Advice for young writers
1) Writing is joyous
Spend enough time listening to authors, and something you will hear is that writing can be hard. That it can be lonely, and time-consuming, and that, some nights, all you’ll wanna do is stare at the ceiling in bed and question Every Single Writing Decision you’ve ever made.
All of those can be true: but they are not always true.
Because, above all else, writing is a gift.
Writing can be the most fun you can ever have! Writing allows you to explore worlds that never existed, times that were never real, and lets you meet characters who, until you put pen to paper/keyboard to screen, existed only inside of your head. What an incredible thought that is, that you can create entire universes with nothing but a biro pen.
And those stories and universes can bring people together.
If you are a young writer, it is always worth trying to find other young writers to share your stories with – to offer each other feedback and advice, and cheer each other on. Start a writing club with your friends! Organise via WhatsApp, and meet every week / month / fortnight! Take turns submitting stories, and have a great time doing it!
Also – for the times when writing does feel hard, those stare-at-the-ceiling nights – try printing off a piece of writing that you’re particularly proud of, or which you had a brilliant time making: because then it is there for you, right when you need it most. A reminder that, yes, you are a writer, and the bad night will pass.
2) Don't apologise for your writing.
Be cringe! Be free!
Sometimes, as you get older, you might find that showing your writing to another person can be scary. It can, in fact, be downright nerve-wracking – so, you might become gripped with the urge to apologise for what you’ve written. To downplay it. To tell people that your writing isn’t very good and that it’s not a big deal.
Don’t do this.
Be PROUD of your writing! Be proud of your beautiful words, and whatever big and crazy idea you’ve invented!
And, most importantly of all, don’t let fear get in the way of your writing. Don’t decide in advance that something you’ve written – and which you love – is probably super cringy, and that people will hate it. Because sometimes, when you are brave and share those stories with the world, those turn out to be the best ideas of all. The stories that really connect with people, and that readers love the most.
(To be clear, not every writer struggles with this! But I’ve certainly met a lot who do, most of all myself)
3) NO AI. NO EXCEPTIONS.
I’ve met so many young writers who already totally agree with this, and they give me so much hope!
But in the same way you wouldn’t order a burger from McDonalds then tell your friends that you cooked the burger yourself; or in the same way that asking your parents for a lift doesn’t make you a driver . . .
Prompting AI to write a story for you does NOT make you an author.
EXAMPLE! Say I asked you to write about, gosh, I dunno, The Stone of Whale Song, guarded in the Library of Terrors by the Pigeon of Anguish; suppose I said that Flash and Crystal, brother and sister superstar duo, broke into the library, defeated the pigeon then returned the stone to the Queen of the Whales (I’m getting so off-track here lol).
Say you wrote that story, spent weeks on it, put your whole self into it, made it into a whole entire novel. Say you were up way past your bedtime each night, pouring every word, making sure that everything was perfect . . .
. . . Would you be happy if I then took that story – that story you made completely your own, and which no-one could’ve written but you – and told everyone that I wrote it? Would you be happy if I took credit for all your hard work, all of your wonderful descriptions? Your characters, your dialogue, your EVERYTHING? Would you be happy if I didn’t even mention you at all?
Of course not, and it’s the same with AI: if you prompt an AI, that means AI wrote the story, not you. There is so much more – SO MUCH MORE – that goes into a story then just the basic idea.
AI doesn’t have your memories. Your experiences. Your unique way of seeing the world.
YOU ARE SPECIAL. YOU ARE UNIQUE. So, don’t deprive the world of your uniqueness: if it comes from the heart, then anything is worth a billion of whatever AI can vomit up <3
4) Keep going!
This is maybe the hardest piece of advice here, but also the most important?
But it can hard, sometimes, to keep going. It can be hard to write day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year.
Some of the stories you write will be bad – I, personally, have created many of the worst stories ever written!! And it can be a lousy feeling, and it might want to make you give up entirely . . .
Keep going.
Push through it. No story is wasted: learn from your mistakes. Take joy in your triumphs.
Keep going.
Getting published can take years. You might end up with a whole wardrobe full of unpublished stories/novels.
Keep going.
Don’t think of them as failures, but as stepping stones on the way to publication. And if you keep at it – if you keep going, and don’t give up – then one day, you will suddenly find that your writing is amazing. And the feeling that gives you is SO worth it.
(I always like to make covers for my stories, so here are some of my stepping stones, stretching all the way back to 2006! Some of these stories AWFUL!! UNREADABLE!! But I proud of all of them.)
(I never finished the covers for Do You Sell Crisps and The Wolf and the Tiger!)
5) Keep a notebook handy
This advice is a bit more practical! But inspiration can come from anywhere, at any time, often when you’re not expecting it: so make sure you keep a notebook to hand, so that you’re always ready to jot down your ideas at a moment’s notice.
And you should jot them down. It’s sooo easy to tell yourself that your idea is excellent, that there’s no way you’ll forget it, that you can just write it down later – only for the idea to merrily skip its way right out of your head, and never return
Personally, I love notebooks that are bright and fun and colourful.
Unless you choose to show them, no-one will ever see inside of your notebook, which means you can fill them with anything you want to: doodles, first drafts, diagrams, shopping lists, secrets. And it doesn’t have to be neat. It doesn’t even need to make sense to anyone else but yourself.
It doesn’t even have to be a notebook! When I worked in a supermarket, I used to write notes on bits of scrap paper, and on till receipts. When I got home after work, they would go inside the My Little Pony tin.
You don’t even need to use paper. Use your phone! Use a notetaking app, or Google Drive!
Sometimes, if I’m struck with inspiration in the middle of the night, but am too tired to get out of bed, I will email myself on my phone. This is been a real lifesaver for me in the past! Though be warned: other times, you can wake up in the morning to some bewildering results.
6) Read a whole ton
The most wonderful thing about reading?
There is no right way to read. Only you get to decide how + what to read.
Want to start on the last page so you know how the story ends? Awesome! Do it!
Want to read nothing but comic books? Excellent! Some of the best stories ever written are comics; some of the best books coming out right now are comics!
Just want to listen to audiobooks? Brilliant!! Audiobooks are GREAT!!
Have a sudden itch to read the scripts for your favourite films/TV shows? Go wild! They are so easy to find.
Even videogames can count. Did you ever stop and read all of the dialogue in a Zelda game? All of the Pokédex entries in a Pokémon game? That’s a LOT of words. Like, a LOT.
Reading is everywhere, all the time, even in places you might not expect it: so, again, there is no right way to read.
And the more you read, the more likely it is that you’ll discover that special book/series/whole entire genre that changes you, that you end up loving more than anything else in the world. Those books/stories that light a fire in you, and make you want to create novels/comics/videogame and film scripts all of your own.
And there is no greater feeling <3
7) Find what works for you
Find your joy!!
Perhaps fanfics? https://www.booktrust.org.uk/resources/find-resources/writing-fan-fiction-a-beginners-guide/