Age aint nothin' but a number

[sweetnpetite]

I recently realized that stating your characters age is just as bad as stating bra size or penis measurement. It's a statistic, a 'tell' instead of a show. You should know for yourself the exact age of your character, but most times it's probably not necessary to state it. (at least, this is my new philosophy)

Do you state a number or do you show it through the telling of the story? If you show age, how do you do so. Is it different for every story or do you have methods you use and reuse?

This suprisingly is a topic I don't ever remember seeing here.

 

[sophia jane]

I think I've only given character age once and it was for an older woman, younger man story. Otherwise, no, I don't include age because it's not really necessary. I might have a generalized reference in a few stories, but not the specifics.

 

[Norajane]

I don't think I've ever mentioned a specific age for my characters.

One of my stories is about lovers who get back together after years of being apart, so I'm sure I talked about it that way, but I don't know that I tagged a specific number to either of them.

 

[Selena_Kitt]

It's a statistic, a 'tell' instead of a show. You should know for yourself the exact age of your character, but most times it's probably not necessary to state it. (at least, this is my new philosophy)

I do it if I need to... to show she's 18...

or in an age-difference story (and not always then)...

 

[R. Richard]

As has been previously stated, I tell the character's age if there is any question about 18-years-old.

Is age just a number? Well, maybe no, maybe yes. If I am writing a Mature story, I need to establish the "effective age" of the character, not the numeric age. If I have a 40-year-old man or woman, what is the effective age? If I have a character who leaves the gym after another hard working lifting/aerobic dance session, I am establishing a sexy older person. I have known, but do not write about, 40-year-olds who were damn near cripples because they were so far out of shape that climbing a flight of stairs would knock them out for hours.

JMNTHO.

 

[Weird Harold]

Do you state a number or do you show it through the telling of the story? If you show age, how do you do so. Is it different for every story or do you have methods you use and reuse?

As others have said, in a story with one or more young characters, it's important to establish a spcific age that is over 18 or for a story where the age difference is part of the "kink."

Specific ages, -- 21, 30, 40, and 50, for example -- are signifigant benchmarks in life that might affect how a character thinks and acts as they approach or pass that particular birthday. It's hard to use that kind of motivation for a character without bringing a numerical age into the description.

Where I need to establish a specific age for any reason, I will almost always bring it up in dialogue of some sort or very occasionaly I'll weave a birthday party into the story.

Like any other descriptor, I try to mention age only if it's relevant to the story or the character's motivation.

 

[rgraham666]

Generally no.

But since I often write older characters I'll include physical benchmarks such as lines on their faces or graying hair.

Sometimes I'll slip the age in a way that requires a bit of arithmetic.

For example, in one story I mentioned a character had a life goal to reach at forty five and she had eight years left before she reached that age. Ergo, she was 37 years old.

In another I mentioned that the character met another ten years after he left high school which fixes his age at twenty eight or twenty nine.

 

[Lord DragonsWing]

I don't think I've ever mentioned age in a story. Readers may get an idea as the characters age range as the story progresses. But that's about it.

 

[Guest]

Nope.

Unless it actually figures into the story, first time sex making certain the character is 18, that sort of thing.

 

[oggbashan]

Age can be critical.

One of my stories, Earth to Earth, nearly fell apart because the relative ages of the generations and the characters wouldn't work.

I had to draw a family tree with years of birth, marriage and death to ensure that the timescale was feasible. I put the years in pencil. By the time I'd made everything fit I had nearly rubbed through the paper with erasures.

Og

 

[artisticbiguy]

Important measurements

Generally no.

But since I often write older characters I'll include physical benchmarks such as lines on their faces or graying hair.

Sometimes I'll slip the age in a way that requires a bit of arithmetic.

For example, in one story I mentioned a character had a life goal to reach at forty five and she had eight years left before she reached that age. Ergo, she was 37 years old.

In another I mentioned that the character met another ten years after he left high school which fixes his age at twenty eight or twenty nine.

Yeah, that's generally how I deal with age... through reference data, though at times the character mentions it in narration. I try to avoid the "I'm a 35 year old white male" kind of description, no one even thinks that way about themselves generally, and certainly wouldn't introduce themselves.

If I'm going to state an age, there should be a reason why a character relates it specifically. Such as: "I'd always been a planner. I set goals, figured out the steps to reach them, and taken those steps unerringly. It'd worked well, and I'd made it out of the small town, back water life I'd come from. But sometimes life sends you a curve you aren't expecting, and the best laid plans are ruined. I was tired, lost, and returning home to pick up the pieces before trying again. Living off my mother's generocity, in the same little backwards town I'd escaped as soon as I'd graduated highschool, had not been my goal at 33."

Or "It was humiliating being the only twenty-eight year old gay man I knew who was still a virgin."

again, the age has a significance to the character.

Many of my characters are amorphously aged... in their "late-20s" or "mid-30s" In one story, the character is going to his 20 year highschool reunion... well, we all know that means he's between 37-39... but he doesn't mention his age.

Like breast, cock or waist sizes, age should only be measured out before the reader if it furthers the story. I mean, if a guy has a 13" cock, and that is actually important to know (all incubi have 13" phallus, it is how you can identify them... or something), then fine. But I prefer such descriptors, age included, to be provided referentially "she was as old as my mom, but didn't look older than my sister..." or "his meat was nearly as long as my forearm and almost as thick".

Unless it's a comedy piece, and the character is statistic obsessed and travels with a scale, ruler, tape measure, and such... having him describe someone in numerical detail is stupid. (actualy, that would be funny... a character so dimension obsessed that he measures and charts everything)

 

[impressive]

I typically only infer age. Can't recall if/when I've ever mentioned an actual number.

 

[artisticbiguy]

Age can be critical.

One of my stories, Earth to Earth, nearly fell apart because the relative ages of the generations and the characters wouldn't work.

I had to draw a family tree with years of birth, marriage and death to ensure that the timescale was feasible. I put the years in pencil. By the time I'd made everything fit I had nearly rubbed through the paper with erasures.

Og

Quite true, that the author has thought out ages, time lines, and the rest is critically important if a story is more than a quick-fuck-erotic-short. Novels, serial stories, etc. must have that kind of planning. Or even short stories where you cross generation lines.

But I doubt you actually narrated the ages to the readers as you introduced the characters... like their height, eye color or weight. Anyone who thinks out their plots and backgrounds that well won't use a club to hammer the details into the story