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avatar Anonymous

how could i start my career as a writer?



Question applies to ages: 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

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avatarMaryKat
# of Thumbs Up Received (7)
Books and Reading # of Thumbs Up Received (1)		 Writing is a wonderful career. As for starting, if you are writing right now you have started your career. Be sure not to confuse "writing" with "publishing," however. It could take a while for your work to be published. There is more than a little luck to being a successful, published writer.
You didn't say whether you were interested in a particular kind of writing (journalism, fiction, poetry?), but the good news is that the fundamental training is very similar, regardless of what kind of writer you want to be. The first step in your training is to read. Actually, throughout your writing career you will be reading, everything and anything. At first, you might want to start with the specific kind of writing you are interested in (poetry, for example) and then read the very best writing you can find in that category. Notice what you like about a certain poet and try to capture that in words--in a journal or in a paper you have to write for school. You may not agree with your English teacher that Tennyson is a great poet, for example, but try to find something in his writing that you like and think about how he did it. When you are first learning to write you will probably mimic the writers you like best, and that's okay--for starters. Writing well is like playing a musical instrument well: you need to develop an "ear" for it, and you do that by reading as much great writing as you can, just as a guitar student should listen to the best guitar players she can.

Anne Lamott wrote a book about writing called "Bird by Bird." You might want to check it out. Her advice is good and she's a great writer. Good luck!


References:
Writer, editor, reader. I've published fiction, poetry, journalism, technical writing, and feature articles.
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avatarBryan.EduGuide
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Top 5 in: Choosing College, Family Activities, Home Learning and Field Trips, Learning Styles, School Policy and Education IssuesTop 5 in 5 Topics		 LaMotte's book is great. I would also recommend Strunk and White's Elements of Style.

Passing on some of Lamotte's advice, I would also say write a lot. Don't start off trying to be perfect, just get it down, seek feedback and try to do one thing better. The more you do it, the better you'll get.

It also may help to write as if you're writing to one person. That's one of the things I love about answering advice questions. And we would love to have you doing that here anytime.
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