read these books
whats the dune series called?
just dune?
im going to the library today or tommorrow

my book actually is interesting in a way that i combinded a scifi futuristic story with a fantasy one of old

[Marvolo]

The first book is simply Dune.

The second is Dune: Messiah and the third is Children of Dune and then God Emperor of Dune, then Heretics of Dune and finally Chapterhouse: Dune.

EDIT: Also with the Dune series versus the Heinlein and Baxter, you'll get a feel for how different the writing styles can be within the genre. Frank Herbert (Dune) is in love with internal dialogue, i.e. the character thinks more than performs. Baxter is a HARD sci-fi author. His ideas are awesome and I personally like his writing style. Orson Scott Card doesn't describe ANYTHING. He just starts and goes until he finishes. The books are very interesting and they hold your attention, but you'll imagine it differently than me and I'll imagine it differently than someone else due to the very little visual description.

[shamguy4]

thanks
im going to start a new thread and ask about books
i think ill get good results

[Anthony G Williams]

Originally Posted by The Pelagic Argosy

This bit struck a chord with me. I have an 18-year-old protagonist. At the beginning of the story, she's finishing school and is overly concerned with a lot of silly, superficial things like cliques and her appearance, etc. I'm worried that people will get the mistaken impression from the first couple of chapters that it's a young adult novel or that my protagonist will stay so annoying. But the rest of the book will be decidedly adult. (Based on the "good" scenes I couldn't resist jumping ahead to write. ).

That sounds a tad risky. I'm so pressed for time these days that if a book fails to grab me in the first chapter or so I'm liable to drop it. Also, agents and publishers tend to want to see the first two or three chapters, and will decide as a result of that whether or not they want to read the rest. So if the first part of your story is not representative of the rest, you could be missing out.

[Marvolo]

Originally Posted by Anthony G Williams

That sounds a tad risky. I'm so pressed for time these days that if a book fails to grab me in the first chapter or so I'm liable to drop it. Also, agents and publishers tend to want to see the first two or three chapters, and will decide as a result of that whether or not they want to read the rest. So if the first part of your story is not representative of the rest, you could be missing out.

Risky, but if the first few chapters are written well and it is clear that the events of the story FORCE the character to either mature or fail, then the publisher will realize that you are developing a character. Also, the first three chapters are usually accompanied by a present tense synopsis of the rest of the story. So, if the first three chapters are well done, they'll read about her maturing and then query to see the rest to judge if it warrants publishing.

[mixa]

Shamguy, I didn't write my book for 3 months....

Twice this year!!!!!

[The Curious Orange]

Both of my protagonists are young, and both of them mature of the course of the story, in quite different ways. My problem wasn't with getting them to mature for the later chapters, but getting them to immature for the early ones. Although they both end up as interesting people, at the start they do come across as snotty teens in need of a good slap. As a result I had to re-jig my plot a little in order to drop some pretty huge problems on them a lot sooner than I originally intended. Now they both have to grow up fast.

[daisybee]

I think most good fiction has characters that develop as the story does, which inevitably means that most memorable characters start off less mature than they end up.

Real people are immature at times no matter what their age, so I would write for the character-describe what you think he would do in any given situation based on what you know about him. He is your creation after all. Go for it-don't worry about it untill it's done, by which time you have a far better understanding of your character and his/her motivations.