Tamar Joshua Rowe

( Read more... ) And a rant. On age definition in writing. First, allow me to remind you(generic you) of the fact that there are at least three different land-masses that use English as the dominant language, and so it is reasonable to assume that members of any of these countries could be reading your story. Next, allow me to remind you (for surely you already knew) that each of these countries have their own ways of 'numbering' the form/grade/year/whatever of education that everyone is at. England alone has three, for instance (Year 8/2nd Form/Year 2)(Year 6/Prep4). So now, hopefully, you will see why it is utterly useless to refer to schoolchildren as 'High Schoolers', '8th Graders' or 'Preparatory students'. How old is an '8th grader anyway? 8? 10? 12? 16? Why not use a relatively common term, like how many years it has been since they were born? I know that I, when writing, do not refer to 14 year olds as Year 9s or even 3rd Formers - the confusion potential weighs out any aversion you may have to the child's age. (Rant X-posted to fanficrants)

Your brain: 60% interpersonal, 120% visual, 140% verbal, and 80% mathematical!