I'm a member of the KidLit Authors Club, a group of published children's writers from NY, NJ, PA, MD and VA who do regional signings, panels, presentations and workshops relating to books for grades K-12. For this week's Teen Tuesday, some of my fellow KidLit Authors have contributed their advice to teen writers.
Alison Ashley Formento Advice from Alison Ashley Formento, author of Twigs
"A book takes time. Writing a good book takes a lot of time. Time. Take your time. We live in a world of texts, tweets, snap chats, novel-in-a-month, and instant everything. You may be able to pound out a first draft of a book in a month, but let the story breathe for a few weeks or a month and return to it with the slow caution of a rigid building inspector. Every word and sentence must be built on a solid foundation or your story won't hold up. "
"A book takes time. Writing a good book takes a lot of time. Time. Take your time. We live in a world of texts, tweets, snap chats, novel-in-a-month, and instant everything. You may be able to pound out a first draft of a book in a month, but let the story breathe for a few weeks or a month and return to it with the slow caution of a rigid building inspector. Every word and sentence must be built on a solid foundation or your story won't hold up. "
Alissa Grosso Advice from Alissa Grosso, author of Shallow Pond
"First drafts can and should be ugly. Anyone who tells you they write beautiful, flawless first drafts is either a liar or completely useless at assessing the quality of their own work."
"First drafts can and should be ugly. Anyone who tells you they write beautiful, flawless first drafts is either a liar or completely useless at assessing the quality of their own work."
Margaret Gurevich Advice from Margaret Gurevich, author of Chloe By Design: Making the Cut
"Don't be afraid to step out of your writing comfort zone. By pushing yourself to write in a different voice, genre, tense, or point-of-view, you're exercising new writing muscles. Even if you don't like the end result, there's a good chance you'll be surprised at your writing range and proud that you gave something challenging a shot."
"Don't be afraid to step out of your writing comfort zone. By pushing yourself to write in a different voice, genre, tense, or point-of-view, you're exercising new writing muscles. Even if you don't like the end result, there's a good chance you'll be surprised at your writing range and proud that you gave something challenging a shot."
Jennifer R. Hubbard Advice from Jennifer R. Hubbard, author of Try Not to Breathe
"Read a lot. Reread, because you'll see more in a book each time. Write what you love to write, what you're interested in, what matters to you. Rewrite, because you'll see more in your own writing each time."
"Read a lot. Reread, because you'll see more in a book each time. Write what you love to write, what you're interested in, what matters to you. Rewrite, because you'll see more in your own writing each time."
Darlene Beck Jacobson Advice from Darlene Beck Jacobson, author of Wheels of Change
"Don't worry about what others think. Write to please yourself. Don't take criticism personally. If you want to improve as a writer, you need to listen and learn from the comments that make sense and will make your story better. Set small goals that are achievable. One page a day is a book by the end of a year. 2-3 short poems a week will give you something to edit and work on each day. If you write something every day--no matter how small--you'll feel a sense of accomplishment."
"Don't worry about what others think. Write to please yourself. Don't take criticism personally. If you want to improve as a writer, you need to listen and learn from the comments that make sense and will make your story better. Set small goals that are achievable. One page a day is a book by the end of a year. 2-3 short poems a week will give you something to edit and work on each day. If you write something every day--no matter how small--you'll feel a sense of accomplishment."
Thanks for the advice! Readers, what's the best advice you've received, writing or otherwise?
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