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Teen Ink 2
Foreword, Preface & Introduction
Foreword by Todd Strasser
Preface by Tim Cahill
Introduction by Stephanie and John Meyer
About the Writers
* * *
Foreword by Todd Strasser
As a writer for teens I am often asked: "How (at your advanced age*) do you manage to get inside a teenager's head? "
Here's the answer: I'm a thief.
Seriously. I steal from teenagers. I steal
their ideas, their mannerisms, their ways of speaking, of dressing, of acting.
What's nice about this kind of theft is that I can't be arrested for it. The
worst that can happen is a teenager I know may recognize some aspect of
themselves in a character I've created.
But no one's thrown a rock through
my window yet.
It isn't as easy as it might sound. Teens don't relate to
guys with gray hair the same way they relate to guys in their 20s or even 30s.
Even worse, I am no longer always physically capable of enduring certain
everyday teenage rigors. I realized this several months ago when I chaperoned my
teenage daughter to a Deep Banana Blackout show. As much as I enjoyed the music,
I couldn't take the smoke, the decibel level or the hours of standing. My knees
hurt too much.
Ten years ago this might have spelled the end of my career.
But thanks to Teen Ink 2, the successor to the incredibly valuable first Teen Ink
book, I'm still going strong. Now when I need to know what's really on the minds
of teenagers, I don't have to eavesdrop or observe. I don't even have to leave
my office.
I just read these books. All the "real stuff" is here. Want a
glimpse of what it's like to be a teenage boy? Check out "Locks" by Paul
Constant or "The Making of a Man" by Rob Dangel. Could I have gotten a teenager
to reveal those kinds of feelings and insights? It's doubtful. Guys may think
this stuff. But they don't talk this stuff.
That reminds me of another
question I'm often asked. "How, as a man, do you write female
characters?"
The answer can be found in "Face Paint" by Katherine Assef,
"Prom Night" by Erica Doughty, and "Still Me Inside" by Mai Goda. Put these
snapshots of young womanhood together and you can create character.
Finally, a confession. I don't usually bother with poetry. But I read
"Obituary" by Kathleen McCarney and it sent a chill down the back of my neck.
"Pink Elephants" brought a knowing smile to my lips. Read it and you just may see
yourself.
So this is good news, not just for someone like me who wants to
write about teenagers, but for anyone who wants to understand them, or relate to
them, or simply read something by people like themselves so that they don't feel
so alone in the world. Bravo, Teen Ink 2, you've certainly made my life easier.
At this rate I may never get caught.
*This is never spoken, but
always implied.
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* * *
Preface by Timothy Cahill
Thoughts and memories take many forms. The smell of freshly cut grass on a
brisk, autumn weekend, announcing soccer season. The crackling of a campfire,
demanding blankets and 'smores.
But words. Words have a life of their
own. Words that praise, words that comfort. Words that wound, words that sting.
They linger Ð simmering, swirling, repeating themselves. "Would you like to
dance? " Or perhaps, "Let's just be friends. " They might read like lines from a
movie, nothing more than dull, trite clichés. Unless, of course, someone
actually says them to you.
Words don't need to be original to have
meaning. They don't need to be eloquent or poetic to capture something true.
They don't even need to be real words. A teacher of mine frequently expressed
distaste by exclaiming Merf! No one ever dared ask him what it meant. No one
needed to. Did Dr. Seuss need a glossary to define sneetch?
For me,
writing has always been a means to collect those words cluttering up my thoughts
and memories. They may be words I never understood. They may be words I wish
I'd said. They may be words that just grew on their own, into shapes, people,
places, and imaginative worlds. Whatever the words, writing lets them escape
into the world. It gives them room to stretch, air to breathe, and a chance to
speak. And the one thing that words must do is say something.
The works
you will find in this book are compiled from Teen Ink magazine, a forum that
encouraged me to offer my words to others. Having a piece published is a
wondrous experience especially as a teenager, when it seems so often that your
words are doomed to suffocate in the flood of relationships, activities and
responsibilities that dominate day-to-day existence.
In this second Teen
Ink volume, you will find many, many words. They are words that grew from
different experiences, words that were collected by different minds. They have
been assembled in poetry, short stories and nonfiction. Yet more fundamentally,
these words have a common source. They all came from teenagers who had something
to say Ð and who discovered that by writing and sharing these words, they had the
means to say it.
The words you find here are something to be cherished.
They are, in fact, original, eloquent and poetic. But that's just a bonus.
These words are special because in them lies access to the worlds of those who
created them.
Read them. Pore over them.
Let them speak to you.
Let them become your words, too.
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* * *
Introduction
by Stephanie and John Meyer
Call it Teen Ink 2, but do not call it a sequel. Sequels, for the most
part, take a tried-and-true idea and repackage it. Scarier and more gruesome
villains face good guys with bigger ideas and more attitude than the first time,
but the setting and plot seem very much the same. Teen Ink 2 is so much more than
a sequel. It displays a brand-new world, a vivid landscape of teen expressions,
as imaginative and diverse as the individuals who crafted these pieces.
The greatest part about the Teen Ink series is that a new world is
created with every piece, each one brought to life by teen writers, artists, and
photographers who see their worlds in astonishing ways. As editors of TeenInk
magazine during the past decade, we have published 25,000 teens and read 300,000
of their submissions that have dispelled any left-over notion that teens can be
catalogued, grouped or labeled. There is no doubt that in the coming decade, more
teen voices and visions, submitted by you, your children, and even grandchildren
promise to be just as creative, emotional and insightful.
Although the
voices change in this new volume, some of the ingredients remain the same. Just
like the first, Teen Ink 2 is written entirely by teens. After we selected our
favorites, more than 2,500 teens in schools across the country read sample
chapters and told us which they liked best. And, of course, all royalties from
these books are donated directly to the nonprofit Young Authors Foundation to
offer more opportunities for teenagers to express themselves.
You, as
reader, will quickly discover the great candor, emotion and insight expressed by
these teenagers. Some scream about the injustices they experience, while others
sing eloquently of that special moment. Many describe the challenges of
friendship while still others delve into their relationship with a family member.
So, open up these pages and sample one, or two of these amazing pieces and you
will be compelled to continue reading to discover more of the depth and
sensibility of these teens.
As parents, editors and advocates for
teenagers, we invite you to enjoy this next installment of the Teen Ink series,
brought to you by the hundreds of thousands of teenagers who took a chance, and
shared their experiences and creativity with us all.
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* * *
About the Writers
Todd Strasser Todd Strasser is the author of many award-winning novels for teens, including Give a Boy a Gun and The Wave. He is also the author of How I Changed My Life and How I Spent My Last Night on Earth.
Timothy Cahill, currently a sophomore in college, was published frequently in Teen Ink magazine as a high school student. One of his short stories appeared in the first Teen Ink book and another piece, "The Stranger," can be found in Teen Ink 2: More Voices, More Visions.
Stephanie and John Meyer are the compilers of the Teen Ink book series and the founders of The Young Authors Foundation, which publishes Teen Ink Magazine and www.TeenInk.com.
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