How To Tweet/Blog Like A YA Author

Maybe you've noticed, maybe you haven't, but successful blogging/tweeting YA writers have a certain way of speaking (technically typing, but still a form of linguistic communication). Well, I've noticed—I didn't major in English linguistics for nothing you know. I find this stuff fascinating.

Yes, I'm a nerd.

This way of speaking is actually a social dialect—it defines members of this writer circle, shows who's in and who's not quite.

I'm dubbing this dialect the YA Writers Epic Social/Online Media English. YAWESOME for short. I know, that was my one genius moment of the day. You should feel special, because I used it on you and not my WIP.

So YAWESOME has many defining characteristics, most of which I'm sure you're familiar with. And if not, consider this the GUIDE TO YAWESOME.

YAWESOME Features:

1. CAPITALIZATION
This is a central feature to YAWESOME, particularly in tweets though some writers also utilize it in blogging. It is used most often to convey excitement, and may be accompanied by an excess of exclamation points.

An alternate use is to convey emphasis, especially in Twitter since there is no italicized feature.

Example: I went into THE HOUSE.

When capitalized, this has a different semantic meaning than just plain old "I went into the house." It might also be funnier or more entertaining, which is an important goal of YAWESOME. Usually context is needed to determine the deeper meaning of capitalization.

2. Stage Directions
YAWESOME also features a type of stage directing, as if the speakers are taking actions right in their tweet/post.

Example: *shifty eyes* I didn't take it.

Stage directions appear to be added for entertainment factor, and to convey action in a largely 2D community.

3. Hashtags/Parentheticals
On Twitter, the YAWESOME user will often employ long, rambling hashtags. While the hashtag is meant to allow other tweeters to find common topics, YAWESOME users do it as a way of adding parenthetical thoughts/opinions.

Example: I love chocolate. #whymypantsdontfitanymore

Again, the main purpose is likely to entertain in the shortest letters possible.

In blogging, this takes the form of long parenthetical statements, where a writer will ramble on about a strange thought or two vaguely related to the topic of their post (or maybe not).

Example: See almost every post on Kiersten's blog (I mostly did that because I know she'll laugh [I like making her laugh].)

4. Hyperbolic Slang
YAWESOME employs a set of morphemes that serves to convey extreme excitement and/or love of people, places, and things. Some of the most important (current) slang morphemes are:

awesome
epic
fail
win
word+fail (as in writerfail, editfail, vampirefail, etc.)
word+win

These words can also be combined to further emphasize the "awesomeness" or "not awesomeness" of something (Example: That was a win made of epically awesomeness). Other common online abbreviations are also used, as well as common "youthful" slang like "totally."

I theorize this feature was originally used in a kind of mocking tone, tongue in cheek. But now it has transformed into a way to express extreme like or dislike within the YAWESOME dialect.

5. One Liners
Only seen in blogging, the one line statement is yet another way to convey emphasis in YAWESOME. It is often done for comedic effect or even as a type of sidenote/parenthetical. (Note my example above: Yes, I'm a nerd.)

This concludes my initial study and identification of YAWESOME. Further research is needed to determine whether or not there is a difference between male and female speakers of YAWESOME. The definition of the dialect would also benefit from a deeper investigation of YAWESOME's lexicon. But as you can see, it is clear that YAWESOME is, indeed, a defined dialect, and I'm sure further study will bring out its particular nuances.

*closes notes*

*bows*

*steps away from podium, basking in epic applause*