After seeing a question posted by another author, I am forced to really think about how I approach a particular aspect of my own characters- their ages.
You see, the question that was posed to a group of readers was how they feel about the New Adult (NA) genre. The question was posed to gauge the reactions of readers if she were to incorporate a younger heroine in her WIP. The general consensus was that a character that fell within the 18-25 age range would not be mature enough to function believably within the story the author was creating. I was in the minority. But I got to thinking about my own experiences when I was that age and I realize that it was my own experiences that taint my view of just how mature people that age can be.
I met my husband when I was 16 years old and we started dating a year later. He proposed to me the night BEFORE my high school graduation. When we broke the news to our families a couple of weeks later, we were told that we needed to wait, that at 18 and 20, we were just too young. Of course, I didn't really buy into that theory.
Fast forward three years...
That couple that was just too young is still together. In fact we were married and had two small children by that time. My husband had finished his degree and commissioned as an officer in the US Army and went on active duty mid August of 2001. Three weeks into his Officer Basic Course, our nation was brought to its knees by the attacks of 9/11. It was at that point that I knew my husband, the father of my children, would be called upon to defend our country. Almost two years and one more child later, he did indeed deploy to Iraq. He was gone for an entire year.
I don't know if it was the way the world changed at that time or if it is just the way I always was. I know I never did go through a wild or rebellious faze. I was the one that my parents could depend on. I didn't cut class without permission, I didn't sneak out at night, and I almost always followed all of the rules. I did go out and party, but I never came home falling down drunk or missing clothing. I have never experienced a hangover (this really irks people sometimes), had a fling, or did anything that I should regret. I married young and had kids young- 4 by the age of 25, the oldest limit of the NA range. So, I guess I don't understand the typical angst that plagues the literature directed towards that age group or the notion that people that age can't be emotionally stable, find enduring love, or make major decisions.
I guess that I write what I know. Myself and my circle of friends were always more mature than our peers and that is reflected in the characters I create. In one of my current WIP, the characters are young, 18 in the opening and 24 by the end, but I don't consider the story NA--it is just a story about a couple of people who happen to be young. They are still just as mature as some of my older characters and in a lot of ways, more prepared to handle what life is going to throw at them.
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