There aren’t many jobs where youth is a disadvantage. I believe writing is one of them.
Actually, I don’t think someone in their 30s is particularly young. Until recently, the 30s was considered middle-aged. And society in general doesn’t consider someone in their 30s young.
But then there’s the writing world.
My favorite uncomfortable moment was when I was with a panel of writers 5 years ago. The author next to me rambled on and on with his top piece of writing advice—live first, then write. Don’t even try to submit for publication until you’ve lived for a while—preferably your fifties. The audience all winced at me and I pretended I didn’t hear him. Nothing like being told you’re not qualified to do your job in front of a roomful of people.
It’s very true that your writing improves with practice. You naturally get this practice as you get older. Of course you’re a better writer later. But are you more qualified to write if you’re older? I’m not so sure.
Other problems with being a young author:
Your bio will likely be pitiful.
You probably will make fewer in-person appearances because of parenting duties or career demands.
I write protagonists that are old enough to be my grandparents and am frequently questioned by readers about my qualifications for doing so.
One upside is that publishers know that you’ve got the potential for a long career ahead of you. Oh—and at least you have your youth. And you’re getting older every day!
Is it harder to write when you haven’t yet experienced a full life? Maybe. But it’s definitely possible. Emily Dickinson’s reclusiveness meant that she didn’t experience a full life—and yet she managed to write poetry that were masterpieces.
I turned 39 today. Next year? I’m turning 40. And it’s a good thing.
Elizabeth – Happy Birthday! I completely understand your point about age sometimes being an advantage when one writes. Maybe that’s because I didn’t start my nonfiction writing until I was in my 30’s, and my fiction writing until, well, never mind. ; ). However, I would say that’s different for everyone. Some people do get a lot of experience when they’re younger, as Simon mentioned. Still, in general, I agree – having a few years under one’s belt can add some interesting perspective.
Happy Birthday! Wishing you many joyful years of writing – waaaay past 50!
Happy birthday, Elizabeth. One thing I do love about writing is that you can keep improving. I wish I had started writing seriously earlier. Writing is a great window into awareness. I think I’m a much more keen observer since I started writing.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Elizabeth!
I completely agree with Simon–it’s experience not age that’s important (and sometimes imagination beats all, as with Ms. Dickenson).
I had a far too interesting childhood and reached my relative 30’s around age six. That makes me about 185 now, but age isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be. When you’re as far gone as I am, you regress to childhood and start fingerpainting and eating your food blended again :)
Oh, good. Now I don’t feel so bad about starting to write in my 30s. But Monsieur 50-something author is flat wrong: life is not measured in years, but in experience. Better yet, as a writer, it’s how you process and filter your experiences into fiction that’s key. If you can learn that young, you’re ahead of the game.
That is all.
Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!
I am pretty sure you are a much better writer in your mid 30s than you would have been in your mid 20s – partly because you have seen more, and partly because you have read more. But whether years beyond that really add all that many more layers to your writing, I do not know. Unless you are writing memoirs or very profound literary fiction.
~ Rayna
Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!
Happy Birthday, Elizabeth. I absolutely enjoy you and your blog. I learn learn learn from it. And you are so wise to notice that 40 comes after 39. See you are getting wiser too with that experience. ;)
PS You look 25. What’s up with that?
Happy Birthday! Love your post. (probably because I turn 40 this year).
Simon–See how young you are? And you didn’t even know it! :) And thanks…you’re absolutely right. Unfortunately, I think I have the combination of a fairly boring life WITH (relative and fast-fading) youth. You’re spot-on regarding the filtering–nearly everything in my life is processed by writing. It makes for good practice.
Margot–I’d agree with that, too–you encounter more people (of different types), more situations. You’ve read more if you’re older, too. I think I’m going to get BETTER. I think it’s definitely *harder* to write…more of a challenge…when you’re younger because you might not have a vast number of life experiences (especially if you’re me.) :)
Deb–Thanks! I’m looking forward to them. :)
Rayna–(love your new tagline/profile name!)–My writing has *definitely* improved. I’ve always written, but in my 20s was only writing articles (I worked for magazines.) There’s no WAY I could write a memoir…lots of missing life experiences there! I think reading and even just basic life experiences…meeting interesting characters, etc., are sure to help make the writing *easier*.
Paul–Thanks! :) It’s a filter on life, isn’t it?
Lorel–Oh, that’s too funny! So you might be the Charles Dickens of the group…his interesting childhood got him published early, too! Go ahead and regress…you deserve it!
Happy Birthday!
May you have many more, and may each one be the best yet.
Happy Birthday Elizabeth. May your day be filled with wonderful, exciting adventures. Remember the saying, “The best is yet to come.” Wishing you many, many more.
Singing to you, Elizabeth. Happy Birthday. I agree with Simon. Guy didn’t know what he’s talking about. Your Myrtle is so believable. We’re both April babies, but sadly, I’ve got 21 years on you. Have a great b’day.
Karen
Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!
Age, shmage.
Slipping out of Lurkdom to wish you a Happy Birthday!
And I think writers of any age, if they have a story to tell, will be successful :)
I found 40 much ‘easier’ than 39. Nobody lies about 40, but if you say you’re 39, everyone wonders how old you REALLY are. (Or is it just people who grew up on Jack Benny?)
I didn’t start writing until my AARP card was well-established in my wallet. Sometimes I wish I’d begun sooner, but I’m happy to be where I am. And I can ask my kids for advice when I need the 30-something viewpoint.
Oh, and Happy Birthday! :-)
Happy Birthday!
I’ve never been afraid of a little time.
~ Wendy
Happy birthday! I don’t think age has much to do with better writing, I think it comes with practice. However, I do think as we get older we find it easier to separate ourselves from our writing and take criticism of it a little better. You learn what you’re good at and what you’re not – that’s experience, not a particular age.
Have cake! Lots and lots of cake!
Happy Birthday, Elizabeth! I’m right there with you, I’ll be 40 in a couple weeks. Yikes!
While it’s true that experience is wonderful, I know many children who live the lives many adults haven’t. I think writing is less the story sometimes and more the craft. I think you can have a small plot (ex. old man and the sea) and make it into a masterpiece with the writing. The older you get, the more time you’ve had to perfect your craft. However, Jane Austen, one of my favorites, wrote young. And she’ll be more popular than the man that made the comment for generations.
ann
Happy Birthday! I’ve heard that saying as well at writer’s conferences – that you don’t have anything to write until you are over 40. And I’ve noticed that I’m one of the “younger set” when I attend writerly events. Craft and perspective do improve with time and experience, but only if that person is wise enough to apply it.
Right now, I’m kind of enjoying being a younger person in this industry since I feel terribly old when I’m around 20-somethings! :)
When I was in my early 20s a poet who looked at one of my first attempts at a novel said: you can’t have any sense of dialogue yet, try again when you’re 40!
I think I remember being 39….
Back when I was younger than 39, I got into graduate school with a teaching fellowship. I got put in charge of a real class (not just an assistant to another professor). At least I was older than the other students.
It was miraculous that I came up with the following bit of wisdom on the subject of maturity: We learn and grow for our whole lives. An 80 year old is more mature (generally) than a 70 year old. So if you’re young some things will be a little beyond you, and if anyone says you aren’t mature enough to quite manage what you’re trying to do — welcome to the club. They aren’t saying you’re not grown up. They are just saying you didn’t pull it off. And you’ll never be able to pull it off if you don’t try.
The secret is finding the sweet spot, where what you’re trying to do is a challenge, but you can still master it.
Happy birthday!
To some extent I agree with the guy who said you couldn´t write when you were young. Many young people are horribly narrow-minded (without even knowing it).
But I certainly don´t think a thirtyish mother of two is too young. Running a household and being responsible for the upbringing and safety of other people mature you (much faster than the people who THINK they are young just because they are forty and unmarried ;D)
And like you, I enjoy the idea that I can go on writing as long as I am able to use a computer. I have hardly begun my writing career so no ´early retirement´ for me.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! When I was in college and considering what it might be like to be a real writer, a overheard some professors say that no one is a good writer until they’re about 40. Well, I’ve passed that now. Does that mean I’m good? Simon said it best, experience. Some people have aged through experience well past the number of candles on their cakes. But, I do think it’s true. Now, that I’ve lived, experienced things of great consequence, I have more to say. Better understanding for the human condition. Bravo to you for starting young and knowing who you are. You look young and beautiful and happy. Birthday blessings to you!!
Happy Birthday!
Great post today. I’m a younger writer, and even though there are some disadvantages to this (having a pitiful bio, for instance), I’m actually encouraged because this means my writing life will only get better as I age.
Hope you have a wonderful day!
Happy, happy birthday!
You can write about any age at any age. Perhaps an older person has first hand knowledge of some things, but a younger person can do research and talk to older people to get info – and vice versa.
Helen
Straight From Hel
Nothing wrong with forty.
A little life experience is good, but I think it has a lot to do with maturity as well.
Happy birthday!
Thanks, Ingrid!
Janet–Thanks! :) And it’s true…it’s all about the story, isn’t it?
Wendy –Thanks!
Teresa–I’m not sure the wisdom is coming with age!
Oh…the lines are there. :) No close-ups with my headshots.
Ann–I’m looking forward to all the practising ahead of me! :) Of course, “Eragon” was written by a teenager…I’m ancient compared to Paolini. :)
Christi–Hope 40 will be good to you!
Carol–Thanks so much! :)
Lisa–I’m like you…usually one of the younger ones at a conference or critique group or panel. Just about the only industry where 30-something is young! :)
Mason–Thanks so much! I’m looking forward to the future.
Mary–Thanks for the encouraging words! I’m looking forward to some rich experiences to help me with my writing in the future! :)
Shelley–We have a lot to look forward to, don’t we? :)
Karen –Happy April Birthday to you! I’d sing, but…:) I’m not the singer that you are!
Helen –Thanks! And, yes, maybe it’s a little more work on the research end of things, but it seems to work out okay in the end.
Alan–Thanks! :) I say, bring it on.
Alex–Good point! :) I think I’ve always been a little TOO mature!
I really like this post because sometimes i think maybe I am too young in my mid-20s. I really haven’t experienced a lot of things. But then I remember no one has experienced the same things I have. Everyone’s childhoods and high school experiences are different, and then there’s college? Job? Married? Kids? So I think it’s inaccurate for that man to suggest not writing until your fifties. And I sure do hope my writing improves as I get older!!! If I’m still writing the same way in ten years…yeesh, I might as well quit now, lol. But since I’ve improved since my college days, I think it’s safe to say I’ll continue to do so. (I hope!)
BTW: Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Elizabeth! Happy Birthday to youuu!
Happy birthday, Elizabeth!
How does that saying go? It’s not the years, it’s the mileage?
And since I am ahead of you by a few years, I’ll state now that middle-age doesn’t begin until 50!
At least it better not.
Even then I may refuse to participate…
I hope you’re having a really FABULOUS birthday Elizabeth! (and with a deadline met yesterday, so you can relax and enjoy it!)
I think no matter your age, writing EXPERIENCE makes for a better writer, so start young, and continue… you just happen to be one of the lucky ones to hit her stride and be sellable at a younger age than the rest of us! i do notice it is genre specific though–a lot of romance writers in their 20s… But yes, among mystery writers, you appear to be quite youthful–take it as a compliment!
Laura–A song for me! Thanks. :) I think I’ll get some singing from my kids in a little while, too! And you’re right…you have experienced things that are unique to YOU! That no one else can write about with authority. And think of all the improving we have time to do!
Diane–And hopefully we’re cars that were built well and our mileage will be high!
Terry–Yeah, I have a feeling that when I say I’m 39, people will ask me how LONG I’ve been 39! I’m probably the only one wishing 40 would hurry up. :) I did see those Jack Benny reruns!
Hart–It’s MUCH easier to have a Happy Birthday with the deadline behind me, yes!
I think you’re right about genres…YA is another one that seems to work with younger writers–and maybe chick lit.
Elspeth–You’re absolutely right–criticism rolls off of me a lot easier than it did even 5 years ago. And…cake eating is on the agenda! Directly after lunch! :)
Happy birthday! I don’t think age has a thing to do with the ability to tell a good story. I know the main reason I waited until I was older is simply because I ran out of excuses why I couldn’t or didn’t have time to write. I say good for you for starting young.
Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!
I don’t try to think about my age in relation to my writing, unless I’m writing for an audience that’s in a different generation. You’re blessed to succeed in your thirties. You’re paving the wave for the rest of us. Celebrate it!
Enjoy your day!
Jane–No excuses, right? That’s great! But you HAVE had a really full life…I’m thinking of all the great traveling you’ve done and things you’ve experienced!
Janel–Happy April Birthday to you, too!
Sometimes I wish I’d started earlier with my serious writing career, but I still subscribe to the belief that everything leads us to where we are now and we’re exactly where we’re supposed to be. If I hadn’t had the life experience to draw on, I never would’ve been able to produce such a rich story for my WIP.
For years, decades, my mother said, when asked her age, “36 and holding,” lol.
I agree writing is something, except for rare insightful youths, easier done with depth and believability by people who have lived long enough and had enough life experiences from which to draw on.
And happy B-day, you’re a very young looking 39!
Marvin D Wilson
Happy Birthday! And the 40s are great — something to look forward to, not to dread. I’m coming to the belief that the right age for writing is the age you are right now. Today is the day! Go!
Happy birthday!!
I agree with Watery Tart, that the writing experience is what counts.
I wrote my little story in high school. Two years after graduating college (learning to write historical research papers and full length screenplays) I go back to my story and realize two things –
1. Boy did it need editing. All that writing in college helped me find a narrative voice, which this high school piece lacked.
2. All of the conflicts were so juvenile. I thought I was writing something incredibly deep but this? blech. I finally knew what real trouble was – heartbreak, betrayal, paranoia, death, etc. And what I had written was, well, a white 16 year old’s view of the world after growing up in an middle-class suburb.
So maybe not 50’s, but definitely after some real world experience!
Happy birthday! I hope it’s been a great day. This post almost makes me reconsider my idea of only having anniversaries for the next decade.
B.–That’s the truth, isn’t it? Everything happens for a reason! I love that we all choose different paths and end up at the same place so many times!
Hampshire Flyer–I have to admit that realistic dialogue is mostly: “Hmm?” “You know,” and “Is that right?”, which isn’t very interesting, even if it’s realistic! I ditched the realism. :)
The Daring Novelist–Good point! And I think what worried me about what this man was trying to say is that I was concerned that the younger people in the audience wouldn’t give the writing a try…and if we don’t take a stab at it, we haven’t given ourselves a chance. And we might need LOTS of chances, but at least we’re getting somewhere.
For me, all of publishing is a learning experience. I’m just trying to absorb as much as I can. :)
Dorte–Oh, definitely. I look at some of the old stuff I wrote and just stuff it back in the drawer! Where it belongs. :)
You’re right about parenting…it ages you fast!
And writing is the PERFECT occupation as we get older. Keeps us sharp and no one tells us we’re too old to write. So many successful older authors and poets.
Marvin–I like your mom! :)
And thanks. I *am* youthful looking…in certain lighting…
Kit–You’re so right. Carpe Diem for the writing–whatever age we’ve reached!
Andy–And maybe after lots of reading of different places and people, too. :) There’s only so much experiencing I’m probably willing to do…I stay inside a lot!
When I was 19, I enrolled in a creative writing degree–and ended up transferring into English Lit after only one year. In retrospect, I know I simply wasn’t mature enough to write anything worth reading!
Now that I’m nearly 30, I still sometimes feel I haven’t lived enough yet, but I’m certainly closer than I was.
Great thoughts :)
Happy happy birthday Elizabeth!! I hope you enjoy a fabulous day!
For me, I know I’m a better writer than I was years ago. And it’s all about confidence and the willingness to take risks. I worried about far too many things when I was younger. :)
I’m sure I’m a very different writer now than I would have been in my 30’s or 40’s.
Elizabeth, trust me, 40 is fabulous. Then again, so are the 50’s!
Cheerful Birthday dear Elizabeth! It is without doubt no matter what age you are – I wish I’d gotten going seriously much younger. I bet that guy was jealous! I madly check every book I read to see if the person is as old as me in the dim hope that will make it alright. Once I was at a hairdressers getting a perm – next to me was a woman getting her hair straightened. We are rarely happy with what is – so take this opportunity to say – Yay! I’m only 39 and I know what I want to be when I grow up!!
Stacy–And honestly, I am writing for probably more of my parents’ age…but I do try very hard to get it RIGHT! It does take more work at our age, though…lots of practice…which we’re both getting!
Suzannah–The maturity definitely helps. I think *practice* helps most of all. I believe I practiced more because of my age.
Tara–Being an older writer is a GOOD thing!
Sue Ann–I’m looking forward to it!
Jan–You’re so right! The grass is always greener, isn’t it? Yes, there was only one choice for me..writing is the only thing I can do! (And I’m *not* just saying that!)
Jemi-Confidence is a good thing! And thanks. :)
Happy belated birthday! You are still in the writing game so age sounds like nothing but a number.