I'm having a lot of trouble making age transitions

[Robin]

In the original version of this story I'm working on, the main characters were in their mid to upper twenties and smoked and drank and did drugs. Now, they're all about 16-18 years old and smoke and drink and do drugs. I mean, they sound like they're the right age and all, but it doesn't quite match up with the other people in their world. Marty, Chris, Nick, and Sid are a lot less mature sounding than Robert, Sam, Chris, and Wyatt. It's not just the drugs thing, either. They just sound like their old selves, even though they're doing a lot of stuff that's a lot more childish. It's very difficult changing the ages of characters. The first time I gave them a bath in the fountain of youth, it wasn't so hard; Wyatt (At the time he was Algernon) was in his early thirties, and Voletta (her name's now Carolyn) was in her mid-thirties. So it wasn't that hard down-sizing them to mid and upper twenties. But now...

[cry,crayola.]

well if you really want the age transition, try to make it comfortable for you firstly. you might have to change everything about their setting just to make them seem that more less childish, ya know?

[Robin]

I can't change their setting...the setting's really important to the plot, as far as time period and financial status is concerned. Well, it's not a set time period, but it really mirrors the seventies/eighties in that everything sucked and nobody complained.

Buuut...that's not the point. You're probably right: changing the setting would make these kids sound younger, but since I can't do that I'll have to just work hard.

Maybe I should read some more Stephen King...I noticed he had kind of the same problem with IT.