Tips for Young Writers

Advice on how to write an epic story

When I was first tasked with writing the epic story, I was, too put it lightly, a little nervous. The whole assignment seemed like more work than I was cut out for, and at times in the process I felt like it was, but by the end I was left with a story I could be proud of and a new perspective on how to write. It didn’t come without its challenges, but there were things along the way that I discovered were crucial to keeping your mind on task and writing your story well. 

• The number one thing that you have to do is be consistent with when you write. Do Not leave it all to the last minute, or even the last week, when you get the assignment, or just decide to write a lengthy piece, you have to make sure to stay on  task. This means just writing at least a little bit every two or three days. I had days where I didn’t write, and that’s fine, but you should never have an extended period of time where you haven’t written, because you can become disconnected from the story and forget where you are, leaving your story disconnected as well. You don’t have to write a lot, just like 500 words per session, but I find that the longer you can write the better.
• It’s also important to know that you shouldn’t care too much about the first few chapters. If you’re like me where you figure out how you want your story to play out as you write it, this is especially important. I had lots of trouble with the first few writing sessions, just because I didn’t know how things would play out. I was presented with a massive, branching path of possibilities, and I was lost on where to go. Don’t worry too much about it. I found myself editing the beginning above anything else, because that’s the time where I had the least information on how the story would be written. I didn’t know how I wanted to end it until I got to the last chapter. Just write as much as you can and worry about how the beginning feels in editing.
• One thing I did that was super helpful was I gave comments to myself as I worked. It’s very easy to make comments, just highlight text and select that option. Write about a possible path you want to take with your story, or something you want to change about an earlier part. This makes editing much easier. Halfway through my story I realized that I wanted to change something, so I just wrote the story as if I had did that. I got the chance to go back and edit, but I only had to edit half the story. It’s a good way to keep those things written down and right in front of you as you go through your story.
• Find a good place to work. An important part of writing for me is location. If I’m not somewhere that’s quiet, I can easily get distracted. I had trouble working in my teacher’s room when writing, because there were a lot of people also working right next to me, some of who could be distracting. I ended up working in the library, because it was a much quieter space where I could get a lot done. At home I had trouble, too. I tried working all over my house, in my basement, in my room, in a chair in my parent’s room. It was hard to find a good location. It’s a hard thing to find, but once you get a location where you can focus, you can write more than you thought you could.
• The last and probably most important thing to do is just write. This was the hardest part for me throughout the whole process of writing. It’s hard to say to yourself “I’m just going to sit down and write for a while.” I would try to stall, or make excuses, but in the end you just have to do it. Another thing I struggled with was getting in the groove of writing. I would lose focus or my mind would wander and suddenly I’ve been doing nothing for five minutes. Getting distracted can even seem productive, like trying to think of what to write next, which can still lead to being distracted. When I was writing at home, there would be things on my desk that I would fidget with. The best thing to do is just try to lock your hands on your iPad. It forces your attention there, even when you’re thinking of something else. It’s hard to focus, and I don’t think anyone has complete focus, but the better you are at it, the easier your writing will be

Writing is hard. This project was the first time I really had to write a long story. It’s much different from anything else in writing. It requires long term focus and persistence, so make sure it at least interests you. This isn’t about the specifics of the story, it’s about the experience of writing it, so make sure you enjoy it.