Writers Who Kill

 

Is Your Generational Influence Showing in Your Writing?

By Heather Weidner

Recently, I’ve taken several management classes for work about communication and coaching different generations in the workforce, and some of the discussions of each cohort’s preferences and experiences made me think about my writing.

The generations and their birth years have been defined as: 

The Generation	Birth Years	Description
Greatest Generation	1901-1927	Resilient, came of age and fought/supported WWII
Silent Generation	1928-1945	Influenced by the effects of the Great Depression and WWII
Baby Boomers     Generation Jones	1946-1964     1956-1965	Post-war expansion and social change   Came of age during the Vietnam War and the civil unrest
Generation X	1965-1980	Latch-key kids, self-sufficient
Millennials or Generation Y	1981-1996	First generation Internet and known for work-life balance
Generation Z	1997-2010	Digital natives or iPad kids
Generation Alpha	2010-2024	21st Century kids
Generation Beta or Sigma Generation	2025-2039	AI and Automation generation

As I age and some of my newer series’ sleuths get younger, I found that there are some key things to be aware of to ensure that my writing is accurate.

Do I have the slang right? Are the expressions from the correct time period? We often do a lot of factchecking of things in our research, but dialogue is often overlooked. Here are some examples from each group. Sometimes the terms overlap generations, and other times, you need a dictionary, encyclopedia, a search engine, or an AI chat to translate. 

The Generation	Slang for Fabulous	Slang for Awful
Greatest Generation	Swell, grand, top-notch, first rate	Lousy, rotten, no good, the pits
Silent Generation	Neat, keen, peachy, dandy	Crummy, bum deal, for the birds
Baby Boomers	Far out, groovy, cool, right on	Bummer, drag, bogus, bad trip
Generation X	Awesome, sweet, cool beans, rad	Lame, weak, harsh
Millennials or Generation Y	Awesome, epic, legit, amazing	Trash, cringe, fail, the worst
Generation Z	Slay, fire slaps, lit, hits different	Cheugy, sus
Generation Alpha	Slay, bussin’, fire, GOAT, cooked	Mid (mediocre), trash, NPC behavior (Non-player character in a video game)
Generation Beta	It’s Too Early to Tell	It’s Too Early to Tell

Your language choice is influenced by your experiences and those around you. I’m GenX, and I grew up with Baby Boomer teachers and co-workers. I tend to use slang from both of those groups. Now that I have more Gen Zs in the workforce, I’m adapting to a whole new set of words. (Some days, it’s like learning a foreign language.)

Do my allusions fit the age or experience of my character? When I first started working, the Silent Generation or the Boomers would always talk about where they were when certain historic events happened. (My generation was not born when Kennedy was shot, we were toddlers when Apollo 11 landed on the moon, and we were in elementary school when Nixon resigned.) I have a Boomer on my team who often doesn’t get why some of his teammates don’t get his jokes and cultural references. (“Seinfeld,” and “Cheers” are available in reruns or on streaming, but Gen Y and Gen Alpha didn’t watch “Must See TV.” They are used to on-demand not cable or network television.)

Do my historical and cultural references match the age group? As authors, we check our facts to ensure authenticity, but sometimes we make mistakes when we reference things that happened before a certain group was born or when they had to be in bed before “Late Night TV.” (I didn’t get to see “Saturday Night Live” live until the eighties because of a nine o’clock bedtime.)

Does my technology reference the correct age group? Just ask someone younger than you what the little icon next to “Save” is in most computer applications. They all know the button is  for saving, but those who didn’t use floppy disks have no idea what the picture is. (My Gen Z niece calls record albums “big CDs.”) I discovered when I did a ride along with my local police department that some of my law enforcement references were dated. (Most use digital fingerprinting now.) If you write police procedurals, make sure you keep up with the new technology.

There is so much research out there now about the different generations, their experiences, and their preferences, and if you want an immersive lesson in jargon, spend an hour or two watching TikTok.

For additional information on the generations, check out:

A Year-by-Year Guide to the Different Generations

The Changing Generational Values – Imagine | Johns Hopkins University

Age Range by Generation | Beresford Research

Through the years, Heather Weidner has been a cop’s kid, technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager. She writes the Pearly Girls Mysteries, the Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries, The Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries, and The Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries. 

Her short stories appear in a variety of anthologies, and she has non-fiction pieces in Promophobia and The Secret Ingredient: A Mystery Writers’ Cookbook.

Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a crazy Mini Aussie Shepherd.