Still repeating things everyone already knows. I think we've talked this thing to death. Don't underestimate kids, and kids and educators won't argue.
You make some good points about beginning a writing journey as a young person; and I would encourage any young person to pursue the development of the writing arts, if it's something that interests that writer. But know that the mixture of life and writing experience will make an unmistakable difference, and there is simply no substitute. No matter what level of success an author may meet, every diligent writer gets better with age (minus senility, of course) and with practice; and every dedicated writer expects to. Still, there are plenty of experienced adult writers whose work misses the mark because it seems shallow in comparison to authors with more palpable experience built into their writing that results in a richness that seems missing in others. That quality is often perfectly evident (to adult readers) in young writing, which still can show signs of talent (or an affinity for language) and evidence of hard work and practice. Besides that, don't think for a minute that the feedback you hear that blames your writing inadquecies upon youth is worse than or differerent from feedback you're likely to hear as a writer of 35, 40, or 60! So, don't take it personally and don't disregard it, if you want to become your own very best. That's my two ...
If you can get your hands on a good author's writing sample they wrote when they were teens, you are going to find more often than not, it wasn't that good.
I was trying my hardest to write out this main sentence of this thread and I failed terribly. What I am trying to say is simply, there is more then just adult writing. Teenagers can talk about serious topics, even serious adult topics. What I love doing with my writing is hearing more experienced people talk about their experiences and use that as a basis of my story. I can somehow relate an older experience with a younger audience. I think the minds of a teenager have a voice about this world too, a voice to express, and share. I think the reason most teenaged writers aren't accepted is simply because of the assumption people have. We're noisy. We haven't lived long enough. They just want to be rebellious. They have negative assumptions about teenagers and that usually spreads to writing. Personally, I think people need to stop looking at age so critically. And just simply think. A younger mind may provide insight on something I may have never thought of, or a younger mind's view on a serious topic. I think everyone of all ages has some sort of experience card to bring to the table. And that people need to understand those experiences.
i don't think those are the reasons at all... speaking as a writing mentor who's seen the writings of and worked with literally thousands of aspiring writers of all ages, i can tell you that most teens do NOT write WELL ENOUGH to have their work published... that has nothing to do with what they know, or what they have experienced... the bottom line here is that all but a very rare few young people don't have the writing skills to relate what they know/feel/experience to others, in a publishable way... period!...
I think teenagers are very capable of writing well. They have experience to draw from. Though, they may be living those experiences at the time, rather than looking back on them like an adult might.
If, by "accepted," you mean published, I think you're dead wrong here. A publisher would be out of his mind to reject an unusually young author who was able to write publishable work (think of the publicity!). The truth is that publishability is rare among ALL writers of any age, but even more so among beginners (and there are likely more "beginners" among young writers than writers who've been around longer, wouldn't you think?). Besides, no one asks your age when you submit a manuscript to a publisher or literary magazine, UNLESS it's a contest or competition, frequently designed exclusively for (guess who)--young writers (rarely are there similar opportunities for us old folks!). So I'd say those terrific young writers who can't get noticed are just not savvy enough to look for the right opportunities (experience and maturity help on that score, too).
I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this already but...Anne Frank? True, she wasn't writing a novel, but her dairy has given so many people insight into what life was like for Jews hiding during WWII. She has touched so many people and she wrote beautifully for her age.
I think the problem is that when you write a book with the "teen experience" or teen POV, it can be limiting. When an adult writes a book, it's a book. A teen's book, though, gets the attention (for good or for bad) as being written by a teen.
...not all teens... while all teens are certainly capable of writing, only those with the talent for writing, who've developed the requisite skills it takes to write better than most, are capable of writing well... ...for writers of any age, having experience does not a good writer make... it takes ability, as well, to present those experiences to complete strangers, in a way that can make them want to pay for the privilege of reading about them...
I swear this exact convo is going on twice :S Anyway, as a teen writer, I don't think its a question of young people not having the experience/understanding to be able to write well, because there are plenty of examples of great books written by teenagers (The Outsiders, Less Than Zero, Diary of Ann Frank (I think it counts))...but these people are exceptionally gifted writers with incredibly well-developed style and technical expertise. Most of us simply aren't at that point. Look at the review room: virtually every piece, to hugely varying extents, is filled with technical glitches, and beyond that, I don't think many of the young people there have a real grasp on what and how they want to write (myself definitely included). Style is something that takes years to develop, and is really what makes an author publishable - that unique voice, that sublime prose, things that as teenagers, only an extremely select few are capable of delivering. And that's not bagging on teenagers, its a simple fact. We're just not that good as writers yet.
^I agree this does seem to be sort of going around in circles... So perhaps I'll just try to boil it down into one sentence: Many adolescents aren't good at writing, but that doesn't mean the ones that are good should suffer for that.
It also really is a case of how often they work on their skills, and when they start. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I know that if I had started sooner, I would have been as good as Hinton when I was sixteen, but I didn't start really working on those skills until I was fifteen. You'll see a lot of the same weaknesses in someone older who has just started as a teenager. As I said before, when I had my work reviewed by published authors, they could tell that I had a lot to learn still, but could not tell how young I was. That is why it's more complicated than age alone.
In my opinion teenagers can write just as well as adults, I don't think there is or should be any limitation when it comes to writing.
i have a friend who's 15, has an agent, and is very close to publishing her first novel. don't say teenager's can't write. oh lord i bet she's on here lol
good for her!... i just hope that's a legit agent and not a scammer, taking advantage of her youth and inexperience...
I am 25 and I read teen fiction, as in literature written by people mostly in their thirties about teens directed at a teen audience. Melissa De La Cruz is my FAVORITE author.....seriously http://www.melissa-delacruz.com/ she writes so vividly it jumps off the page and I love her stories I'm reading Twelve, which cracked the bestsellers when the author was 17.
Yes. The experiences of the life of a teenager is an experience. And yes teenagers are likely the target audience of said experience. Yes and no. Yes a teenagers experience of life is just as relevant as the experiences an elderly person has gone through in their life. Yes, there is a target audience for both. Yes and no to the fact that we tend to write what reflects on our age. I'm almost 30. Man I feel old just saying that. But, I tend to write things for an older audience, as I have always done. I didn't have much of the typical teenage experience, since I didn't go to high school (was home schooled and stopped schooling at the age of 16 and started working) though I did have teenage experiences working at a fast food restaurant -- and went to a boyfriends graduation (though he didn't go to the prom--jerk.) I dealt with the drama of teenagers and getting pregnant at 18. Wrestled with the idea of abortion at that age and adoption and with becoming a parent before having had the experiences in life that I wanted to have. Like most teenagers I was caught up in the self-absorbed drama and good writing would really not have been possible for me at that point in my life. Many teenagers are the same way, too self involved to extend themselves beyond their own mental angst to write anything that anyone else would want to read, including other teens. Are there some who aren't so self involved to be able to write beyond themselves? Yes. Are they all writers? Probably not. This is why many teenage genre books are written by adults or at least by young adults. They have come out of the self-absorbed immature stage and are able to write characters with depth. Many teenagers have a problem with writing characters that aren't just whining, angsty, self-absorbed, annoying people. I remember watching My So Called Life when I was a young teenager 13-15. After I moved past that part of my life I found the show overall annoying. Take Twilight for example (cause it is the most recent popular one I can think of) : Bella is annoying throughout the first three and a half books. She is so wrapped up in worrying about the other's safety that she can't realize how indestructible they really are. Even in the last half of the last book she is still a worry wart, but it's not quite as bad after she becomes a vampire. There are times during reading those books that I wanted to just slap the crap out of Bella, because she is so annoying. But that is what happens when a writer writes an immature character. They annoy the daylights out of the more mature readers, but the more immature reader is going to sympathize with the character. I think it all depends on the audience that the writer is trying to reach. If I were going to write a younger child's books, like one my 8 year old would enjoy, I am pretty sure I could do it. I also know that I would write it not just so the 8 year old would enjoy it, but also so that the parent wouldn't mind reading it to their child. Because I know there are a bunch of books that I have read to my son that made me want to gag. We just about finished with Little House on the Prairie. While this book is revered as a masterpiece, I find it annoying and difficult to read simply because of the style of writing. It's taken us almost six months to finish the three book series, reading every night, and it always bores my son to sleep after three or four pages. However, other books, like Captain Underpants and some others, have held his attention and we could easily fly through the book in a matter of a week of nightly reading. While I am not a major fan of the kids books, I do like ones like Stuart Little, Mouse and The Motorcycle, and others like that. But re-reading these older books, books I grew up on, I find I see them differently now. I see parts that I don't like, or how, like The Cat Who Came For Christmas, had an underlying story. The Cat book was totally an animal rights book, talking about stopping the clubbing of seals in the north atlantic. I know I am super picky now with books. Mostly because I read them and I look at how I would make it better. How I could write a better story. But I know as a teenager I couldn't have written a better story. I simply would not have been capable of doing it at my immature stage. So, to answer your questions, yes the teenagers experience is a valid place to find stories. Are teenagers in general able to put that experience in fictional story form that other teenagers would want to read? Yes they could if they can write adequately enough, though it doesn't even have to be good writing, as the audience isn't really mature enough to know better. If it was a teenager writing for an adult audience, I doubt it would be received with open arms, as the teenage experience is just too immature for an adult audience.
Most of the time teen writers can not write as good as adults. I say this because most teen writers turn into adult writers fairly quickly and they only getter better at the craft with time and practice. That being said, a lot of adult writers suck. (Twilight lady...) I think it more boils down to skill than anything. If you can write an engaging tale it isn't going to matter how old you are. I'm nineteen by the way, so I understand the almost prejudice against writers of our age bracket.
Please keep tempers in check, or the thread will have to be closed. Folks, if you look for offense, you'll fine it even if none is intended. The issue at hand is whether the immediacy and currency of the teenage experience can make up for a (possibly) lesser overall life experience, and under what circumstances. Don't assume illiteracy of stupidity is implied.
