It's IWSG Wednesday! This, being my very first IWSG post, is the most unorganized, sprawled out thing I've ever written. Bear with me... here goes nothing!
Yesterday, taking a break from my current WIP, I read a blog post about teen authors. Do you have any idea what the main point was? It was:
Right now, your writing sucks.
And those five blunt words nearly sent me to tears. I was, understandably, like what the heck, dude, way to crush my dreams.
I got thinking... he's probably right!! I look back at my writing even from last year, and it's totally horrid. I could easily look back on 2014's writing next year and say, "What. On. Earth. Was. I. Thinking??" And repeat for the next four years.
I started internally freaking out the tiniest bit, thinking that I'd never become an author before the age of twenty. Published teenage authors are brilliant freaks of nature! It was one of those times where you just start to doubt every ounce of talent you think you might have had.
And then this morning.... I decided I didn't care. That's right. I mean, it would be lovely if I was an amazing, out-of-this-world writer right now, but it would kind of suck to plateau in my freshman year, wouldn't it? There are years to improve: to build skill, experience, and confidence in my voice. It's all part of this writing journey.
Whether I ever become a published author or not, I never want to quit writing. I think for right now, I'll sit back, write without the pressure of publication weighing down on my back, and dream of the day when I can change the blog title from "A Teen With A Dream" to "A Teen Living The Dream."
-jeanamarie xoxo
Never ever give up on your dream to write or any other dream for that matter. Reading other people who are writers have the same feelings like you and are often troubled and also have doubts but they key is to keep going. A lovely lady named Stephanie Faris http://stephie5741.blogspot.ca/-writes books based on teens and has talked about similar feras. I am not a writer but joined the group anyway and am having fun. Always have fun and besides, what I read here I think is written well.
ReplyDeleteNo one can say someone is too young to write. Skill isn't dependent on age. There are brilliant novels written by teenagers, and horrid novels written by senior citizens. In fact, I think the earlier you start writing, the better you'll become in the long run. So writing as a teenager is excellent.
ReplyDeleteNow, is your work right now the best it will ever be? No, but it never will be. We always have room to improve. If you're doing it right, you'll always get better. I'm forty, been writing since I was fifteen, and look back on books I wrote five years ago and see room for improvement.
"Right now, your writing sucks" should be appended with "but it's better than it has ever been."
I love that thought: "Better than it has ever been." :D Truth!!
Delete"Right now, your writing sucks" could be applied to any starting writer, no matter what age they are. Why would you be brilliant at something when you're just getting started? You're on the right track by knowing what you want to do, and you're not going to let anyone stop you. I wish I had been that dedicated at that age!
ReplyDeleteAs Nigel said, there'll never be a point where you've got everything figured out - there's always something new to learn. That's why writing never gets boring. Welcome to the IWSG!
We all started off from the same place. We get better the more we practice. Anyone that looks back at their work will wonder what they we're thinking. I do that all the time.
ReplyDeleteAnna from Shout with Emaginette
You will improve with age if you keep writing. Doesn't mean you couldn't be really good now though. It's not the age as much as the practice. Some of us just took a lot longer to put in our time.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the IWSG!
Thanks! It's a pretty awesome community:)
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ReplyDeleteOh, Jeana, can I relate. No, I'm no longer a teenager, haven't been for longer than your parents have been alive. But--I met a 13-year-old who can write circles around me! And I'm published! How humiliating! I've been writing for longer than her parents have been alive. And she's already where I want to be, after 27 years of struggling and learning and finding rejection letters in my mail box. Yes, I started before publisher would accept queries via the net.
ReplyDeleteYou're so right. We can't worry about anyone but ourselves. In reality it's rather simple: read, learn, write, learn, edit, write, read, and write some more. Happy IWSG! I'm #78 on the list.
Don't ever let anyone discourage you from writing if you love it. Anyone who would say "Right now your writing sucks" to someone is not the kind of person you want to pay any attention to. We all have to hear harsh things about our writing from time to time, but there's a difference between constructive criticism and just being negative. You are very talented and your talent will only grow with time. :)
ReplyDeleteHi there, I'm blog-hopping for IWSG day! Yay. Good on you. Definitely keep writing, girl. We all started out somewhere. It's in the doing of the work and never giving up that will hone your craft. Hold onto your dream with both hands and don't let go!!!
ReplyDeleteI started writing as a teen myself. I finished my first book by the age of 16 (never succeeded at getting it published) I admit when I look at what I wrote back then I find it a tad bit embarrassing now. But this is also true of what I wrote six months ago. We all keep learning and growing, and if you ever look back on something you wrote in the past and it's just as good or better than what you're writing now, then something's wrong.
ReplyDelete-James.
Holy shishkabob! Don't you ever listen to those nay sayers, girl! EVER!!!!! I have a 17 & 14 yo kiddles and they are both writers. Your writing does not suck and it never will. You are entitled to expression because art is a very personal matter! (Let me at 'em, let me at 'em!) Grrrr....
ReplyDeleteI started writing when I was eleven. Yes, cheesy poems. When I was 12, they were cheesy short stories. Then my first real novel was when I was 16 which took me 8 years to finish and then, I never stopped writing books. From 16, it took me 21 years to get published and gain the confidence that what I write is great! (My opinion, but remember, everyone is entitled to it and you must reach your target audience--if your readers don't like it, they are NOT your target audience) and they can just take a flying hike to Jupiter!
Okay, I'm done. ((Hugs)) Never give up, never surrender!
btw, I didn't ever plan on getting published. I didn't even consider it until three years ago when I sat up and said, Oh! Let me see if I can get this baby out there. haha!
xD
Your comment made my day XD Thanks for the encouragement!!!
DeleteYay! I'm happy it has. <3
Delete♥.•*¨Elizabeth¨*•.♥
Hi Jeana,
ReplyDeleteI'm a teen writer, too, and I was wondering if you'd like to participate in a blog hop.
Basically, I feature you on my blog, along with 2 other bloggers, the week of June 30th.
The the next week, you'd feature me and 2 other bloggers of your choice on your blog.
The theme of the blog hop is your writing process; basically you write about your writing process on your blog, and then introduce the people who you've chosen, and then link to their blogs somewhere in your post. Does this make any sense?
If you're interested, you'd have to send me an email with a short bio (up to 5 sentences), and optionally a profile picture.
You can contact me at booksandbark[at]gmail[dot]com if you're interested.
I blog over at Books and Bark (http://booksandbark.wordpress.com) if you'd like to know more about me or my contact information.
And don't worry about age! You can definitely write! People who just assume teenage writers can't write obviously haven't read any of your work!
- Sabrina
Thank you very much!
ReplyDelete