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Growing a writer---suggestions, please?


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I've thought quite a bit lately about what makes a good writer, that is, how is a good writer grown? How is he/she educated? What was the "spark" that got them interested in writing in the first place?

 

My oldest two girls just completed a week at a creative writing camp and had a fantastic time. All of the kids at this camp (I believe there were 28) would be the more "nerdy" kids in a high school class. I think they were a tremendous group of kids! After all, a kid has to really love writing in order to attend a summer camp for the subject, right?

 

At any rate, my girls have expressed an interest, off and on, about pursuing writing as a career. If that doesn't happen, I'm certainly not going to be disappointed in either one of them. I want them to pursue their passion, not mine.

 

How can I encourage them properly for this type of future, though, should they pursue it? For example, when they go to college, should I encourage them to major in English, or in English and some other field, or in whatever field they wish?

 

Whenever I read any book, but particularly one that's very well-written, I always read all of the notes accompanying the book---the introduction, prologue, forward, epilogue, etc. I want to find out all that made that writer "tick". It seems to me that the best writers have a wide array of life experiences that fuel their writing. After all, you have to have something about which to write, correct?

 

For example, I'm currently reading David McCollough (again); this time, The Path Between the Seas, which is excellent. David McCollough majored in English, but is obviously a gifted historian and writer. In fact, one review I read of him stated, "It is impossible for David McCollough to write a bad page of prose." His research is phenomenal.

 

Lauren Hillebrand, the author of Seabiscuit, also comes to mind. She also majored in English and possibly history, I believe. Yet she writes for Equus, a magazine about horses. Jon Krakauer is another author I admire; I'm not sure what he studied in college, but he's an adventurer and writes for Outside magazine (or, at least he used to).

 

So, how do you encourage your kids in this area without forcing them? Continue to provide opportunities? How would you advise them for college?

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although it might be a bit far for one of my daughters.

 

I guess my original post was intended more in the direction of education in general, of which particular colleges or intended majors would be a part of that. What I meant was this: what makes someone decide to be a writer? It seems like one would have to have an aptitude for writing, certainly, but also have some rich experiences in life. I think that's one reason why many kids (mine included) have a difficult time with writing: they may have the mechanics down pat by their teenage years, but they simply haven't lived long enough to have a vast amount of experience in life.

 

While we were on vacation, I picked up several books at a Barnes & Noble. One was the latest book by Christopher Paul Curtis (a children's author) called Elijah of Buxton. Reading his biography on the back cover (or perhaps it was the inside pages), I noticed that he had worked at a factory for quite some time in Flint, Michigan, before going to college. He's African-American, and all of his books are about African-Americans. He's a great storyteller, and he's one of the most humorous children's authors I've ever read. He's won at least two Newbery Medals. Another great feature of his writing is his ability to craft dialogue: he can write colloquial speech in the most natural manner possible---really almost like Mark Twain.

 

Another good children's author was Laura Ingalls Wilder. I'm convinced her ability to write good descriptions was cultivated by the fact that she spent most of her growing-up years describing events and "seeing" out loud for her blind sister, Mary. She was also prescient enough in her middle-aged years to recognize that the way of life she grew up with---pioneer life---was passing, and a new era was dawning. She seized that opportunity and wrote about a bygone era, lest it be forgotten.

 

I'm also convinced that good writers learn and study much about other fields. I think an excellent secondary degree for a writer, besides English, might be science or history or math.

 

I guess my question has more to do with how someone's life experiences contribute to their ability to write? Obviously a great education is necessary---David McCollough went to Yale, although great writers can crop up out of lesser-known schools. But---a real education in life seems to add so much.

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Guest Stardust

This first one is to the Dept. of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook page on writers and editors:

 

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos089.htm

 

This next link is to a writing site for homeschoolers:

 

http://www.apricotpie.com/

 

This last one is a blog full of writing prompts, and also has lots of great quotations on writing. Please look over this site carefully. I personally have not given this link to my child , but I've pulled a lot of great ideas from it.

 

http://dragonwritingprompts.blogspot.com/

 

HTH

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My advice is to major in anything BUT creative writing. Expertise in ANY other field will allow a writer to make a living while writing. The way to support yourself as a writer is to have expertise that someone will pay you for as a freelancer. Being able to handle sentence structure and grammar is the floor, not the ceiling!

 

For me, it has been better to earn my living writing, even if not always in the most creative writing, rather than having a soul destroying job in order to afford to write. A writer can make $15 or $20 an hour waiting tables, or $50-$100 an hour freelancing corporate communications. I urge any writer to read Bob Bly's works on how to make a living as a writer.

 

Any library is likely to have a whole shelf of info on how to market articles, fiction, etc. It's worthwhile for any writer to make this a summer reading project. (And might make for a great college admissions essay--what I did on my summer vacation!) But don't only focus on how to submit articles, fiction, etc. I really believe that anyone in an artistic pursuit ought to make marketing their minor!

 

This is not to say, neglect the technique or joy of writing. Just realize there is more to any career than the actual creation of work. A life in the arts is a noble pursuit, imho, but one that still must respond to the marketplace. Too many talented people give up because they can't make a living at it. But you can! Good luck to your kiddos.

Danielle

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I think the life experiences that contribute to an ability to write well would also contribute to the abilities of any successful creative person. I think you also already hit on it in your first post, that a rich life is the most critical element.

 

A few years ago, in response to an letter of inquiry my oldest son sent to the head of Disney Imagineering (the theme park designers), he received a packet of at least a dozen letters that had been written by imagineers over the years. Each letter was a response to the question "how do you become an imagineeer"? It was extraordinary because each person who wrote talked about the importance of having a rich life and broad education. They each emphasized the importance of having a boundless curiosity about the world, of how travel expands the mind, about reading endlessly. They also talked of how a knowledge of, and love for, history, culture, art and architecture helps them in their creative work.

 

The advice in these letters would apply equally to someone who wants to be a writer. The only other element I believe needed for pursuing a creative career is having a passion for it. It has to be something you want to do more than anything else, something you'd likely do whether you get paid or not, because it isn't the easiest career path. And it has to be something you love because it requires so much practice and patience to perfect your craft. I speak from close experience here -- I married an artist, and one of the things that he and his colleagues have in common is that as young people they were always drawing and sketching. They work crazy hours and have uncertain career paths, but it is what they love.

 

So how do you nurture a creative soul? Well, I think you give them an excellent education, you nurture and encourage their curiosity, and you let them write, or draw or create, as much as they want.

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This is probably going to sound very simplistic, but I think the main thing that encourages people to write is that they have something they need to say - that they are passionate about. I am thinking now of Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird. She only wrote that one book. She *needed* to tell that story. She couldn't *not* write it.

 

I've also noticed that many writers lead lives that are filled with tragedy and disruption. I think they must find the writing process cathartic. Again, the *must* tell their story - it is imperative for their own mental health, just like when most folks just need to "talk."

 

Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote non-fiction for many years and it was her daughter, Rose, who prodded her into writing her life story, albeit in semi-fictional form. Rose had already written a book based on her mother's experiences (Let the Hurricane Roar) and finally convinced her mother to do so much later.

 

This is why, with my own children, I listen very carefully to what they discuss and argue about and those are the things I have them write about. When they feel passionate about something the words flow - no writer's block there.

 

For creative writing, I'd suppose the process would be a little different, but many fiction/fantasy writer's also have a topic they are passionate about - they just shroud the message a bit in order to make their point. No doubt, there are writers who write just to pay the bills and are not writing about subjects they feel must be explored, but even then they need to have at least a small interest in the topic to make the writing of interest to others.

 

I have two children who like to write so this year we are working through The One Year Adventure Novel by Michael Schawbauer.

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A life in the arts is a noble pursuit, imho, but one that still must respond to the marketplace. Too many talented people give up because they can't make a living at it. But you can! Good luck to your kiddos.Danielle

 

I want to encourage my kids to write, but I also want them to be able to live. You know---the old saying, "Starving artist, starving writer". I know some very good writers who still need to work regular jobs. I want them to be able to provide for themselves---whatever job they have can help "fuel" those life experiences---while still being able to write.

 

A few years ago, in response to an letter of inquiry my oldest son sent to the head of Disney Imagineering (the theme park designers), he received a packet of at least a dozen letters that had been written by imagineers over the years. Each letter was a response to the question "how do you become an imagineeer"? It was extraordinary because each person who wrote talked about the importance of having a rich life and broad education. They each emphasized the importance of having a boundless curiosity about the world, of how travel expands the mind, about reading endlessly. They also talked of how a knowledge of, and love for, history, culture, art and architecture helps them in their creative work.

 

So how do you nurture a creative soul? Well, I think you give them an excellent education, you nurture and encourage their curiosity, and you let them write, or draw or create, as much as they want.

 

I think probably many fields are similar to writing---a rich life, a broad variety of experiences, and a passion for the subject. I think an excellent education certainly does help. But, I've always found it interesting that someone who develops a passion for writing also has had a passion for a wide variety of things.

 

This is probably going to sound very simplistic, but I think the main thing that encourages people to write is that they have something they need to say - that they are passionate about. I am thinking now of Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird. She only wrote that one book. She *needed* to tell that story. She couldn't *not* write it.

 

 

Very true! This goes back to that point I mentioned earlier, which is that many kids have not lived long enough to have a wide variety of experiences. I'm not sure how old Harper Lee was when she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, but she obviously grew up in the South and its culture and had to write that book. Laura Ingalls Wilder had a rich life as a young girl---all the traveling, moving, building, planting, etc., that her family went through. Probably far more than the average kid of today. I had not known that her daughter, Rose, became a writer before Laura and encouraged her to write about her childhood. Thanks for sharing!

 

I also think many good writers, even if they are writers of fiction, are also good researchers.

 

Any other ideas?

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Enrich them with an exposure to a wide vocabulary and to lots of different kinds of writing.

 

Let them experience lots of different kinds of places and people, and discuss them.

 

Read poetry to them and with them.

 

 

 

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On another note, The Writer's Jungle is excellent at putting forth just this kind of information--how to grow writers. I highly recommend it for you.

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I've thought quite a bit lately about what makes a good writer, that is, how is a good writer grown? How is he/she educated? What was the "spark" that got them interested in writing in the first place?

 

Make sure they have access to lots of excellent books, both fiction and non-fiction. Though there are lots of readers who aren't writers, I do not think there are a lot of writers who are not also readers.

 

Encourage them to branch out to different types of books, including ones that don't automatically appeal to them, and suggest they write a little about their *reaction* to them. I'm not talking character analysis or discussion of themes or motifs here, but their emotional reaction to things.

 

Also, along with read, read, read, read, and read some more... write, write, write, and write some more. Make time for them to write every day. (Notice I didn't say make them write. You don't need to make a writer write, but sometimes they need help finding time for it!)

 

HTH

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My 14 yo ds is an avid creative writer; he says the stories just keep coming to him and he has to "tell" them.

 

One thing that keeps him writing is a circle of friends who write. He started a writing wiki where the kids share their stories and work on co-operative stories (RPS - "Role Playing Stories") online where they each take one character. Currently, he and a friend are trying to adapt a novel for the stage (They were so thrilled to get the author's permission). I think that having an audience, be it friends, family, publication, etc., really helps maintain his motivation.

 

JMHO,

Maura

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and really like Julie Bogart's approach to creating a lifestyle of writing for your kids. My older two do read a lot already, and I would wholeheartedly agree that while there are probably many avid readers who are not necessarily good writers, there are probably very few (if any) writers who are not avid readers. I had not thought of having them job down their feelings and observations about books, though.

 

Maura, the creative writing camp that my girls went to was excellent! The kids are talking about keeping in touch with each other through a group website. I may offer the suggestion to them of writing a cooperative story, or a role-playing story, that they could all participate in. Of course, these are high school kids, and they will end up doing what they want to do, but I think it's a great idea. Thanks!

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