Well all the best to you then. Hope you really do become the exception. Like I said, to be published at such a young age is a tremendous achievement. Any writer will tell you, you can't decide to pick up a pen one day, decide you'd like to try your hand at writing and then produce a publishable novel over the next few months. Writing is a skill that comes with time and effort. The more time you dedicate the better you'll become. I don't think age is such a huge factor. It's more experience. If you started writing at the age of ten, and made a focused attempt at honing your skills, practised every day, then perhaps you could produce a novel at fifteen, one that could stand toe to toe with the best of them. I will say this however. As far as published works go, I can't understand how anybody could say books produced by teenage writers are generally inferior. Each book should be judged on its own merit and the fact that a publisher was willing to invest in the book means it had some quality. Age is a nonentity in the world of traditionally published books.
For me, it doesn't really actually matter with how old you are and all of that junk. I might not be right since I, myself, am a fourteen year-old high school student. But since I started writing stories ever since I was young, looking at my writings right now, it's improved. I had a couple of my friends actually publish their books in series, even though they're on sixteen (that's practically crazy, in my opinion). They told me that it's not based on how old teenagers write and publish their stories and that adults write a hell lot better than teenagers with stories and ideas, but how well the author/writer writes their story. Hell if a six year-old boy wrote a fantasy story better than James Patterson, that might be possible.
My views on this subject are that there's absolutely nothing wrong with youngsters trying to write (it's one big learning curve, after all) but it's more like one in a billion (trillion?) who could write something substantial that would appeal to normal adults whilst still in their teens themselves, I would imagine. Of course, youngsters writing for a target audience of kids their own age (or younger) are more likely to be successful, too, than were they to write targeting adult readers. Writing's a skill and it's an art form. And then, you always have to work at it. So youngsters should continue writing merrily away. Maybe keeping their material private and re-working it as they get older and more talented? Not everyone's reasons for writing are the same. Some are ambitious and dream of being published whilst others just write for the hell of it. Also, it's equally relevant that not all adults can write, of course. It's something that improves in tandem with life experience and practice, practice and more practice. Then again, there are precocious child prodigies in all fields and, if you've got it, or at least believe you've got it, why not flaunt it? Furthermore, the argument that published youngsters are probably brats is a little flimsy in my humble opinion. Any child enjoying above average success at anything is probably reaping the benefits of supportive (pushy?) parents and a financially conducive upbringing. So what? Judge them on their end product and how you rate it. Of course, they can just as easily judge their success themselves by whatever criteria they choose, be it age at which they were first published or the size of their growing bank balance. But I don't wish to get all nihilistic here! And it's hardly anything to be jealous of, really. We're all different and one person's success could be another person's "mediocrity". It's all relative in my eyes.
The quality of one's work, as well as life, is generally in direct proportion to their body of life experiences. I've seen 16 year olds with maturity far beyond their years that make people twice their age look like juveniles. (Of course some really are!) For the most part, however, you can look back on your life and think, Boy! When I was 8 (or 12 or 16 or whatever) I really thought I was smart (or experienced or ... fill in the blank). But, with each milestone in your life, you look back and see how little you really knew about your own world. That's why so many writers say they wrote their first story at XX years old and thought it was great but now they look back and realize how poor the writing was! (No. You are not alone on that count.) I had the good sense to lose all of my earliest efforts. No blackmail material there! Fact of the matter is, most of us are not really sufficiently well equipped to write high quality work when we are young. Again, a select few may be so it is not my place to say that, just because a person is young that is sufficient reason to discount their work. I'd have to read it first. And I will admit I had a helluva tough time reading Eragon and firmly believe there are far better writers in the same age group out there who did not get published because their parents were not in the business. Maybe that's unfair. Now, as far as the first published novel resentment "thing". Every virgin has to have a first experience. Sometimes one's first effort strikes gold and they find an agent and a publisher. And maybe there are others out there whose work is better and they may struggle for a year or two or more before finding representation. It's in the luck of the draw.
Everyone starts somewhere. People change through time and so do their writings. To look down on someone because they are not up to your standards is both narrow-minded and strike against your own creativity.
mary shelley cough cough no, not all young writers are bad. i think they have as much a chance at being good as do older writers
As much of a chance? Maybe, but I do believe there is the matter of life experience. Yes, some younger people have accumulated more life experience than some much older ones, but they are the exception. Still. this only means there is more of a challenge to the younger writer. Keen observation can sometimes substitute, although life experience also serves as the lens through which observations are interpreted.
I don't think age matters either, but I know that my writing when I was 12 is a lot worse than my writing now. Everyone improves over time.
Yes I agree with Cogito. Our observations fuel our imagination. So naturally, the more experiences we have, the broader our creative range. And age is experience. A fourteen year old could write a story from the POV of a fourteen year old, but writing from the perspective of someone older could prove very challenging.
I'm fifteen years old and usually my teachers are amazed on how well I write a story. Plus they only read the stories I wrote quickly on the spot (My teacher use to treat us all as first graders and gave us pictures to write stories on, how lame and boring). If I took my time I could have a good novel. But I don't have any connections at all...plus any money I have to spend is out of my own pocket (I also have to save up for university too). So the chances of me getting puplished before I turn 25 is zilch (if I become a vet I might not have any time for write, especialy if i work in the city, so make 60 if you will) I would love to get something puplished, but that will come in time. ~ I do know a girl who puplished a book when she was 14 (moved away soon after), her book was called the Pirate Princess(if I remember correctly she didn't like this name) and it was really good. I couldn't stop reading it. Everyone in the school bought one of her books to support her (she had to pay back her perants). ~ I don't like books written by people in there 20s or 30s that much (well the authors I don't like are in there late twenties and 30s but so is my favriote author, but whatever) The Twilight books were horrible and Funke(she might be in her 40s, i don't know) did okay with her first two Inkheart books but I couldn't finish the last one because it didn't flow to me.
I do know she doesn't write for english readers but that last book was deadfully childish to me. Like the story was made for teenagers I swear that six year olds would like it better. But who really cares about my opinion anyways Back to the topic Young writers are not all that bad. I forget where I heard this story (it might have been in WF for all I know with this messed up memory of mine) Its with this great painter and artist who is approached by this old man. The old man shows the famous artist some pictures he drew recently and asked if they were any good. The artist shakes his head and says these drawings have no talent at all and that the old man shouldn't try to sell any of his art. So then the old man comes up with these other drawings and shows them to the artist. The artist examines them and says, "these pictures show great promise, who drew these? A student? Your son?I'll gladly take him to be my student in the arts!" The old man laughs and shakes his head, "I drew those when I was young, If someone told me this 40 years ago I wouldn't of given up so quickly." The point of the story is that you shouldn't discourage young writers, even if they are brat who just asked there parent to get it puplished. I think the title is a bit discouraging to me, Who wants to be called a horrible writer? Isn't this a place where we build up one another? I'll tell you when I puplish a book and for some reason I bet you'll be amazed and discusted at the same time
A Rant To anyone who has ever believed or said that teen writers are horrible, I'd give a good beating to you if I had the chance . That's as stereotypical and biased as... well, things that would get this post flagged. Talent is talent, and age is a number. Talent isn't dependent on anything other than experience and/or determination, and I can name countless examples of a younger generation that has those qualities over an older one. As a teen writer, I do tend to lean towards fantasy, but not because it's an easy genre (which, by the way, is complete nonsense. One would need to create an entirely new system for the world, along with new names and locations), but because it's not as restricted as other genres. And that's not to say I write exclusively to fantasy- otherwise I would get bored of writing. Teen writers may not seem to be as good as older generations, but that's hardly because of age. It's basically the fact that they're never taken seriously and never get the chance. We're not bad, we're just never given the opportunity to show our skills.
