Youth and Literature: Ten Tips for Young Writers

It was around the age of ten or so that I thought I could have a career in writing. I’d started writing short stories, silly ones that come from the imagination of a child. I’d show them off with the modesty of one who is unsure about her work and then I’d bask in the compliments of adults who were probably, for the most part, humoring me. However, the fact that they were so encouraging gave me a love for writing that I have never lost and continue doing in many forms to this day. Over the years I’ve picked up several tips as an adult that could potentially be used by writers even as young as ten years old. For any young person with a flair for writing or any parent whose child is showing a love for the written word, these tips will help cultivate a potential bestselling author.

1. Write What They Know: This tip was given to me in my college years and I find that its one of the best ones a young writer can have. Writing becomes more complicated when a writer writes of places or experiences they aren’t familiar with. Encourage them to take their own real life experiences as material for their writing. Name changes and some exaggerations are fine to encourage creativity, but the basis of truth will allow the young writer’s voice to show through, making for an enjoyable read.

2. What They Don’t Know, They Can Learn: This might sound like a contradiction to writing from experience, but it’s really not. In fact, though writing about the familiar is going to produce some good work, writing about things the young writer doesn’t know is going to give them a great opportunity to learn. Research never sounds like fun, but once they’ve gotten the knowledge on a topic, they’ll be able to use that knowledge in future works as well as other classes. Even the biggest names in writing have had to do their homework, so encourage the young writer not to shy away from this extra step. It’ll be worth it in the end.