In March, the editors of Eucalyptus Literary Journal interviewed me for their established writer feature. They asked if I had any advice for young writers, a question I get often and one I take seriously. I wanted to share something more relevant than “get yourself in a chair and just write,” or “write a thousand words a day, every day.”
Since then, I’ve had a few more thoughts on the subject. To begin, I want to distinguish between a young writer and a writer who is just starting out. People can start writing at any age, but youth is a special case. Both have advantages and disadvantages—young writers have more time in which to establish themselves, while beginning older writers have years of life experience to write about.
Another thing young writers face, which might not be such an issue for older writers, is a higher level of self-consciousness about their writing. They often feel intimidated by the canon of literature that came before them (Harold Bloom calls this “the anxiety of influence.”) They frequently have trouble showing their work to others for fear of what those others—parents, friends, and teachers—might think of them (oh, how I cringed when I had to show a poem I wrote to my high school English teacher). I wonder how many potential poets, novelists and journalists are stifled before they even get started due to a lack of self-confidence.
A piece of advice that young writers hear often, and one I wholeheartedly agree with, is “read.” It pains me when I meet a writer for the first time and she tells me that she doesn’t read much. Excuse me??
As I said in the interview with Eucalyptus, “All writers need to read a lot, but especially young writers because it’s another way to fill your reservoir. And it’s also part of the apprenticeship of being a writer. You have to read a lot, read widely, read out of your chosen genre, and if you read another language, read the great classics in the other language. Read books, read magazines, read blogs, plays, read all of it, go to movies and try to figure out what the screenplay said. Use your writer skills to dissect the world around you: the more you do it, the better you become.”
I would add that reading should be a pleasure as well as an obligation, a chance to learn, a way to support other writers, and an activity as important as brushing your teeth and eating a well-balanced diet. In other words, it’s something that must be done as part of your daily routine.
For young writers, I suggest that they read at least one challenging book a year and force themselves to finish it, even if it’s confusing or difficult or just plain boring. I ask them to revisit that same book ten years in the future. I’ve done this with books such as Carl Jung’s Man and His Symbols and Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse. Each time I reread them, more of the books’ meanings appear to me as if by magic. My increasing level of insight reflects the experience, as well as any wisdom, I’ve gained since the last time I read the book.
I also advise young writers to choose an author they admire, and study his or her life, read that author’s early books, and see if they can spot the developing writer in the early work. Someday some aspiring writer might study them in the same way.
A community of writers builds on itself, needs other writers, and can’t exist without them. I tell young writers to find other writers. Hang out with them, meet them at coffee shops, invite them over. As we all discover, writing is an excruciatingly lonely pursuit. It’s vital to have the support of a group of friends and colleagues. Young writers need to feel secure enough to share their innermost thoughts with a trusted group of peers. This gets easier with practice, so we need to make sure young writers have plenty of opportunities to practice.
Youth is wonderful and flits by quickly. I tell young writers that they have a unique opportunity to capture this time in their lives before it’s over. They are sponges, eagerly seeking new experiences (or they should be). This stage in life offers myriad opportunities for them to find subjects to write about.
This is why my most urgent piece of advice for young writers, and indeed all writers, is to keep a journal and write in it faithfully. Think of the great journal-writers: Anne Frank, Sylvia Plath, Leonardo da Vinci, Anais Nin.
Keeping a journal is a defense against too much criticism. It’s a way to preserve your thoughts, experience, and voice. As Anais Nin wrote, “Writing for a hostile world discouraged me. Writing for the diary gave me the illusion of a warm ambiance I needed to flower in.” Virginia Woolf wanted her journal to be “so elastic that it will embrace anything, solemn, slight or beautiful that comes into my mind.” The journal is a refuge, a place of creativity, and an exercise.
Do you have any advice for young writers? Please share in the comments.
advice for young writers–DON’T read Poe!
No advice to young or old writers. I have always been a reader and of course I learned how to write the alphabet – printing and then cursive. In 3rd grade, Miss Campbell would put a picture on the board and we would write a story about the picture. Creative writing, who knew? In my 50s after a divorce I turned to writing and joined a couple of writing groups – one was at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church. Game changer for inner work. I write not for any particular reason (I am not writing my memoir) but I have found that I learn about my self whether I am in whatever I am writing or not. It gives me a different perspective when I look at the whole person (fictional or real). . .