Too young to write?

by Mark Rudd
4th January 2012

Here's one that has bothered me for a long time... I am writing (as I always am) a children's fantasy novel that I hope to submit to an agent this year. It's a fairly dark, spooky story in a magical setting, starring an ordinary girl. I only have one problem with it...

I'm only 21.

Is that enough life experience to be writing anything? Can a person's style be sufficiently mature by that age? Will an agent look at the DOB and dismiss the submission? I'd appreciate some thoughts on this!

Replies

So. Age shouldn't really matter. If someone as good as ourselves can think of a good book then go for it, aim for the stars as they say. It's good to have dreams and the only way we can really truly achieve it is if we work at it.

By the way, I'm 20 but as you see above, there are younger ages as well.

Profile picture for user kaymason_50937
K L
Mason
270 points
Practical publishing
Film, Music, Theatre, TV and Radio
Poetry
Short stories
Fiction
Autobiography, Biography and Memoir
Middle Grade (Children's)
Picture Books (Children's)
Comic
Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Media and Journalism
Business, Management and Education
Speculative Fiction
Adventure
Historical
Romance
K L Mason
26/04/2017

We at La Gr@not@ are enthusiastic about writings BY young people. Who better to write in "a child's voice" than a child? Who better to present the cares and joys of a child?

With 21, you're hardly a child, but I hope that you see what I mean. Your voice is valid.

We are NOT interested in Twilight or Harry Potter clones. We want FRESH ideas and NEW angles.

Have a look at http://la-granota.com/crazy.htm

Profile picture for user jimmy@ji_34235
Jimmy
Hollis i Dickson
1920 points
Ready to publish
Film, Music, Theatre, TV and Radio
Poetry
Short stories
Fiction
Autobiography, Biography and Memoir
Middle Grade (Children's)
Picture Books (Children's)
Comic
Media and Journalism
Business, Management and Education
Popular science, Social science, Medical Science
Practical and Self-Help
Jimmy Hollis i Dickson
02/09/2016

I LOVE this reply:

"Robbie Stratford on June 25, 2013

"Don't worry about your age ;)

"Just watch out that you don't sound anything like harry potter and you'll be fine"

Bonjour Tristesse (French: "Hello Sadness") is a novel by Françoise Sagan. Published in 1954, when the author was only 18, it was an overnight sensation. - wikipedia

Anne Frank

Died February or March 1945 (aged 15)

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, Lower Saxony, Nazi Germany

Annelies Marie Frank (German pronunciation: [ʔanəliːs maˈʁiː ˈʔanə ˈfʁaŋk]; Dutch pronunciation: [ʔɑnəˈlis maˈri ˈʔɑnə ˈfrɑŋk]; 12 June 1929 – February or March 1945[3]) was a German-born diarist and writer. She is one of the most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Her diary, The Diary of a Young Girl, which documents her life in hiding during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II, is one of the world's most widely known books and has been the basis for several plays and films. - also wikipedia

Profile picture for user jimmy@ji_34235
Jimmy
Hollis i Dickson
1920 points
Ready to publish
Film, Music, Theatre, TV and Radio
Poetry
Short stories
Fiction
Autobiography, Biography and Memoir
Middle Grade (Children's)
Picture Books (Children's)
Comic
Media and Journalism
Business, Management and Education
Popular science, Social science, Medical Science
Practical and Self-Help
Jimmy Hollis i Dickson
02/09/2016