: Re: What are potential pitfalls for a young writer? Though I'm by no means perfect, I generally consider myself a good writer. The issue is that most older writers I know look back on their writing

@Speyer920

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You just have to write. An average novel of 80,000 words will probably require 250,000 words (via rewriting). My final manuscript looks very little like "the garbage" my brain conjured at first draft.

As for your other question, I've written since grammar school and have some insight. High schoolers lack wisdom and depth, but they can certainly write epic battle scenes, magic, and teen drama. Social commentary and philosophy will look like it was written, well, by a teenager. (This is of course a generalization.)

College students have a greater knowledge base, but the pitfall is in trying to use it too much or in thinking that everyone else has learned what you just took last semester. (At 20, I started writing this sci-fi with magic-wielding dinosaurs, but I forgot what all the dinosaur species were one semester removed from geology and abandoned the project.)

There are lots of successful writers in their 20s, but by and large, best sellers tend to achieve that in their 40s and beyond. Life brings wisdom and perspective. Appealing to a broad audience has to bring in facets from multiple avenues. Of course there are exceptions. But even HARRY POTTER and 50 SHADES OF GREY appeal to those beyond, respectively, tweens and pervs--obviously lots more. If you're young, I'd try reading best-selling authors to see how they communicate their ideas. Their characters leap off the pages. By the end, they're your friend.

It's true: what I wrote half a lifetime ago looks ridiculous now ... and I thought I was so clever then. That's the way life works. If you think you can do it, then go for it. Keep in mind your target audience. There's nothing wrong with a 30,000 word "tween" fantasy.

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