Tips for an Aspiring Teen Writer

Hey everyone! I know it’s been a little while, but we’re back! April has been a busy one with adjusting to quarantine life. Today, I would like to talk about writing tips.

As you may or may not know, I have been writing for a while now, although I spent the majority of the time hiding the fact that I was writing. I come from very humble writing roots, starting my journey at twelve years old on fanfiction websites. Many people laugh and scoff like I’ve probably developed into some amatuer writer when I say that due to the fact that that’s where I started. But I just smirk and get the last laugh because the one thing those fanfiction websites did was establish a close knit writing community amongst Black teens in ways that will probably never exist anymore. It was a free writing club with free reviews, free feedback, free access to support, and just a great sense of community. (Yes, there was also a ton of drama, on the discussion sides). I grew as a writer on those websites and got exposed to major Black teen talent. I will never forget that’s where my writing career started.  

A question I often get asked now that I am open and public about my writing career, I often get asked: What advice would you give to someone who was your age when you started if they want a writing career? I have many, but I’ll talk about six points I find extremely important for a young middle school writer looking to grow into writing greatness!

1. Don’t be afraid of feedback

When you’re writing, especially if you’ve been writing for a while, you will feel the overwhelming need to share it at some point. This may not be the case for everyone, but when you start getting anonymous feedback on places like Wattpad or other websites (if you decide to post it there), you will get this urge to want to share it with the world. I’ll say this. LISTEN to that urge! Do not be afraid of feedback — it might hurt or it might feel weird, but that feedback is exactly what you need for growth. It’s the best thing that you could ever get. Take that leap of faith!

2. READ

In order to be a good writer, you have to read. You have to know the ins and outs of how words are used to convey meaning and express exactly what you want to express and how to express it. This includes verbiage, when to use someone’s name rather than a pronoun, dialogue tags, how to show vs. tell, building characters, and how to create a scene. Read some of your favorite authors and books. How do they convey meaning and feeling in their books? Dig deep into the reasons WHY you like an author and their work, and try to mirror that in your own writing.

3. Find your niche

What will make your writing unique? Who do you want to write for? Why? What’s missing in the book and literary world that would benefit from your stories? Think deep about these questions if you’re wanting to take a writing career seriously. This is how you develop your brand and sense of writing identity.

4. Use your daydreams

You will be surprised how much content your daydreams have for a juicy story. Even your dreams at night, if you can manage to remember them. There are so many scenes in Looking Beyond the Ordinary that I wrote simply because I sat in the dark and forced myself to daydream. I imagined how each place looked. I imagined non-verbal signals when characters talked to one another. Those daydreams come in real handy, and if you have a hard time remembering your thoughts, make sure you have your note app on deck!

5. Find authentic support

There’s nothing like finding a support group that’ll boost you up when someone gives you some hard feedback. If it’s your parent, a friend, or even a stranger online on Wattpad, find a support buddy to keep you motivated to continue writing.

6. Don’t rush the process and don’t give up!

It takes a really, really long time to get your writing where you envision it to be. It takes practice. It takes multiple projects. It takes a lot of reading. It takes maturity and growing. Your ideas may be great at this stage of your life, but maybe you haven’t learned all the writing mechanics to convey your ideas in the most effective way, yet. Take your time and let yourself grow. Keep writing and do not give up!

-Janee’ Thompson