For all the teens I've edited before
Date Thursday, March 28, 2024 - 06:59 PM PST
Topic Cult


Every year in summer, we get an influx of new people, most of whom are teenagers (14.8!). This is for all of you.

You are welcome. You are in good company. You and the other teens like you have lots to say, just not anything that the rest of us want to hear again and again and again. You are not the first teenager to show up here, nor will you be the last. And guess what? We were all teenagers once upon a time too. There are other sites that specialize in teen angst.

I get to read a lot of special articles, things that people have put their heart into if not their thesaurus. I am proud of every single attempt at an article. I don't always respond and tell you that, but I am proud that you had the balls to try. But there are some things that aren't fun for others to read and this site isn't just about any one person's ego (except Devin) and I have no reason to cater to yours.

You aren't the first goth to show up here. Nor are you the first Christian. Nor are you the first model. Nor are you the first college student. Nor are you the first musician. Nor are you the first (insert label here). You aren't even the first troll. We will love you or ignore you based on what you show us, just like everyone else that isn't your family.

We have some teenagers here that DO write stuff that is actually "fun" to read for others. Their secret is to take into account the audience here. They write stuff that doesn't break the rules listed below. They write stuff that talks about life, love, food, or whatever, just like rejected articles. The difference being that they don't whine.

Most of the "others" here are not teenagers. We are older than that and managed to survive being teens once already. You wouldn't be interested in hearing me tell you all about me having been a teenager, ok there are a few stories from then that are fun to read. But most of it was dull, had bad poetry in it, was whiney, and you probably wouldn't recognize the band names. I had to live through it once so why would I want a blow-by-blow account of your teen years?

This may be the first time that you are reaching out to strangers because you have a) a real problem b) a real lack of social group c) never felt interested in another online community. In the first case, private messages if it is very personal work well, just pick someone that HAS been here awhile and with whom you feel comfortable. When in doubt, refer to the roles of the Mistresses and Misters of the site. In the second case start with the forums and make your friends there since that is designed for back and forth conversation, well sometimes at least. In the third case try both messages and the forums, come play our reindeer games.

You may want to write about something in your life. It may be a new thought to you. It may be a true epiphany even, but that doesn't mean that it will be fun for anyone else to read. Most epiphanies aren't that deep actually. It takes skill to make them interesting to others. It may be about a bad day or a good day that you have had. If you can't explain why it was one or the other to yourself, then chances are that you aren't going to explain it well to us.

If you think you have an article in you, go ahead and post it. I will read it. EVERYTHING that is sent in is read at least once by at least one person. Just remember these points and you may get to see your article on the main page someday.

Do not whine

  • about being goth

    • You aren't goth yet, you are kindergothen. Someone else pays your rent, buys you food, and cleans the toilet for you.

  • about preps

    • There is no such thing; they are just other teens trying to figure out what they want to be for the rest of their lives. They just wear different clothes than you and read different books. They are just people too. I find it ironic that nobody ever whines about the nerds, the band, or the chess club.

  • about chores

    • We have 'em too, lots more than you do and there is no one giving us money or food or shelter just for washing the dishes or cutting the grass.

  • about your lack of dates

    • unless it is a really amusing way of not getting a date like s/he was abducted by aliens on prom night

  • about your pain

    • Understand right now that we have already been there and done the "suffering teenager" thing and yes we remember the pain, and we know that we caused most of it ourselves, just like you are doing. (Yes you are).

  • about me (or bettie or ick or dev or ANYONE else) being rude to you.

    • Chances are you started it by trying to throw your weight around and tell someone else that they are dumb, bad, or stupid.


Complete sentences AND thoughts

If you don't, we will and you don't even what to see how "creative" I can get with your dangling participles.

Refer to the template article written by Devin if you want pointers

This is like a treasure hunt or Wonderland; along the way, you will find lots to read and maybe even something about which to think.

This is not your diary

There are other places for that, including your own computer, notebook, or memory. Go find one and exhibit yourself there.

Be coherent

Dyslexia is not an excuse. ADD/H is not an excuse. Many people here have one or both, and they have gotten articles published. One of them even acts as editor. And no, that isn't actually ironic.

Please stop and think before you subject me to a rambling, badly spelled, ungrammatical account of your angst. I beg you, please think it through. You won't be published and you will earn my animosity. In the worse cases I will resort to public humiliation and post your submission with comments from me, the one that did re-read it 3 times, spell-checked it, and had to deal with the grammar.


This article comes from Shmeng
http://www.shmeng.com/

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