Many young people today pass the time by creating fictional characters and worlds of their own, often struggling to put pen to paper. As an author, I have learned skills to make the process of writing, editing, and publishing much easier. Below are my top seven tips for young authors.

1.  How to overcome writer’s block

In my experience, the best way to regain your motivation is shifting your ideas. Remember, you are never bound to follow the first story that comes to mind! If you find yourself bored with the story, or waiting for the exciting part, reconsider how important the “boring” piece is to the story. If you are bored with it, your readers may be as well.

Additionally, feel free to do more outlandish creative exercises. Talk to your friends (or even to the mirror) about the characters, rant about the problem you’re having, anything! You can take a break and sleep, walk, or read a book that inspires you. You could write part of a story completely unrelated to your original idea. Whatever you choose, make sure you’re being kind to yourself. You deserve a break!

2.  Re-read your own work

It’s easy to get swept up in the flow of writing, which is undoubtedly a good thing! However, that means it’s doubly important to go back and check what you previously wrote. You should be certain that your earlier drafts don’t clash with the style, tone, or plot of your most recent additions. If you say something will happen later, it should definitely happen at some point, or at least be relevant in some way.

In another sense, re-reading your rough drafts can inspire details of your more professional works. Reusing characters, settings, and conflicts can be easier than trying to come up with an entirely new system.

3.  Don’t be afraid to write fanfiction

Fanfiction (retelling a pre-existing story with a new character, changing the ending, etc.) has a poor reputation. However, well-intentioned, plot-based fanfiction is a completely valid form of literature. Watch or read a story and write an alternate ending, or place characters in a different setting to see how they interact with the new environment. Share your fanfictions with your friends and have fun!

In the same vein, don’t be afraid to create alternate universes of your own story; you might find the new universe more fascinating than the original. Change dynamics, the setting, or anything you like!

4.  Do your research

No matter what kind of piece you create, thorough and accurate research is crucial. Minor details matter, especially to your readers. By mixing up facts, readers can become confused or displeased with your work. If you don’t know how a machine or tool works, make sure to read plenty of material explaining how it functions. If you plan to write a story about humans, research how different environments and circumstances would impact the body and mind. There will always be someone who claims your story is unrealistic, but you can prepare for that by finding credible sources to back up your writing!

5. Write with friends!

Writing doesn't have to be a solitary pursuit! Find peers who enjoy writing as a hobby, or as a profession. One exercise that has helped me a considerable amount is role playing. My friends and I create a Google document and allow our characters to “meet”, or experience things outside of their stories. It's a great way to experiment and build new lore for your story.

6. Prompts and AI

With new artificial intelligence technology, it's very tempting to experiment with character chat rooms. However, you should keep the environmental impact in mind, and remember that AI only borrows from other creators. The suggestions it gives are not original, and should not be treated as such.

Some alternatives include The New York Times daily writing prompt, websites like Pinterest which are made to inspire, and other writing prompt websites.

7. Grammar, grammar, and grammar!

Language is a powerful tool, but it must be used correctly, concisely, and clearly. The most common mistake I see from young writers is confusing the past tense for the present tense. If your story is being told from the past tense, words like “is”, “are, and verbs ending in “-ing”, should be kept to a minimum. Use active voice (I made the bed) instead of passive voice (

Additionally, please try to communicate your ideas without redundancy. Using too many words to describe an idea, or overcomplicating a relatively simple concept may confuse your readers. To help with such issues, a proofreader can be helpful. Allow someone to check your writing for grammatical errors. Even the newspaper staff at Brown has editors!

Conclusion

No matter what struggle you experience, it can be overcome. The key to success as an author is to allow yourself to make mistakes. There’s no shame in writing several drafts, or showing an unfinished piece to a friend. Finally, remember: if you’re not having fun, it’s time to take a break. Writing should make you happy, above all else.

Safe places to publish online:

Elementary:

• Amazon Kindle (3rd-12th grade)

• Storybird

• Stone Soup

• Ember (4th-12th grade)

• BALLOONS Lit Journal (5th-12th grade)

Middle School:

• Stone Soup 

• Ember (4th-12th grade)

• BALLOONS Lit Journal (5th-12th grade)

• Amazon Kindle (3rd-12th grade)

8th Grade and Up:

• Write The World

• Teen Ink

High School Only:

• The Cincinnati Review

It’s easy to get stuck while writing. Ideas are hard to come by, and motivation even harder. . A simple solution? Writing prompts! For writers looking to challenge themselves, improve their writing, or simply just add another idea in an effort to get themselves going, writing prompts prove time and time again to be of great use.

What Are Writing Prompts?

Writing prompts are just what they claim to be; something to base a story around. For many people, prompts are a way to force your characters in a scenario different from their normal environment, often resulting in characters that feel more fleshed-out. Prompts can be simple or complicated, sometimes a prompt is a single word you have to include in your writing, sometimes it’s a specific scene or dynamic between two characters, as long as it’s something to base your writing around it can qualify as a prompt. A few simple prompts can be, but are not limited to:

In 1000 words or less, use the words ‘night’, ‘stars’, or ‘grass’ at least once

Include a baking fail in your story

Have a character play Minecraft

Start or end a story with the same line

Have a character say “I should have never…”

Set the story in space or the old wild west

Have a character be a pirate

Have one character despise the other

Have someone say “L+Ratio”

Have lego be important in some way

Let the villain win a fight

Have someone eat ice cream.

Have someone say “You have to get a job..”

Want Something More?

For some people a single prompt is not enough, especially for those who want to really flesh out a character or improve their skills. Consistency is key, which is where writing months come in. Writing months, otherwise known as prompt months, are a group of prompts intended to last thirty days, with one prompt completed each day. Think of them like advent calendars, but for your brain and writing skills. Similar to art months, the challenge isn’t just to force you to write, but to force you to write outside your usual comfort zone, improving your skills in the meantime. Because these months are trying to force you to use your creativity, many of their prompts are more overarching themes rather than words or sentences used. An example of writing months, for this glorious February, would be a love-themed month. To start you, young author, out on your writing journey I shall provide you with twenty-eight prompts for the twenty-eight days of February.

Basic Rules+Prompts

Write a short story using the prompts below, one prompt for each day. The prompt month is themed around ’Love’, of the platonic (between friends and family) and romantic (between lovers) variety. The prompts are as follows:

Confession. Have one of your characters confess something to another.

Meet-Cute. Have two characters meet somewhere for the first time.

Reunion. Have two characters reunite.

Yearning. Have one character miss the other.

Break-up/Back-Together. Either break up two characters or have two exes get back together.

Interrupted Date-Night. Have two characters get interrupted by something crazy.

Rom-Com. Write a comedic story based around romance.

Cooking. Have a character make food for the other.

Decorating. Have a character decorate for valentines.

Third-Wheel. Have a side-character tag along to the others’ date.

Bowling. Have a date take place at a bowling alley.

Wholesome Parents. Have a character hang out with their parental figure.

Galentines. Have two female characters hang out as friends.

Feelings-Realization. Have a character realize their feelings for another character.

Class Valentines. Have a character give their school crush a valentine.

Hurt/Comfort. Have a sad story end happily.

Myth-o-wonder. Create a story about the origins of Valentines’ Day.

No Happy Ending. Write a sad story.

Better As Friends. Two characters realize they’re better as friends.

Proposal/Wedding. Write about two characters getting married or attending a wedding.

Academic Rivals. Write about two academic rivals falling in love.

Highschool Crush. Write a character meeting their old highschool crush.

Space. Write a sci-fi themed love story using one of the other prompts.

Historical. Set your love story in the past.

Death of a Partner. Write about a character dealing with their partner's death.

One-Sided. Have a character crush on another character, though it’s unreciprocated.

Forever-Reincarnated. Write about two characters in an endless cycle of reincarnation.

New Spin on Old Love. Rewrite an old love story in the modern day.

What If I Like One Prompt And Not The Other?

That’s perfectly fine! Writing months are challenges, and you may not be able to complete the entire month immediately. It’s also perfectly acceptable to combine two prompts in one if you find some way to make them both work, or perhaps take prompts from other months. In the end what you do is up to you and your preferences.

Best Part of Prompt Months

The best part of prompt months is sharing your writing! There is always improvement after a month straight of writing, however small, and sharing your writing with others is always fun! Share your best writing with the newspaper, we’re guaranteed to read it and the best story submitted following this issue’s prompt might have a chance at getting published!