InspiredCactus

I know this may sound silly, but as a long time reader and only being 13 I've been looking for a place of guidance for my writing, and at last, I find WF. I read quite a few of the stories in the forums (old and new) and my head was struck with a thought. I know it may be silly, but... can a 13 have enough intelligence, to write as the same level as more mature writers? I might have a wide range of vocabulary and my age, but is it enough? I'm reading "Interview with a Vampire" and I'm just not sure I get it. Now that's a disappointment to me because I was really looking forward to it. How does age influence my writing and reading? Any advice?

Kane

This is often a topic of heated debate. You ask if you have enough intelligence to write at the same level as more mature writers. However, intelliegence and maturity are two different things. Even so, though you may be intelligent, your intelligence should could continue to mature as you mature physically and as you learn more about the world, and about yourself. But, good writing is not just about intelligence.

To write as a mature writer, you really need to be more mature in order to understand the world around you as a more mature person would. The best stories are character driven, and to be able to create believable, mature characters, you really need to be able to understand things from their view point. As you get older, you will experience more things. You will develop and lose relationships. You will understand the different scale of emotions as an adult, etc. As a child, it's not very realistic to think that you can do this.

However, don't let any of that be a stumbling block for you. You're 13 years old. There is a wealth of reading material for kids your age. Read all you can. Write all you can. You might not be able to tackle more adult themese and perspectives yet, but there is nothing stopping you from writing stories that are more appropriate to your age level. You're 13, write from a 13 year old's perspective. Write what you know. In time, you will mature, and your writing will mature as you do so. Regardless of age, there is no substitute for practice.

Holocoz

If writing is really your passion, continue with it. Don't worry about your stories not having the touch of "mature writers". Trust me, you're going to get better if you keep on writing and writing. I'm still 17, and I know that I have to write and write and write, not because I want to get better, but because that's what I love to do.

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It cannot take me,
Just tell me where to go...
I can either follow,
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The dead stay dead,
They cannot walk.
The shadows are darkness.
And darkness cannot talk.

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Omnisu

You can't write [well] what you don't know. It follows that as you get older, and have more experience to draw upon, you'll be able to craft deeper and better stories.

No, I wouldn't expect a thirteen year old to be capable of writing about deep relationship issues or expressing the grief of things like losing a child.

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InspiredCactus

Very appreciated comments. Kane, thanks for the detailed response. The 'maturity' and 'developing' aspect, I see, would have a great affect on writing.

Mike C

Kane's post wins the prize for most use of the word 'mature' in a posty ever, but he's essentialy right. You're intelligent enough - if you weren't, you wouldn't have asked the question in the first place - and as you accumulate life experience your writing will develop alongside it.

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Kane

Yeah, looking back it appears as though I threw quite a few matures in there... I guess you could say it's a very mature post.

Mike C

If anyone else lacks maturity, they can borrow from your post. You have plenty to spare.

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killned3

I'm only 15 (well, 16 in a few days), but I believe personally that I'm up to par with adult writing. Not trying to toot my own horn here, of course, but I believe it's the truth. I believe the same can be for you, too; maturity and intelligence vary between people and between age groups, and there are instances when the line between adult and child can be blurred and odd things can occur. If you read plenty and write plenty, you may well be able to understand anything at whatever age you strive to understand. Develop everything while you're still young... it's advice I'm still heeding myself.

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Renos Babe

It dosn't much, although what you read can infulence how you write, or what you are interest in. Your age shouldn't effect your writing all that much, but you will find as you get older you will get better, so it really dosn't matter, if you enjoy writing then write, don't worry about your age, or intellgence just do it.

^_^ Renos

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je33ie

Well you have both (Cactus and Killned) surprised me with how young you are! You both seem to be experienced writers and in a way I now wish I didn't know how old you were!

I'll be honest with you, when people find out how old you are they will judge your work differently and maybe even be more inclined to pointing out the flaws in your pieces. Perhaps you should try to keep you age quiet and see how many more people you can surprise!

Never forget though, you should be proud of what you are achieving and look forward to your opportunities in the future.

I wish I had found this forum at your age!! Although most people didn't know about the Internet then...

Kane

Killned, if you think that at 15 you can accurately understand and convey the outlook of an self-reliant adult who has lived through 10 or 20 or 30 more years than you, experience life on a different level... well... of course you do... you're 15.

Umogrim

Just found this forum, and this thread caught my eye.

NEVER allow anyone to tell you what you can or can't do, find out yourself, me being 16, soon 17, have been writing since four or five years. Maturity is more important mental than physical, i enjoy having conversations with people three times my age more than people my own, i know i can write about "adult" things because im a good observer and because some things i have experienced. Also, i would try hidding your age as much as possible, i have been mocked and looked down at for my age for writing if they know, that is the general "mature adult" reaction, but i have shown writings to people and not revealed my age and gotten pretty good comment.

Simply sit down in a park and wait, look at the people passing by, their looks, their attitude, hear their conversations and reactions, all this you can learn to help yourself. The only thing i could improve with age could be english, since i come from a spanish talking country, and in both languages, i tend to have a bigger vocabulary than most my age.

Never let people look down at you. Oh, and sorry for writting something so long.

Kane

If you're not an adult, how do you know you can write from an adult perspective, when you don't really know what an adult perspective is?

SilkFX

I've been writing since I was 9 years old. I'm 41 now, soon to be 42. So I've been doing this for the better part of 32 years. I have almost everything I've ever written, including what are still my largest works to date: a couple of 100+ page novels written between ages 11 and 13, 100 pages of a novel I abandoned when I was 13, and approximately 120 pages of a novel that I abandoned when I was 15-ish.

Thankfully, I have definitely gotten better with age. I improved from age 9 to 11, from age 11 to 13, from age 13 to 15, etc.

Would anyone had ever published me back then? Thankfully, no. *lol* But I can look back and see how far I've come.

My best advice to young writers is to just keep on going (see my sig!) and don't worry about comparing yourself to older writers because if you keep going (and a LOT of folks don't), you'll be one of them soon enough. (Note that I said "older writers," not "older successful writers.") Maturity in writing will come. I'm not just talking about mature plots and perspectives, but maturity around the simple craft of writing. Contrary to what you may think, it helps to see yourself as an apprentice. It really does.

Good luck!

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