I Was That Teenage Writer

Photo credit: nicole.pierce.photography on Flickr

I was the teenage writer with big dreams.

I was the weird thirteen-year-old sitting at her desk during free period, huddled over a piece of paper with a pencil and a story rolling through her fingers.

I was the fourteen-year-old smiling shyly as her mother proudly announced to anyone who would listen that her teenager had written a book and was going to be published one day.

I was the fifteen-year-old who secretly enjoyed those English writing assignments and whipped out that four page essay so that she could get back to writing her next book.

I was the sixteen-year-old pretending to take notes in math class while actually writing a passage for her novel.

I was the seventeen-year-old disappointed with “I like this” non-critiques from Creative Writing class and anxiously dreaming all day about those query letters she sent out the night before.

I was the eighteen-year-old starting to realize that she might not be a published teenage writer after all, that she might not even get an agent as a teenager, that maybe her writing wasn’t as good as she thought it was.

I was the nineteen-year-old coming to terms with the fact that she may very well leave her teenage years with nothing to show for it except for many trunked manuscripts and a pile of rejection letters.

Here’s what I wasn’t as a teenager:

I wasn’t published.

I wasn’t agented.

I wasn’t a prodigy.

I wasn’t the next Christopher Paolini.

But now, looking back on those years, I’m glad I wasn’t any of those things. Because yes, I was a decently good writer for my age, and yes, I learned a lot from writing all of those books, and yes, it hurt to come to realize that I was going to have to give up my dream of being a published teenage writer. But at the end of it all, I was focused. I knew how to handle rejection (for the most part), I knew the value of patience (even if I struggled to maintain it), and I knew that time was on my side after all—that getting published wasn’t a race and I didn’t regret a second that I spent focused on my dream as a teenager.

Because it may have taken me a long time to come to terms with everything, but in the end, I know I’m a better writer for it.

I guess I just want to say this: to all you teenage writers out there, I know it’s tough. I know it sucks to give up so much to make your writing dream happen, and realize it might not happen in the time frame you were hoping for, even despite the sacrifices. I know it sucks to start writing young and have all your loved ones tell you how you’re going to be so successful because look how young you are and you wrote a book (or many books!), and meanwhile the clock is ticking and nothing seems to be happening and you start to wonder if maybe everyone’s just humoring you and you’re not that good after all.

I want to say that for those of you who are eighteen or nineteen or reaching that point of I may not be a published teenage writer after all, it’s ok. It’s more than ok. You’re not a failure for not getting published or agented as a teenager. You are amazing and talented and so very wonderful and I salute you. I salute you for hunkering down and chasing your dream while the rest of your friends goof off in class. I salute you for quietly taking rejection after rejection and continuing to write despite the pain. I salute you for not rushing to self-publish and taking your time to get your writing right, to really hone your craft.

What you’re doing isn’t easy. And if I’m being honest, it doesn’t really get easier. But it does get better. You’ll get better. Your writing will get better and you’ll be so glad for those manuscripts you had to put away and those rejections that branded your soul.

I guess I just want to say don’t give up if you don’t make your dream come true before you turn twenty. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you and as a bonus, you started on that path nice and early, which is pretty darn cool if you ask me.

Hang in there, pal. Everything is going to be ok.

Twitter-sized bites: 

Writer @Ava_Jae shares an open letter to all current and former teenage writers. (Click to tweet)  

"What you're doing isn't easy...but it does get better." #writinglife (Click to tweet)  

Writers: Don't Forget This

Photo credit: Taylor Liberato on Flickr

I am handwriting this blog post. Or rather, I was, before I typed it up and posted it online for all of you to read.

Point is, I’ve been thinking about the process of writing—not the techniques and structure and style of the words, but the act of writing itself, the literal scraping of graphite on paper that forms into shapes that our trained brains then interpret as words or the tapping of labeled keys that send electronic or wireless signals into a machine that replicates the letters we ask it to reproduce.

I’m talking about the signals that our brains send to our hands, our fingers, the thousands of internal, automatic processes that in turn lead to words cemented into paper, into computer code, into the outside world.

I’ve come to realize that writing—hell, any type of creation—is amazing and beautiful and special, and sometimes we forget just how incredible this writing thing (or painting/drawing/sculpting/composing thing) really is.

We have this ability—this incredible ability—to create something out of nothing, to transform blank pages into beautiful prose, to tell a story that no one else knows. That no one else would ever know if we didn’t tell it.

We writers are special, and it doesn’t matter if you’ve been writing for two weeks or two decades, if all you’ve ever written are short stories and poems or if you’ve published twenty novels. Every one of us has something to share, something that only we can create, something that sets us apart from everyone else.

Don’t forget that.

When you spend months or years pouring your soul into a manuscript that only receives form rejection letters, don’t forget that you’ve already done something incredible.

When you write post after post and you feel like no one is listening, don’t forget that your words are special because they’re yours.

When you’ve rewritten your fourth manuscript nine times and you still can’t get an agent/publisher to notice you, don’t forget that you’ve already created something out of nothing—that you will create more.

Writers/painters/sculptors/musicians—artists—are special. You are special.

Never forget it. 

What else do you think it’s important for writers (or artists in general) to never forget? 

Your Greatest Asset is You

Photo credit: a2gemma on Flickr

The blogosphere is overloaded with advice about how to write--whether it's blogging, writing a novel, poetry or screenplays, if you Google it, you'll find it. And advice is great--sometimes we need tips to help us get over certain obstacles, whether it's character development or voice or growing your blog.

But sometimes we get too caught up in the small stuff. Because yes, it's true that you need to work to improve your craft and yes, writing tips are absolutely useful when you're working to improve your writing, but guys, your greatest asset isn't in sentence structure or paragraph length or even your ability to drive traffic to your blog--it's you.

You are unique. No one sees the world the way you do. No one can think or dream or write the same way you do. And that's what makes you special. That's what makes you you. 

You're not always going to have original content, and that's ok. Truth be told, everything under the sun has been done in one way or another. But your worldview, your personality infused into your writing is what makes it memorable. 

Only you can match the perfect cadence of your words. Only you can write the way you do and that is what will draw readers to you. The other stuff is important, yes, but this one thing you must remember.  

You are your greatest asset--never forget it.

Unleashing Your Voice

Photo credit: JKim1 on Flickr

When I announced I’d be writing this post a week ago, I immediately knew it was going to be one of the hardest posts of the four-post series to write. But of course, I didn’t have to worry about it for a week, so I didn’t really think about it.

Until, you know, I had to actually sit down and write the thing.

I suppose what makes this post so challenging is that I don’t really have any secrets to share with you except this one: there is no secret. There isn’t a formula or a magic exercise or a yoga pose that’ll suddenly unlock your voice so that you can release it onto the page.

The truth is guys, you already have a voice.

I don’t care if you’re 13 or 57, if you’ve never written a novel or if you’ve written more than 20—you have a voice and the moment you put a pencil to paper or your fingers to the keyboard you’ve released it. You’ve pushed the first domino, taken the first step towards what will eventually be a prose that is uniquely you.

And that’s what makes writing—any writing—special. I could ask all of you to write a short story with the same characters, same plot, same settings and themes and dialogue and in the end, every single one of you would come out with something different. Why?

Because you each have a voice.

It bothers me when I read or hear advice about trying to find your voice. There isn’t a form of laryngitis in writing—you can’t lose your voice, so there’s nothing to find. If you’ve written anything at all, you have a voice. Period.

That’s not to say you can’t develop your voice. Your first WIP will sound nothing like your sixth and your sixth WIP won’t look anything like your twenty-fourth simply because your voice develops as you mature as a writer. The more you write, the better your writing will be—and the more consistent and confident your words, your voice will become.

So how do you unleash your voice? The answer is one word. Can you guess it?

Write.

That’s it. Go out there and write and your voice will come naturally. Remember that every word you put on the page is unique because you put it there.

You already have a voice. Go use it.

To celebrate the end of this voice series, there will be an exciting announcement on Wednesday. Expect lots of confetti and pretty artsy things. J

Be Genuine

“Every author in some way portrays himself in his works, even if it be against his will.” –Goethe

Be yourself. Two words most of us have heard since kindergarten, repeated endlessly almost to the point of cliché.

But the funny thing about those two ever-repeated words is that out of all the writing tips I could think of, this one stuck out to me the most. And it’s not just a writing tip really, it’s a life tip.

Be genuine.

But what does that have to do with that super-awesome fantabulous quote at the top? you wonder. It’s simple, really.

As the quote says above, parts of yourself will evidently end up in your writing (or any other art form, really). It’s inevitable. For writing, it’s in the cadence of your words, the essence of your story, the life of your characters—it’s intertwined into the very fiber of your work.

So if you’re trying to “improve” yourself by pretending to be someone you’re not, it will also, inevitably, show in your writing. It’ll come out stilted, forced and unnatural. People will notice.

For some people being genuine comes naturally—as it should. For others, it’s intimidating. There’s the fear of rejection and the fear of being viewed as a fake (even though you’re truly trying to be just you), to name a few.

But friends, being open and being yourself is key. In your writing. In your workplace. In your life.

Don’t be afraid to be honest in your writing—someone will taste its truth and it will resonate.

Don’t be afraid to be real on your blog, your Twitter, your tumblr, whatever your social media savvy is—your personality is what will make it special.

Don’t be afraid to be you—you are special, you are unique and no one else can do you better.

And for fun…favorite quotes! GO!