Be a Better Writer -- COMING OF AGE STORY
Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2014 10:15 am
I've got a word that might be new to many of you. The word is bildungsroman, and it’s just a fancy literary term meaning coming of age story. I won’t use it again in this lesson, but I wanted to pass it along, so you can use it to impress your friends.
A coming of age story generally covers a period of time in which a person moves from childhood or adolescence into young adulthood (or simply into a period of being more grown up). During the course of the story, one or more significant events happen to the child, and those events shape the child’s character as he or she moves toward adulthood. The event may be nearly anything: a death, a journey, a traumatic experience, an illness, a move to another place, a new person in the child’s life, or anything else that would be significant to a child. It’s important, though, that the event should change the child for the rest of her life. Sometimes the child’s change is referred to as a “loss of innocence,” and sometimes the change involves the gaining of wisdom—or the change can take some other form, positive or negative.
Obviously, in the Writing Challenge, with only 750 words, you won’t be able to cover a series of events and consequences—you’ll probably have to choose one very specific event to happen to your main character (a child or adolescent), and whatever follows from that event will have to carry that character into the next stage of her life.
Coming of age stories are nearly always written in past tense, and often they are written in the first person, with the child who came of age narrating the story from an adult perspective. They can also be written in 3rd person, with the child who comes of age being the POV character.
There are some very famous novels which are coming of age stories, and you’ve probably read one or more of them:
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
A Separate Peace, by John Knowles
Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
The Harry Potter books, by J. K. Rowling
The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd
A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving
And I have to mention one of my favorite books of all time, even though it’s not nearly as famous as those on the above list: Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger. Simply an astounding piece of writing, and I highly recommend it.
It’s worth noting that the primary audience for a coming of age story is adults, despite the fact that the main character may be a child for most or all of the story. It should be written in an adult voice and it should appeal to adults. Yes, I’m aware that some of the books in the above list are considered YA literature or (in the case of the first few Harry Potter books) even middle grade literature. But they are equally enjoyed by adults, and the writing is sophisticated, not simple or childlike.
So—in a nutshell:
1. A child or adolescent
2. …experiences something
3. …that greatly affects her life
4. …and changes her or teaches her a life lesson
5. …as she moves into young adulthood
Within that framework, any number of plot points are available for the creative writer.
A few short stories that have coming of age themes:
The Jacket, by Gary Soto
Thank You, Ma’am, by Langston Hughes (not available in public domain, but if you Google it, you’ll read substantial snippets and some commentary)
Hunger, by Richard Wright (available as a document online—Google it)
Ribbons, by Laurence Yep
The Scarlet Ibis, by James Hurst
If you read some of these, you’ll see that they’re big in middle school and high school curricula—despite what I just said about coming of age stories having an adult audience. These types of stories are naturally of interest to teens, because the main characters are often their age—but the fact that the stories are written without condescension or accommodation is what makes them worthy to be read by readers of all ages. Long story short—don’t write a story FOR a child or young teen; write a story ABOUT a child or young teen.
And if you don’t have time to read those, here are a few Writing Challenge entries with coming of age themes. If you read through these, you’ll see that sometimes the events or the changes in the main character’s life are not necessarily earth-shattering; the 750 word limit means that sometimes a very small story is called for.
In Poot’s Hatchet, a young tomboy learns a valuable lesson about integrity and honesty.
In On the Other Hand… a teenage boy deals with the consequences of a rash action.
In Under the Skin, a biracial girl has to come to terms with her color after the deaths of her parents.
In Something Like Light,, a teenaged bride loses her young husband and has to raise their son alone.
In Natalie Tiptoes,, a little girl learns an important lesson about sacrificial giving.
HOMEWORK:
Ask a question or make a comment about coming of age stories. OR
Link to a coming of age story that you’ve written. If you do this, please tell us something about your writing process. OR
Tell us about a coming of age story or novel that you’ve read.
Have questions about grammar? Stop by this recently reactivated forum administered by Ann Grover, one of FaithWriters very finest writers of all time.
A coming of age story generally covers a period of time in which a person moves from childhood or adolescence into young adulthood (or simply into a period of being more grown up). During the course of the story, one or more significant events happen to the child, and those events shape the child’s character as he or she moves toward adulthood. The event may be nearly anything: a death, a journey, a traumatic experience, an illness, a move to another place, a new person in the child’s life, or anything else that would be significant to a child. It’s important, though, that the event should change the child for the rest of her life. Sometimes the child’s change is referred to as a “loss of innocence,” and sometimes the change involves the gaining of wisdom—or the change can take some other form, positive or negative.
Obviously, in the Writing Challenge, with only 750 words, you won’t be able to cover a series of events and consequences—you’ll probably have to choose one very specific event to happen to your main character (a child or adolescent), and whatever follows from that event will have to carry that character into the next stage of her life.
Coming of age stories are nearly always written in past tense, and often they are written in the first person, with the child who came of age narrating the story from an adult perspective. They can also be written in 3rd person, with the child who comes of age being the POV character.
There are some very famous novels which are coming of age stories, and you’ve probably read one or more of them:
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
A Separate Peace, by John Knowles
Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
The Harry Potter books, by J. K. Rowling
The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd
A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving
And I have to mention one of my favorite books of all time, even though it’s not nearly as famous as those on the above list: Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger. Simply an astounding piece of writing, and I highly recommend it.
It’s worth noting that the primary audience for a coming of age story is adults, despite the fact that the main character may be a child for most or all of the story. It should be written in an adult voice and it should appeal to adults. Yes, I’m aware that some of the books in the above list are considered YA literature or (in the case of the first few Harry Potter books) even middle grade literature. But they are equally enjoyed by adults, and the writing is sophisticated, not simple or childlike.
So—in a nutshell:
1. A child or adolescent
2. …experiences something
3. …that greatly affects her life
4. …and changes her or teaches her a life lesson
5. …as she moves into young adulthood
Within that framework, any number of plot points are available for the creative writer.
A few short stories that have coming of age themes:
The Jacket, by Gary Soto
Thank You, Ma’am, by Langston Hughes (not available in public domain, but if you Google it, you’ll read substantial snippets and some commentary)
Hunger, by Richard Wright (available as a document online—Google it)
Ribbons, by Laurence Yep
The Scarlet Ibis, by James Hurst
If you read some of these, you’ll see that they’re big in middle school and high school curricula—despite what I just said about coming of age stories having an adult audience. These types of stories are naturally of interest to teens, because the main characters are often their age—but the fact that the stories are written without condescension or accommodation is what makes them worthy to be read by readers of all ages. Long story short—don’t write a story FOR a child or young teen; write a story ABOUT a child or young teen.
And if you don’t have time to read those, here are a few Writing Challenge entries with coming of age themes. If you read through these, you’ll see that sometimes the events or the changes in the main character’s life are not necessarily earth-shattering; the 750 word limit means that sometimes a very small story is called for.
In Poot’s Hatchet, a young tomboy learns a valuable lesson about integrity and honesty.
In On the Other Hand… a teenage boy deals with the consequences of a rash action.
In Under the Skin, a biracial girl has to come to terms with her color after the deaths of her parents.
In Something Like Light,, a teenaged bride loses her young husband and has to raise their son alone.
In Natalie Tiptoes,, a little girl learns an important lesson about sacrificial giving.
HOMEWORK:
Ask a question or make a comment about coming of age stories. OR
Link to a coming of age story that you’ve written. If you do this, please tell us something about your writing process. OR
Tell us about a coming of age story or novel that you’ve read.
Have questions about grammar? Stop by this recently reactivated forum administered by Ann Grover, one of FaithWriters very finest writers of all time.