10 Things I Wish I Knew As a Young Writer

3/27/2016

I've been telling stories pretty much my whole life. I wrote down my first stories at age six, and my first "Chapter book" at age nine. Since that little "Chapter" book I've not been able to stop writing and my books have been thankfully getting better (hopefully?) as I get older.

That said, here is a list of things I wish I knew as an ambitious young writer. If you are a young writer--take heart! And if you happen to know a young writer, feel free to share this with them. They're not alone! :)

It might take a while for your writing to be publishing-ready. That's alright--it's something to work towards.
You will probably look back years down the road and cringe at what you wrote now... But don't get discouraged, because right now is excellent time for lots of practice. You'll be glad for it later.
You will sometimes feel inadequate. However, that is no reason to quit--never, ever, ever give up.
Sometimes people will laugh at you, or say things which will be discouraging or hurtful. It doesn't matter. Let those times make you stronger.
It's good to have a plan and some clear goals. Stop writing in twelve books at once. You will not write as well if you are spread too thin. Get a notebook and write all your story ideas down as you get them and pick the ones you like best to work on. Most likely down the road, you won't even be excited at your "super amazing" idea. ;)
It's ok to say No sometimes. Just because you love writing doesn't mean you have to do any and all writing related projects for other people.
Use strong verbs and fewer adverbs.
Don't feel like something is wrong if you don't always write by the book, or like other good authors, or the way people expect. Writing style rules are great, but don't let it overshadow your storytelling voice.
Yes, you're a little crazy. And that's ok.
Keep at it. You will make mistakes, I can pretty much promise you. But don't let it get you down! Get back up and keep on going.

Well, those are the ten things I wish I knew when I was younger and starting to write! How about you all? What would you share with your younger self now, if you could? Leave a comment below telling me what that would be!

You all have a lovely day.
<3
Victoria

P.S. I'm on Goodreads now, so don't forget to check it out! (The button is on the side bar!) I'm posting reviews on books I've read, quizzes for Wind Chimes (and in the future, my other books), and answering any questions you all have! :)

4 Comments

Sarah link

3/30/2016 09:36:09 am

So true! :D I think I was addicted to writing when I was about 7 and made my own picture books, and then it just kind of grew from there! XD But I can totally testify that this is great advice! Btw, I've been following your blog for a bit now, I don't normally comment, though I try to! ;) I'm so glad you've discovered goodreads! I only just tried it out of curiosity recently and I'm so happy with it! :D

Victoria

3/30/2016 01:06:24 pm

Thanks for commenting, Sarah! 😊 I'm glad to hear that you can relate! I'd love to connect over Goodreads as well. Have a lovely day!

Lynda Gordon

3/31/2016 02:48:57 am

Good story again. Keep up the good work! Praying for you and family.

K.H.L.

4/12/2016 04:58:58 am

Thank you! I needed to hear that! :)

To my younger self I'd say (these two are only to my 10-or-thereabouts-year-old self) DON'T give up because of wallpaper! (which she did. :D Sounds rather dumb, eh? ;P) and DO tuck ideas away for your future self (which is what she did for ‘In His Hands’).

Also,

1) You will have ideas that you will not cringe at five years later, but will think, “That's really good!”

2) You will get better over the years (if you keep on).

3) It's OK to have a writing hero to look up to, but don't feel that you have to emulate her/him.

4) It's okay to copy ideas from others (as long as you admit it). It will make you better.

5) It's ok to read a lot. It actually helps.

6) Don't worry that three years later you won't like it. Savor the moment OF liking it.

7) Ask for advice, but don't feel that you MUST fix everything everybody says. It's YOUR story/book with YOUR own personal flavor.

8) Criticize the books/stories/etc you read. See what you'd change and why.

9) Don't let yourself feel depressed because of what you can't do/don't have. Just “do what you can with what you have.”

10) Study other writers’ styles and see what you like/dislike and why.

11) Your plans/projects/ideas will fluctuate more or less. That's Ok too. Only try and keep the papers instead of destroying them. Three weeks later you may want them again. (Bitter lesson not yet learned).

12) Five years later you will not grudge the time you spent painstakingly recopying entire books into your notebooks. (This would probably be to me alone ;D).
💕