When I started blogging, I quickly discovered there were some very good blog-writers out there—and sometimes I’d find an article that was so good, there was nothing meaningful I could add. I present those articles on my Short Saturdays. 🙂

This is definitely one of those articles that I could not have said any better.

I’ve mentioned Jane Friedman before, of course. And in “Writing Advice for Children and Teens,” she is firing on all cylinders. If you’ve got a writerly youngster in your life, have a look. And even if you don’t, this is good advice for you writerly adults too.

Here’s a little sample:

A writer is someone who writes. If that describes you, call yourself a writer. You are one.

If you want to be any good, you have to keep writing. Now’s not the time to ask questions about the quality of your work, because I can guarantee it’s not as good as it will be in three years, five years, or ten years.

This shouldn’t be upsetting, but exciting. You have the power to make progress simply by writing more. What you write now is immensely important to your overall development and progress. Don’t consider your early work as wasted time and effort. It’s part of the journey to become the artist you’re meant to be.

There’s something called the Helsinki Bus Station Theory. It goes like this: you pick a career direction and set off (in other words, you get on a particular bus). Within a short period, you produce some work—and it’s very early work. It will look like the work produced by everyone else on that bus. So if you show that early work to someone, they’re going to wave you off; they likely won’t take notice. At this point, you may get discouraged and give up or change paths. But you didn’t realize: everyone who’s ever been great goes through this. Everyone. The answer is to keep doing the work, or to stay on the bus. Most people get off the bus too soon.

There’s lots more, so read the rest. It’s just the pick-me-up you need today!

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