How to teach my 14 yo nephew to write

Chris P · Mar 3, 2010

My 14 year old nephew has emailed me his 28K word fantasy. He has asked me to correct spelling, punctuation, etc., all of which I'm happy to do.

He also wants me to provide a critique and to teach him how to write better. As honored as I am by his trust, I have NO IDEA how to teach a teen to write. Or anyone else, for that matter. My own writing isn't even very well developed.

Any suggestions? I have my own approach in mind, but I'd like to see what other people think.

Smish · Mar 3, 2010

Chris P said:
My 14 year old nephew has emailed me his 28K word fantasy. He has asked me to correct spelling, punctuation, etc., all of which I'm happy to do.

He also wants me to provide a critique and to teach him how to write better. As honored as I am by his trust, I have NO IDEA how to teach a teen to write. Or anyone else, for that matter. My own writing isn't even very well developed.

Any suggestions? I have my own approach in mind, but I'd like to see what other people think.

Does he have a good English teacher? If so, I'd encourage him to talk to him/her. I'd also encourage him to talk to his school librarian about books on writing, etc. I might even encourage him to discuss starting a critique group with other students (perhaps through the school as a club sort of thing. He could ask a teacher or librarian if they'd be willing to be a sponsor).

And I'd also just be honest with him. Tell him that writing is hard work, and each writer has to learn what method works for them. Tell him you're happy to provide support and encouragement, but that you can't teach him how to be a writer. He has to find his own way.

Smish

Stunted · Mar 3, 2010

When I was that age, showing my mom the first "important" thing that I ever wrote, I told her vehemently that she should tell me everything she possibly could about how to improve it, but that, at least at first, she had to pretend to like it so that I wouldn't get discouraged.

If it were me, I'd ask him honestly how harsh a critique he wants. If he says he wants you to tell him ANYTHING that will improve his work, do it.

If you don't want to do that, maybe you should just tell him the 4 or 5 big things that he should work on.

Stunted · Mar 3, 2010

Smish said:
Does he have a good English teacher? If so, I'd encourage him to talk to him/her. I'd also encourage him to talk to his school librarian about books on writing, etc. I might even encourage him to discuss starting a critique group with other students (perhaps through the school as a club sort of thing. He could ask a teacher or librarian if they'd be willing to be a sponsor).

I actually disagree with this advice. I don't think having a lot of eyes peering over your shoulder when you're this young and just starting out is necessarily a good thing. Especially if you're a boy. From what I've seen, at this age, writing fiction is considered a "girl thing" to do.

wandergirl · Mar 3, 2010

tell him to jump into the talented, brilliant and supportive group of teenagers in the Teens Writing for Teens Thread on this forum. these are the kids who make me so heartened I write YA.

Deleted member 42 · Mar 3, 2010

Tell him to come to AW. The YA Teens here are *fabulous*. They do critiques, they support each other, they have their own SYW, and work on queries.

And they sell books to agents, editors, and readers.

He couldn't find better. He'll need to have a parent contact MacAllister to consent; that's a legal requirement.

Chris P · Mar 3, 2010

Thanks all!

Medievalist: does he need parental permission if he's 14? I thought 13 was the legal age here.

STKlingaman · Mar 3, 2010

Have him read things similar to
what he's written (professionally published things).
Then have him compare the styles, and learn
from them.

inkspatters · Mar 4, 2010

Seconding the advice to get him to join the TWFT thread here on AW. Us twifties are a friendly bunch

And I advise doing the same style of critique you do for most writers: figure out, from the writing, what level of critique is appropriate and pitch your criticism at that level. I know when I was fourteen I would've wanted a full rip-it-to-shreds sort of critique, and I would have been able to handle it. It depends on how tough you think your nephew is, and what level of feedback is suitable given the writing, imo.

Chris P · Mar 4, 2010

Great suggestions! I'll get him to participate here.

I'm editing and explaining the basics (it's versus its, etc.) and giving an in-depth rewrite of pages 5, 10, 15, etc. He can then work on the rest using the examples I've given. It's been good practice for me, too. It'll make me practice what I preach!

shaldna · Mar 4, 2010

get him to join here.

also, read through, give more encouragement than critisism at this point. tell him a few negatives, but be positive about it.

at this stage it's going to be more about plot holes and dialogue than anything else.

Shakesbear · Mar 4, 2010

Stunted said:
I actually disagree with this advice. I don't think having a lot of eyes peering over your shoulder when you're this young and just starting out is necessarily a good thing. Especially if you're a boy. From what I've seen, at this age, writing fiction is considered a "girl thing" to do.

Some of the best writers in my top set are boys (aged 14) - the writing they do is awesome.

Deleted member 42 · Mar 4, 2010

Chris P said:
Thanks all!

Medievalist: does he need parental permission if he's 14? I thought 13 was the legal age here.

He's ok in terms of COPA; I had 13 in my head.

Aren't you glad I'm not an accountant?

Chris P · Mar 4, 2010

Medievalist said:
He's ok in terms of COPA; I had 13 in my head.

Aren't you glad I'm not an accountant?

Depends on to which side you make your errors

Stunted · Mar 4, 2010

Shakesbear said:
Some of the best writers in my top set are boys (aged 14) - the writing they do is awesome.

I totally agree! Boys to amazing work. But, at least in my experience, at this age, there are fewer of them writing, and the ones that do write are a little less forward about it than their female peers.

Lunatik · Jan 23, 2011

as we say in maine, KEEP ON TRUCKIN. i think one of the most important things in developing a skilled writing voice is just exploring yourself and how you feel most comfortable writing, and observing everyone else around you. encourage him to branch out of his usual reading genres. for me, ideas came first, and form came later. i'm always grateful to people who correct my grammar when it's off, but i don't like them criticizing my ideas. it's an art form like everything else, and your personality is a big factor.

Cyia · Jan 23, 2011

Chris P said:
My 14 year old nephew has emailed me his 28K word fantasy. He has asked me to correct spelling, punctuation, etc., all of which I'm happy to do.

He also wants me to provide a critique and to teach him how to write better. As honored as I am by his trust, I have NO IDEA how to teach a teen to write. Or anyone else, for that matter. My own writing isn't even very well developed.

Any suggestions? I have my own approach in mind, but I'd like to see what other people think.

Single greatest piece of advice an English teacher ever gave us about writing:

Pretend (or use a voice recorder so you don't have to) to sit across the table from someone and tell your story as though you're speaking to them. No way to miss the voice going that route. Once the story's out, you can deal with things like grammar and content, and speaking can make it less daunting for someone unaccustomed to writing long narrative.

It'll get him in the habit of brainstorming ideas, too.

And...

I DITTO everyone who's mentioned the TWFT thread here. Have him come hang out with Zoombie for a while. He'll be properly corrupted in twenty minutes.

AnnieColleen · Jan 23, 2011

Ask lots of questions - why, what if, what happens when...? kind of thing, to open up avenues where he can develop the stories further. Toss around ideas and see where he takes them. Mix that in with the technical advice, but I wouldn't go too heavy on the nuts and bolts at this stage.

Plus what they all said.

Becca C. · Jan 23, 2011

I would just encourage him to have fun with it - make your story your playground. Experiment, do anything you want. Finish this story, move on to another. Don't worry about whether it's "good enough" yet, although do pay attention to grammar, etc.

PinkAmy · Jan 24, 2011

Becca C. said:
I would just encourage him to have fun with it - make your story your playground. Experiment, do anything you want. Finish this story, move on to another. Don't worry about whether it's "good enough" yet, although do pay attention to grammar, etc.

I agree. You don't want to stifle his creativity. Point out what he does well so that he can expand on that.

deborahlea · Jan 24, 2011

A lot of friends have come to me with this question. Since I'm not published, the question is posed in response to writing gleaned from blog entries, emails and the like. My response thus far has been to recommend that they start keeping a journal.

Reflecting in my journal allowed me to find more nuanced ways to express myself with total safety and without fear of rejection. Better writing isn't something that comes instantly from this exercise, but I really do feel like keeping a journal is a fabulous means for an aspiring writer--or anyone, really--to find and then fine-tune their voice.

An added bonus is that they'll have a record of their external and internal lives. I recently reread through all my journals. I alternately wept and laughed at anecdotes I'd captured about my mom, who died last March. Those records are priceless. Yep, they're even priceless enough to suffer through dozens of pages on embarrassing topics like sibling rage and dreams of future marriage to Edward Scissorhands.

Chris P · Jan 24, 2011

Wow, a zombie thread of mine come back to life! Our story so far....

I got through his manuscript, and he's on the right track but needs practice. He knows the parts of a story and how to build to a famous final scene, but he has trouble with pacing (people stop and explain things during sword fights, for example), his grammar needed work (and is better now), and various other things. He is good at writing characters the reader cares about, even if everyone talks exactly the same (

)

He re-wrote the first book, and is well through the next and has planned the third. He has a professional approach to the business, and was already looking into agents before I had mentioned it to him. Once he improves his skills I think he's going to have a bright future in writing (easily brighter than mine).

He did sign up here, and last I talked to him he was having trouble posting. I told him to contact Mac but I don't know what happened after that. He's been signed up since April and hasn't posted. Sadly, my wife (he's her sister's son) and I are no longer together so I don't see him very often anymore.

How to teach my 14 yo nephew to write

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