In a modern age overwhelmed with not only oversaturated media but one with the need for creatives to have a large following prior to have a crack at publishing works in the mainstream, it is no surprise that the community of young writers feel at a loss. After all, experience is often viewed as liquid gold. Wouldn’t anyone end up deflated at the idea that their hopes of showing their work to the world were glued together by childish naivety? I would say so.
However, what we fail to consider when in such a rut is the long history of bias against the youth within literature, and just how many pushed past that barrier in some form. So, here is a pinch of motivation, just for you. These authors are just some of the many who published young – just like all of you can go on to, especially if you take the messages of their stories to heart.
Mary Shelley (1797 – 1851)
Mother to our modern Prometheus, Frankenstein, Shelley is certainly an interesting case, thanks to the fact that she never received a true formal education. In fact, her stepmother ensured so when she sent Shelley’s sisters off to school instead of her, believing the girl did not need educating. That did not stop her. With the tutoring of her father to help her, the young Mary could be found in her family’s library constantly, always found reading or, according to some sources, daydreaming.
Her masterwork was not exactly intentional, even. It was during a ghost story writing competition with her friends, Lord Byron, and P.B. Shelley, that led to the beginning of her drafting the novel. She was 18 at the time, and she would have no idea that the story, made for amusement, would go on to be one of the most revolutionary in history.
Mary published Frankenstein in 1818 when she was 21, with the experimental work becoming the father to the sci-fi genre as we know it today. So hey, weird works. Get writing already, you do not have to wait for some perfectly polished idea.
Truman Capote (1924 - 1984)
Capote grew up with his grandparents in the southern United States, his parents having divorced and him moving all over Louisiana and Alabama. Like many writers, it was such experiences in childhood that inspired his fiction, especially in his younger age.
To you reading this article, know that you could be the next Truman Capote. Unlike Shelley, Capote’s work became recognised when he was 21 and he submitted a short story of his, Miriam, to mademoiselle magazine. Alongside publication, it would go on to spark quite the writing career, with both whimsically disjointed queer novellas (go read the original Breakfast at Tiffany’s. its tragically beautiful and its first publication was in a literary magazine!), and true crime novels ending up under his wing. You do not need to wait to publish traditionally. Have a go at submitting to a small publication or magazine (such as adolescence), and it could change your life forever.
S.E. Hinton (1948 - )
Another southern belle, Susan Eloise Hinton grew up to a working-class family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which would be the place she would go on to write her most notable work, the outsiders. It is said that she was largely inspired by the needlessly complex social system that teenagers find themselves in, which led to the novel’s conception. This would be easy for her, considering she was a high schooler at the time she wrote it, and dealing with all the prejudices of the day (her pen name came from not wanting to be recognised as a woman by readers).
Hinton was 18 when the outsiders was published, but she was only 15 when she began writing it – showing us how age should never be a barrier to any talent. Her work, which is considered to be realistic, also has roots in some of the most basic writing advice of today: write from what you know. What is the worst that could happen following that?
Christopher Paolini (1983 - )
I do not know about those of you reading this, but I can personally vouch for the fact that finding an ‘Eragon’ book in the corner of the school library was comparable at 12 years old to winning the lottery. It was a charming fantasy series written by American author Christopher Paolini, of whom grew up home schooled by his parents in the paradise valley of Montana. Achieving his high school diploma through such home-schooling by the age of 15, Paolini set his sights on writing. He wrote and wrote, highly inspired by fantasy media such as J.R.R. Tolkien’s lord of the rings, until he self-published the beginning to the series in 2002, when he was 19.
Sales of this publication in the book’s first year can only be described as abysmal – the independent publishing community not being what it is now 20 years later. That was until the book was noticed by Carl Hiaasen’s stepson and the book ended up on the desk of the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, earning its well-earned popularity through their later republication of the work.
Despite the series being seen as largely successful, it did not meet immediate success – an idea that plagues a lot of young authors. Patience is key when hoping to publish, and writers should not write only for the notion of fame if hoping to be successful.
Kody Keplinger (1991 - )
Continuing telling the story of young authors in the USA as we know it today, Kentucky darling Kody Keplinger was only 17 when she published her debut novel “The DUFF” in 2010. Much like Hinton, Keplinger took from her own experiences when drafting the book, though in her case gangs were switched out for the impact of body image and stereotyping in teenage girls. In fact, the title came to her after being called a DUFF (designated ugly fat friend) herself as a student, leading her to want to make a change through her writing.
Not only active in promoting body positivity through her books, Keplinger is also such an active advocate for getting disabled children and teens involved in reading. She does this through her organisation, disability in kidlit, of which has a website I recommend everyone visit just once – even if only to take a glance at their recommendation lists.
The question remains, though? what can we learn, as young writers, from Keplinger’s works? It is far simpler than you would think, really. To tell stories from a place of heart rather than chasing an expectation set by the current industry. Be part of the twisting route to change in the industry, so no future writers need to feel the burden of the limited experiences literature shows.
Honourable mentions
Minou Drouet (1947 - )
Victor Hugo (1802 – 1885)
Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870)
Helen Oyeyami (1984 - )
With all the burdens they faced, it becomes clear that anything is possible when you have a way with words; and our greatest obstacle, fear itself, fades to nothing. Sure, young writers cannot be promised that they will end up with stories like these authors, but it sure as hell is possible, and is that not enough?
love the idea and great execution!
wonderful piece, really makes us young writers feel inspired!