I loved the characters and plot, but the voice was all wrong. My teenagers didn't sound like teens. After feedback from a handful of wonderful beta-readers, I knew I had to do a complete rewrite.
The story was originally in third-person, told as alternating POVs of the two main characters. Changing to first-person already made a big difference in how I was able to relate to the characters' emotions (one of the main critiques from my betas), but I also needed to update my references and slang.
My MCs are 18-19, which is at the tail-end of the Millennial designation (* depending on what source you cite. Some categorize them as Gen Y. It's all just too confusing, actually). So, how did I find the appropriate slang? Research, of course! Urban Dictionary is helpful, but it's also a rabbit hole you don't want to go too far down in. I also found a few articles about "2018 slang" which had lists. You can also watch shows like Riverdale to check out what all the cool kids are saying. In the end, I put together my own list, which I will now share with you!
Not all of these made it into the final manuscript, but sprinkling them into dialogue and/or inner monologues definitely improved the YA voice:
| asking for a friend | low-key |
| bae | mansplain |
| bandwidth | mic drop |
| bye, Felicia | mind blown |
| deuces | missed your face |
| dumpster fire | new phone who dis? |
| epic fail | on point |
| fake news | OTP |
| fam | sad panda |
| friend zone | salty |
| fraud | savage* |
| get wrecked | ship |
| giving me life | slay |
| go home, you’re drunk | squad goals |
| goat | stan |
| hangry | straight fire |
| hard pass | swipe right/left |
| hot take | trigger warning |
| imposter syndrome | troll |
| let it go | truth bomb |
| living my best life | uber |
*Note that savage may be considered offensive, especially given a certain context.
Did I miss any good ones? Let me know in the comments!
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