Young Writers/Authors

Over the weekend, I was at Borders. And at Borders there was a local author signing books. She was fifteen when the first book was published and is now seventeen with two in print and a third on the way. While I was wandering around the YA section, I overheard her dad talking to a couple people about her. With all the people he talked to, there were two things they had in common.

1. Surprise. Why are people always so surprised to hear teens have been published?? Just because we're not old enough to drink doesn't mean we can't write. Teens can be very good writers. There can be bad adult writers and bad teen writers. Age is not really a factor.

2. "Is she still in school?" Being published does not grant you the ability to drop out of school. It'd be awesome if it did, but alas, it doesn't. For most people it doesn't even get you out of having a regular job to pay the bills.

I know most of you already know this, but I wanted to say it anyway.

And don't forget, one of the greatest writers of all time was a teenager when her first novel was written. I'll give you a couple hints. Her book is required by middle schoolers to be read every year. It might be because of her that we have the young adult contemporaries to browse in bookstores.

Give up?

Her name is S.E. Hinton and she wrote The Outsiders when she was only sixteen years old.

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