A Message from Teen Writers—Our Stories

This has been one of the hardest and most rewarding things I've ever written.

Recently I asked twenty writers what they think the pros and cons of being a teen writer are. I started writing this blog post about a week prior to that, but felt stuck and wanted to get an outside perspective to see if my fellow writers had anything to add. I've taken their answers, along with my own, and put them together in this post to dive into the pros and cons of being a teen writer and share, the often overlooked, story of some amazing and creative teens.

A huge thank you to everyone who provided me with answers and inspiration for this post. These are all the instagrams of the lovely writers who helped make this possible. Go follow them and join our amazing community where we all share, support, and work together on our journeys: @mccaidpaul, @el_blackden_rains_author, @poetry.rae, @rebeccacarawaywriter, @zach_astro, @kyra_lanei_johnson, @author_victoria.penning, @lilyannawrites, @artandthesoul, @ggparisparadise, @paristhewriter, @clickity_keyboard, @oneintrovertednut, @mel_ingrid.writer, @evergreen.writing, @meltorrefranca, @the.knowers, @lucasjamesauthor, @mevansinked, and @abigaiilann .

I've been on my writing journey for almost two and a half years, and in that time, I've learned and grown more than I ever thought I would. At the beginning, I think we all have expectations, both for ourselves and about writing and this whole new world we are exposing ourselves to. We will quickly learn that our expectations were wrong and being a writer is a lot harder than we thought.

Con:

Being a teen is challenging—School, work, family, friends, activities and so on. Add writing in there and most would say we're crazy to take on so much, and we agree! We have no idea what we're thinking.

Pro:

For a lot of the teens I talked to, writing is more than just a hobby. They plan on publishing and possibly having a career in writing. I like the way Kyra put it best---"It's fun, it's freeing, it's therapeutic, it's a great was to explore ideas and creativity, and it's a form of self expression I haven't been able to find anything like."

I know this doesn't just apply to teen writers. It applies to every writer. Writing is a therapy, an escape. It's a wondrous journey to bring a story into the world, a story that was written by you and one that was formed in some part of your mind. You get to explore millions of ideas and have the creative freedom to write about whatever you want. Writing is an outlet for all of the crazy, weird thoughts that circle our heads. It's how we take those thoughts and share them.

Pro:

Mel wrote this, which I think is another great pro of being a write—

“Being a teen writer isn’t just about expression and discovery, it can also be about writing to make an impact with a lesser-heard voice. Our talents are as diverse as our community, which is important because more literature brings the possibility of more representation and different content. Another pro is that you’ve discovered something you have a passion for at an earlier age and putting in the work means you’re willing to fight for it."

Mel talks about a lot of great pros here, but the one that suck out to me was how we can write about lesser-heard concepts. We can write about not super relivent concepts and bring them into the public eye. If we’re struggling with something we can write about it to get our story out there and show others struggling that they’re not alone.

As teenagers we know how teens act. We know what they go through and may be able to connect with them more so than adults. We can talk to and inspire such a young generation of people to do great things by showing them that we're following our dreams of becoming authors and that they can accomplish their dreams and inspire others as well.

Con:

We might not have the same amount of experience in writing, business, or publishing as an adult or the connections or knowledge that older writers have access to. Publishers and literary agents, even editors, may look at us as children who are going through a hobby.

I'm not trying to say teen writers have it harder than adults because I've seen both sides. I understand both sides, and the last thing I'd want to do is play us against each other because writing is already hard enough.

The writing industry is a very confusing and intimidating place. Sometimes it feels like everyone else has it figured out and they're all publishing books while we're over here just waiting for a break.

Sometimes it seems like the world is against us for being young, but guess what...

we have what is perhaps the biggest advantage in the history of writing.

Pro:

"The biggest pro for me is not having to “grow up” to wait to do what I love." - Nina Martineck

WE ARE YOUNG!

As teenagers between the ages of 12-19 and even if you're in your twenties. You are still young!

Michael has some great pros about starting to write at such a young age—“We get to start much younger than everyone else which I think is huge. Other authors are more willing to mentor us. People become invested in our success because they don’t feel like they are directly competing with us due to the different stages of our careers we are at. Age is something that when people notice, can make readers more apt to become super fans. We also have time on our side. As Melissa said we can take big risks and not have the same ramifications that someone even five years older than us would have. We are doing something most of our peers aren’t. This makes us stand out for college applications for those of us going to college, but more importantly allows us to dive into an industry that is growing and changing at insane speeds."

Pro:

If you are a teen and there is just a part of you, an eager voice in your head and an overwhelming love in your heart for words.

If you're a teen and you feel that you are called by God to write, that writing is your passion and you want to write from now until the day you die, than you are already ahead of so many others.

You have the greatest advantage because you have found your passion and are beginning to start the road to your dream at age 16 instead of age 66.

You're learning so much now and your brain is taking it all in. The knowledge you're gaining is going to help you and only improve your work for the next five, ten, twenty some years!

Being a published teen author is great and if that's your goal than go for it, but if you're a teen who feels like you need to publish now just because everyone else is doing it, then take a step back. Ask yourself, "Do I want to publish now? Or would it benefit me more to continue growing and learning and writing?"

Don't think you are running out of time to be an author because if you're writing everyday, every-other-day, or even once a week, you're continuing to hone your skills and that's more important than publishing.

In a study of 246 authors, the average age an author published their first book was 36 years old! That's like twice your age! I'm not saying you shouldn't publish as a teen author, but I am saying you should publish when you feel ready and you should not rush into things. Don't think you need to publish a book now.

Con:

Writing can be a very lonely process and what's even worse is when you don't have anyone who understands you or supports you. It can be hard to find people with the same passion as you because writing isn't a very common passion among people our age. Most writers are introverts which only adds to the awkwardness of being a teen and trying to write a book. While you're writing and working on something you love to do, sometimes you can feel left out when you see all of your friends getting ice cream or at a football game. It's a battle because you love writing and you want to improve, but you also just want to be a kid.

Pro:

There are a lot of opprotunities to connect with young writers online. The writing community on instagram is unbelievable! There is so much support and love. All people from all walks of life are welcome and you will grow so much as a writer and also make new writer friends. We get to connect with real people and all of us understand each other and just how hard it is to write a book.

Con:

We've talked about our age and how starting to write when you're young is a big advantage, but there are some disadvantages that come with being young and writing. Next we're going to talk about other peoples opinions, especially the opinion people tell us saying that we're too young to be writers or authors. Let me tell you right now THIS IS A LIE!

Don't let your age and other people's opinions of you stop you from achieving your dream because what's going to happen is you're going to listen to those people and start believing those lies. You're going to tell yourself, "I'm too young, I'm too young. I'll start my writing career when I turn twenty."

Well, guess what? You turn twenty and you're in college and are trying to get a masters and have a part-time job and are just too stressed and busy to write a book. Then you graduate and have to find a job, you meet a guy or girl, get married, have kids, kids leave home, and before you know it, you're sixty years old with no book!

You're no longer saying, "I'm too young, I'm too young." Because you're now saying, "I'm too old, I'm too old."

It's a sad picture, but for so many it's true. How many people die without living their dream? Without reaching the full potential that God has planned for their lives?

I'm begging you right now, regardless of your age, don't let that be you!

God created you for more, you deserve happiness, but you have to get up and make the decision to go after your dream.

Start right now by opening up your computer and writing, plan an outline, watch some writing videos, make a character profile, create a blog or instagram where you can share your words just do something! If you don't start now, you never will. You will just keep pushing your dream to the back burner because from here out life is only going to get harder and busier.

You've sat still for too long, so get up. Don't be still any longer!

Where to Start Your Journey

Now, let's all take a step back and take a deep breath because I know you're probably overwhelmed and don't know what to do next. The answer is to write.

It's that simple. It doesn't matter what you write about. No one is going to read it right now, but just write! Continue to write because that's where you are going to grow and learn the most.

If you're still not convinced and you feel like no matter what you do no one's going to like your writing or your family doesn't approve of you, remember these two things—1. God's greater than every opinion on earth and 2. If it's his will, it will happen, but it starts with you taking that step and acting on that calling, acting on that passion.

It starts with you going against every opinion and negative comment and living the life God created for YOU! Not your mom or sister or friend, but you.

Be the underdog, but don't succeed to prove them wrong, succeed to prove yourself right.

Impact the world and shine a light on people everywhere. Give them hope, be the example saying, "I went after my dream and I succeed, therefore you can too."

Once you have that energy and that spark, give that joy back into this world. Give love back to people.

Never do anything for yourself alone, do it to impact the world, a generation, a country, a nation, a culture, or one single person. Do it to impact them because they could go on to impact thousands. Change a life with your writing and your life will be forever changed.

I know it sounds cheesy and you're probably either laughing at your computer or shaking your head, like, "No, this girl is crazy." But I encourage you to think about two thing—I want you to look at yourself and think about what you want to get out of writing, and I don't mean money or fame or even publishing a book. Those things rest on the surface. I want you to look below it. What do you really want to get out of if? Do you want joy, healing, acceptance, hope? The next thing I want you to think about is how do you want your writing to affect other people? What do you want your readers to take away from your words? It doesn't have to be some life-changing message it just has to be a story—a story that you wrote and one you're passionate enough about to share. Some people read for joy and others read for knowledge and a lot read for both. Regardless if you story teaches something or takes your readers on a magical journey, you don't have to figure everything out right now. I just want you to just ponder these questions and really dig deep inside yourself. Pray over these questions, meditate, and just listen. You probably won't get a clear answer at first, but as you write your message for the world and what you want out of writing will become clearer and clearer. You will learn along the way and you will find an answer to these questions. Perhaps you already have one.

I hope this blog post helped you in some way and made you think more about your writing. I had so much fun writing it and talking to different teens and learning their stories.

What are your pros and cons as a young writer, or as a writer in general? Comment them down below and join the conversation.

If you have any questions about any of the topics in this post, you can contact me at writer.alexandra.lee@gmail.com or use the "Let's chat" button on the home page of this site.

It's been a pleasure writing for you, and as always—stay weird and stay writing. - Lexi