Grrrr… Argh…. – kt literary

You may have heard about Quirk Books‘ upcoming zombie retelling of Pride and Prejudice, but did you know Maureen Johnson did it first? GalleyCat has the story.
In random, other news (and because I need to close some tabs), John Scalzi a while ago posted an update to his now-classic “Ten Things Teenage Writers Should Know About Writing.” This one, “On Teens, and The Fact Their Writing Sucks” includes ten of the most popular arguments teens put up on John’s original post, with his clever refutations. It’s worth a read for all young wannabe authors.
And a reminder — no one’s saying teens shouldn’t write. On the contrary! Write like the wind! But be aware that with maturity, your writing will improve, and publication need not be a goal before you get into college. Ok? Ok!

6 thoughts on “Grrrr… Argh….”

beth
February 17, 2009, 4:43 am

I canNOT wait to get my copy of that book!!!
Stephanie Perkins
February 17, 2009, 5:46 am

Love the Joss nod in your title 😉
(Now that's in my head!)
And I'm sooo looking forward to zombie P&P! Yummy yummy Mr. Darcy.
Kelly Ann Fiore
February 17, 2009, 6:25 am

A question regarding teen writers, because I have seen the topic come up A LOT: Do agents get teen submissions frequently?
I guess it just surprises me — not that teens are writing because it's GREAT that they are writing. I think the surprise factor is in the know-how of publishing. I realize teens are way savvier than they get credit for. I guess I just know from experience that my teen writing wasn't "there yet" (assuming, of course, that it is "there" now!)
Kate
February 17, 2009, 6:45 am

Hey Kelly –
I'd say out of every 50 or so submissions I get, maybe one or two are from teens writing for their own age group.
And don't get me wrong, I do think it's great that they're writing, and I think the reason they're submitting is because of how much more open the internet and agent blogs (like my humble own) have made the publishing process. When I was a teen, the resources to try to become a published author were bound in heavy reference books I wasn't even allowed to check out from the library. Now, it's all out in the open —
And considering how much teens live on the internet, it's no wonder they're taking the next step!
Kelly Ann Fiore
February 17, 2009, 9:03 am

Thanks for the insight — and I loved John Scalzi's posts. If people have a half hour to devote to them, they are super smart, funny, and everything you needed to hear when you were in high school.
And the comments are borderline ridiculous. 🙂
Audry T
February 22, 2009, 6:15 am

Those posts were a delight to read; thanks for sharing them!
It seems to me that one of the best ways to help out teenage writers would be to set up a group journal or community where published authors share pieces written during their teenage years. It would help discouraged teens see that over time, one's writing skills do actually improve; it would also drive home the point that even the most compelling writers had to start in the "amateur zone" just like everyone else. 😉

Comments are closed.