How To Become a Writer When You Are Under 18
7 Things You Need to Become a Writer
Now, I may not be an expert on writing (or tying my shoes), but I’ve suffered through enough of it as a teenage author and heard enough about it from people who ARE experts to notice a certain pattern.
This pattern is seen in different forms from different professionals — a link in all of their advice. Combine that with a bit of experience and you have one untouchable, fool-proof, rock-solid statement:
AGE DOES NOT MATTER WHEN IT COMES TO WRITING.
There isn’t an age limit for you to become a writer. There no sign somewhere in the galaxy that says “Sorry, only persons 18 of age and up are allowed to publish a novel”. There’s no old geezer in the Earth’s lifetime that’s said, “Hey, y’know, if you’re young you probably shouldn’t be writing ’cause you’ll suck compared to all the grown-ups out there”.
I’ve seen plenty of 14-year-old’s like myself, and 16-year-old’s, and 10-year-old’s that have successfully written and published their own novels. Heck, I read a book from the library that said (clearly, on the front cover) it had been written by an amazing 8-year-old girl determined to fulfill her dream!
And you can, too!
Not become 8 years old again (if you’re not), I mean you can be a writer, too!
So, you wanna be a writer?
Then I hope this list helps you stop thinking you’re not good enough and BE one.
This list applies to everyone, of every age. If you can get your hands on these 7 things, you’ve got a 113% chance of becoming a writer at any second. Don’t worry too much if you don’t have all of these things, because that’s what I’m here for. I’m gonna help you get these things and fulfill your dreams of becoming a super cool published author.
1. A LAPTOP
Writing your novel on paper is cute and all, and perfectly fine when you’re just starting out, but you’re gonna need something way more hardcore for your second draft.
Editors and beta readers are going to see that draft, and they won’t take you seriously if they have to interpret any handwriting or travel half-way across the world just to read it (as the best professional editors are found and hired online). Besides that, just about everything is easy and convenient when your manuscript is digital. You can share or copy your entire novel with the click of a few buttons, and connect to all sorts of author-aiding websites and softwares.
So even if you have to use your Dad’s laptop (like I did), writing on Microsoft Word or OpenOffice, get yourself a laptop.
2. YOU KNOWS HOW TO WRITE GOOD
Of course, already being a decent writer when you start your novel helps a lot. You’ve gotta know the difference between ‘your’ and ‘you’re’, and know how to properly use quotation marks and all that stuff. Knowing that editors and other professionals reading your book like to see double spacing (which is this) is also important. There’s not that much pressure in this area at all when you first start out, so don’t worry about it too much. When I read over my very first manuscript from several years ago, I thought it was terrible, but I also noticed how far I had come. The best way you can learn and improve is simply to keep writing. And even if you do make a few mistakes, that’s where the editors come in. So just pay a bit more attention in English class and you’ll be great.
3. WILLPOWER
This is one of the most important elements to becoming and being a writer: sheer willpower.
To be honest, writing a book is a serious pain and some days you’re going to want to die. You’ll hit writer’s block or suddenly just not feel like writing, or you’ll look back on what you’ve written and think, this stuff sucks.
But it happens to every other writer, maybe every day, just like it happens to you. I get writer’s block a lot, I can tell you that. Professionals like Stephen King and J.R.R. Tolkein get writer’s block too, so you’re not alone.
The thing that separates aspiring authors (beginners) with the pros is willpower. Real writers have to be determined, self-disciplined and downright stubborn in order to survive the process of slapping a book together. They write every day, even when they don’t feel like it, and force themselves to keep writing even when they think their writing is terrible.
If you can’t do that, then you won’t be able to write your book to the end.
4. A DEADLINE
Another thing you’re going to need is a deadline. A time you’ve set to have finished your novel can work wonders on productivity. It’ll have you sweating bullets every day, but it’ll also better motivate you because you don’t want to let yourself down. Even setting deadlines for each chapter to be completed will see amazing results. If you have trouble setting and completing deadlines by yourself, don’t worry! There’s a great website for young writers called NaNoWriMo YWP where you can finish your entire novel (or at least 30,000 words of it) in ONE MONTH! It starts November every year, but if you’re brave enough to take the challenge I suggest you sign up one or two months ahead of time so you can prepare. NaNoWriMo helped me so much in my writing, but be warned, it’s going to be one heck of a journey.
Here’s the link if you’re interested:
https://ywp.nanowrimo.org/pages/for-writers
5. YOUR STORY HAS DIRECTION
We all probably already know this, but you can’t write a book about some guy who goes to the store, finds what he wants, the end. The story has to be going somewhere. It’s not like your novel has to be action, because there are many different genres, but whatever the genre may be, make sure to make the plot interesting. The plot will need conflict, consisting of four basic steps:
1-Introduce the main character(s) and normal life
2-Present a problem
3-The problem gets worse and worse
4-The problem is resolved, the character(s) ‘normal’ changes
These are the four steps to a plot structure in their simplest form. You’ll find this pattern in every single novel out there.
I’ll go through these four steps in greater detail soon, so stay tuned!
6. (GOOD) FRIENDS
This may not be one of the more vital steps to becoming a writer, but when you need an opinion on your novel, friends and family are the first place you should go. But you need good, honest friends, who won’t just tell you what you want to hear. At the very least, you need someone who likes to read and knows you well enough to gladly review your novel for free. This is important because these test-readers (more commonly known as ‘beta’ readers) will reflect how those later buying your novel will react to it. According to the experts, you should have 3 different people available who you think would be honest beta readers. If you don’t at the time, don’t worry because that’s part of why I’ve created this website. You can check out the Teenage Writers’ Club and share part of your story (or a copy of your entire manuscript in file form) for me and other members to happily beta read. I love reading stories as much as I love writing them, and I may be no professional, but I’ll try my best to give you an opinion that helps.
You can also check out this website (http://teenwrite.webs.com/) to share your writing with other young writers just like you.
7. MONEY
There’s lots of free help you can get for your novel’s first draft, but when you get to your second/final draft, things get serious. You’ll absolutely, positively need a professional editor, which often cost anywhere from $300-$3,000, and then your book will need formatting, your cover will need designing and creating, and then finally, when you reach the end, you’ll need to pay the largest amount of money to get copies and copies or your novel published. When the process is put that way, believe me, it seems simpler than it really is. But that’s not the point. The point is, you need money, and lots of it. For a teenager, this can be overwhelming! Most of us, including myself, aren’t even old enough to work yet, so where is the money gonna come from? Because this issue can be so daunting for a young writer, I’ve dedicated an entire article to different ways you can earn money for writing as a teenager. It’s coming soon, so keep your eyes peeled. But in the meantime, don’t stress over it. Right now all you need to worry about is writing your novel’s first draft.
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This post was taken from the blog of my website, The Teenage Writer (https://kawiriacreed.wixsite.com/theteenagewriter/single-post/2017/10/31/7-Things-You-Need-to-Become-a-Writer).
We also have a forum chat room, contests and prompts, and access to free documents, downloads, and other blog posts shared with the intention of helping you write your novel. Check it out for more help if you’re a writer under 18 years old!
*Please keep in mind, however, that as of November, the website has just been launched, and may not be fully set up.
