How does a young writer separate themselves?

[Peanut Butter Wolf]

Peace be with you all, fellow writers. As the title suggests, I am a young writer who is involved in a creative writing class at my school. I like to think that I am mechanically more talented, yet I sometimes have trouble getting assignments done to my liking and I feel like I'm not living up to my full potential in my own realm. How does a young writer like me differentiate themselves from the run-of-the-mill writing that most of my classmates are doing? Is it: new and fresh ideas, better writing in terms of mechanical writing elements, or perhaps a mix of the two? Let me know what you think.

ALSO, I AM LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO DO A COLLABORATION WITH! IF INTERESTED IN WORKING WITH A YOUNG WRITER SUCH AS MYSELF, PLEASE PM ME.

 

[Skybreaker Sin K'al]

If you're writing in genre, try and make someone truly unique. For example, I'm writing a fantasy war story set in a 1920s secondary world. I think its important to have a truly unique premise.

This being said, getting your prose, characters, plot and setting up to scratch is going to help a lot.

 

[Telcontar]

I have a heavy perfectionist streak and often have trouble finishing projects to my standards as well - this results in a lot of unfinished work. It was debilitating when I was younger. The most important thing I learned as I continued to write was to finish my stuff. To accept imperfection. To not "let the perfect be the enemy of the good" (or the decent) as the saying goes.

Your skills will improve with practice, as all skills do for all people. Maybe you're more talented than your peers, maybe you aren't. It doesn't matter, and I would discourage you from focusing on comparing yourself to them (or anyone). Obviously you're going to continue to do so (I did, and do still), but frankly the only comparison that's really worth a damn is to yourself - your past self. Is today's work better than yesterday? Can you see a clear improvement over last year? If you constantly improve, eventually you'll find that you are an excellent writer.

 

[Penpilot]

How does a young writer like me differentiate themselves from the run-of-the-mill writing that most of my classmates are doing? Is it: new and fresh ideas, better writing in terms of mechanical writing elements, or perhaps a mix of the two? Let me know what you think.

I'm sure you've heard people say there are no new ideas, and that every idea has been used and reused countless times. We can argue this, but just work with me and take this as a given.

If that's the case what separates one persons story about a boy wizard and another person's story about a boy wizard? The answer is you, you the author is what's different, your perspectives on the world, your vision of who character's are and how they interact, your personal experiences and how they color everything in your plot, characters, and world.

That's what sets you apart.

But putting parts of yourself onto the page in a truthful manner isn't as easy as it sounds. It's like being naked for the world to see, so people try to cover themselves up with style, or rather style that doesn't fit who they truly are. And the more style they add, the more the truth of the prose gets buried. If the truth gets buried, the reader feels nothing. It's like trying to feel a person's touch through sixteen layers of parka.

Again, you want to set yourself apart, make sure you don't bury yourself under layers of style. Make sure the truth of what's being said is clear for everyone to see.

 

[Devor]

You set yourself apart through some balance of unique quality in the areas of voice, theme and creativity. None of those are easy.

What kind of collaboration were you looking for?

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Well, there can be a difference between standing out and being good. In a school setting both will do the trick, unless your school is the Writer’s Workshop at the University of Iowa, or similar, LOL. Write, write, write, and study story structure... that’ll put you ahead of the game.

 

[Peanut Butter Wolf]

I was just looking to co-write short stories or something

 

[psychotick]

Hi Peanut,

I would say the first thing you do is stop worrying about your classmates' writing. Focus only on your own. Their writing may be derivative or it may be original and brilliant. That should mean nothing to you. Only your writing matters.

The next thing I would say is stop worrying about originality. It's a red herring. People don't want original for the most part. I've written one highly original work based on a philosophical question - the twins paradox. It's my worst seller by far. That doesn't bother me since I wanted to write the story. But it does key me into the basic nature of most readers. People don't want original. They want a comfortable read. That means they want something they can sit down and enjoy secure in the knowledge that the book is going to go along a well worn path to a destination they know. They don't want for the most part to be jolted out of their comfort zone. Originality is a buzzword that people often use, but really it's a very secondary objective. Consider it like a drive in the country. If there's a bit of different scenery / world build along the way, their fellow passengers / characters are perhaps a little bit interesting, and maybe there's a few surprise detours / plot along the way, that's enough. Now think how much fun that drive would be if the driver had no intention of telling you where he was taking you, the passengers were all extreme nut bags you didn't understand, and the GPS was completely gone so that you would have no idea which road you should take - would you really want to get back in that car?

Last and perhaps hardest to hear, is that what you really want to be doing is developing your voice. Your voice is far more than your prose. It's your choice of the stories you want to tell, told in the way you want to tell them. It's the characters you select and the actions they take. The type of world you envision. How much you want to laugh, or scream in terror as the plot unfolds. It really is a global concept for a writer. And there is no way of teaching it. The only way to learn it - to learn who you are as a writer - is to write. Write, write, write and then write some more. Write the stories you want to read. Engross yourself completely in the world you build. Writing for the most part is about passion.

At the end of this - not that there is an end - if you end up with sparkly vampires, that's alright. Because if you do end up with sparkly vampires but you've written this completely on your own according to your passions and dreams, they will be your sparkly vampires. And that's what matters.

Hope that helps. Cheers, Greg.

 

[DragonOfTheAerie]

Why are you concerned about your classmates' writing, though?

 

[Peanut Butter Wolf]

Why are you concerned about your classmates' writing, though?

I have a competitive streak, I suppose. It's a flaw of mine, but I'm trying to figure it out.

 

[Skybreaker Sin K'al]

One can learn a lot from writing of inferior quality.

 

[Chessie2]

I'm not certain that I entirely understand your question, OP, but I'll give it my best shot. As someone who wrote stories as a kid, by the time I was a teenager, I had written a lot and knew that one day publication would be my thing. I was lucky in that my family really supported and encouraged me to always write. I didn't compare myself to my peers because my work is mine and I am different. The same goes for you. Who cares what anyone else is doing? Focus on you and your craft and be serious about it.

If you should decide to publish someday just be aware that there is a deep sea of vast competition out there in the big book world. There will always be someone who writes better than you, works harder than you, sells more than you. But you are you and your career/craft is your own to hone and honor.

So my first suggestion is to not worry about anyone else. My second is to just write. Becoming a skilled writer takes years! It sounds like you already know your strengths. Well, you also have weaknesses as a writer. Use this time as a youngster, when your brain is pliable and you have more time on your hands and are less jaded than an adult, to work on those weak areas and improve. If you want to stand out, being dedicated to your craft for the long term is the way. A LOT of people say they want to write a book but don't. A LOT of writers say they want to finish their book but don't. A LOT of writers make excuses as to why they can't write more. Setting yourself apart has nothing to do with talent and everything to do with hard work. Commit to your craft for the long term and be serious about it. That's how you set yourself apart.

Lol, sorry for the mom tone but I just want to encourage you to consider having a writing schedule that will allow you the chance to write daily or often and mature as an artist. Good luck.

 

[DragonOfTheAerie]

I'm not certain that I entirely understand your question, OP, but I'll give it my best shot. As someone who wrote stories as a kid, by the time I was a teenager, I had written a lot and knew that one day publication would be my thing. I was lucky in that my family really supported and encouraged me to always write. I didn't compare myself to my peers because my work is mine and I am different. The same goes for you. Who cares what anyone else is doing? Focus on you and your craft and be serious about it.

If you should decide to publish someday just be aware that there is a deep sea of vast competition out there in the big book world. There will always be someone who writes better than you, works harder than you, sells more than you. But you are you and your career/craft is your own to hone and honor.

So my first suggestion is to not worry about anyone else. My second is to just write. Becoming a skilled writer takes years! It sounds like you already know your strengths. Well, you also have weaknesses as a writer. Use this time as a youngster, when your brain is pliable and you have more time on your hands and are less jaded than an adult, to work on those weak areas and improve. If you want to stand out, being dedicated to your craft for the long term is the way. A LOT of people say they want to write a book but don't. A LOT of writers say they want to finish their book but don't. A LOT of writers make excuses as to why they can't write more. Setting yourself apart has nothing to do with talent and everything to do with hard work. Commit to your craft for the long term and be serious about it. That's how you set yourself apart.

Lol, sorry for the mom tone but I just want to encourage you to consider having a writing schedule that will allow you the chance to write daily or often and mature as an artist. Good luck.

Jumping off this: from one young writer to another, please set a daily time to write and a daily goal to reach. It *will* help, a lot.

 

[Annoyingkid]

Stay in your own lane and make steady improvements with consistency and momentum. That will go along way to making you better. Don't let what your classmates are doing affect your practice.

 

[Firefly]

What makes good fiction in a classroom setting isn't all that different than what makes good fiction in general. Focus on making your work good, and try not to worry to much about how it compares to your classmates. Being confident in your own writing ability will do you so much more good than seeking external validation. I used to have a big problem with this when I was younge, and trust me, it's toxic, whether they like your stuff or not.

The best thing you can do to improve your writing is to practice, practice, practice. What Aerie suggests about setting a regular goal/schedule is hugely helpful. Doing Nano when I was in eighth grade is probably the single best thing I've ever done for my writing, even with all the classes, books, and blogs I love so much (Which are also great, but can only help you so much if you don't actually try to use what they're teaching you). Figure out what your weakness are and spend focused time on improving them. Outside feedback and critique can be super useful for this, or even just looking at your own work more analytically.

Don't let yourself get choked up by perfectionism, or an inability to write as well as you feel you should be able to right off the bat. Sometimes it takes time for our practical abilities to line up with our knowledge of how things should be done.