As many of my readers know, I am hard at work on a collection of three short stories that will be published later this year as Three Billy Maddox Stories. I’ve finished one story, “Billy and Darla”, which is available for free over at Instafreebie. The next story, “Green Bay Outsiders”, is under development and will likely be longer than expected but that’s not a bad thing.
A lot of coming-of-age stories have always irked me, and I guess that irritation ended up driving “Green Bay Outsiders”. Coming-of-age stories tend to focus on adolescence. Whether it is fantasy (think Lloyd Alexander’s The Chronicles of Prydain), a story about friendship such as A Separate Peace by John Knowles or a classic such as Somerset Maugham’s Of Human Bondage, the core years in the protagonist’s lives typically depict a time barely out of adulthood.
I mean, I get it. Society is obsessed with love–it’s the theme of just about any song you hear on the radio, for God’s sake, so why shouldn’t writing pile on too.
The problem though is that if you really want to write a coming-of-age story, you need to focus on more than just Cupid’s arrows. One’s 20s represent a much better time period. “Green Bay Outsiders” is about Carl Daniels, who first appeared in my novel, Billy Maddox Takes His Shot. Carl has just graduated from college at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, and has been thrown into a world where love, friendship, economic freedom and personal development apart from one’s family all come into play.
Am I wrong in thinking that one’s early to mid-20s represent the years when one truly comes of age? Even if the fiery yearnings of desire start burning in adolescence, I see a much more complex and challenging goal for authors of coming-of-age stories.
Yes, love must be a part of such stories. Or lust. But so should the ability to manage a variety of relationships and figure out how one is to survive economically.
Does that make sense? It’s not romantic in the sense of writing and reading. But it’s real.
So that’s the focus of my story. If you have already read Billy Maddox Takes His Shot, you should know that “Green Bay Outsiders” goes back to a time before Carl Daniels was a Border Patrol agent. If you remember my novel, you’ll also recall what Carl tells Billy Maddox in the Golden Burro about his upbringing in Wisconsin. That bit of conversation is the basis for my short story.
So what do you think about coming-of-age stories? Am I right? Should such tales “really” reflect adolescence? Or is one’s 20s when an individual really needs to get his or her shit together? I look forward to your comments below.
You have to ‘come of age’ every time you run into the next ‘age.’ Cue ‘Passages.’
Because so many people have to go through the first ones, and there is so much obvious in common, those stories have been popular. I loathed ‘Catcher in the Rye’ – others love it.
But there are stories being missed everywhere: when a woman makes a decision to become a mother in or out of marriage – there’s a story. When a man decides to take early retirement to save his soul – there’s another. When a couple have to make the tough decision to move out of their forever home because one of them is failing – story.
Stories are a way to try on decisions – and the older you get, the more important those decisions can become.
I agree that decisions you make later in life are very important. However, I would argue that the decisions we make in youth are JUST as important because they shape the direction of our lives, when that direction is much more malleable. I just don’t think we realize until later on how important the decisions of our youth really were! I also think human beings underappreciate the number of coming-of-age moments they experience. You do a good job of sharing some examples, Alicia. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Can’t disagree with you on the importance of the early decisions: some things simply must be done in the proper time frame – or they can’t happen.
If you are an accomplished ice skater, for example, and really want to compete in the Olympics, you have to have parents willing to drive you to practice before school when you are in elementary school – for years – just to have a chance.
If you want to be a physicist, you had best be worrying about getting into the right college in that major when the other kids are signing up for liberal arts degrees – and having what seems like a lot more fun (as kids). Nowadays it’s even worse: you need to be winning science fairs and other such competitions consistently. My youngest went to the International Science Fair even though she was the runner-up because the girl who won decided to go to her high school prom.
Some kids know what they want sooner than others; but they have to have the support from parents and schools and teachers.
Sometimes you can’t have a ‘balanced’ life – if you have decided to be a concert pianist.
Gymnasts start young – and work very hard – knowing that only a few will advance.
Dancers are a prime example: even if they are the very best, their performing career is short – and they set everything aside to get those few spots in the NY City Ballet.
Part of it is delayed gratification – Debbie Thomas put med school on hold until after the Olympics; med school is one of those things you may be able to do later in life. She got to do both – but there is only one order for that.
Most kids don’t think far enough in advance, for whatever reasons. But it’s something I think of when I see, say, Spring Break parties at Daytona on TV.
You’re entirely right: the young decisions can be crucial. Maybe not for writers, though – I always intended to write, and didn’t start actually learning until 1995.