Raising the Next Generation of Writers – CoronaLife Day 222

I walk every day for exercise, about 2.5 miles. Sometimes my 10-year-old daughter walks with me. She often says she wants to be a writer, and our chats can revolve around that—or about any of the hundred other things swirling in her brain.

Today we were walking in companionable silence when suddenly she says, “What do you think would happen?”

I ask, “To what?”

She smiles sheepishly. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud.” She looks off into the distance and says, “I’m not sure I should ask you this. I’m afraid you’ll think I’m silly.”

I take her hand. “You can tell me anything.”

Her voice is low, hesitant. “What—what if—if Harry Potter had two sisters no one knew anything about?” She doesn’t look at me.

Fan fiction. She is afraid I will think fanfic is silly.

Instead, I tell her about the not one, not two, but three fanfic series I wrote with my best friend. About 15 books in all. I explain that lots of writers start out writing fan fiction. Not only is it loads of fun, but it helps you learn how to tell a story. By working with an existing structure, an existing universe, you get to play and hone your skills at the same time.

Her next smile wasn’t sheepish—it was broad and bright, showing her two side gaps where her teeth haven’t grown in yet. And then the floodgates opened and I was treated to 40 minutes of her Harry Potter fan fiction, wherein two female characters (representing her and her best friend) are secretly sisters of Harry who also escaped the killing curse that night.

Seeing the enthusiasm and confidence that poured from her once she knew she wasn’t silly reminded me that we older writers (both in age and in writing years) need to be mindful of the young ones. Most of us have found our community, our support system. The young ones haven’t. They are out there thinking they are silly. Or that their creativity is something to hide because a lot of people think “day dreaming” is a waste of time.

So if any of you writers has a young creative in your life (doesn’t have to be a writer), encourage the dreaming. Make them see that imagination is a gift. Let them know they are not alone. That their gift has value. Just give them permission to “be”—and watch them grow.

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