Online Community for Young Writers

If you are (or know anyone who is) between 13 and 18 go to  New Writing South's JUST WORDS. It is an online community for young writers. There you can set up a profile, upload your creative writing and get feedback from other writers. With top tips from professional writers (including me), as well as information on competitions, events and opportunities, it really is the place to see your writing flourish and get connected.

http://newwritingsouth.com/justwords/

Here's my top tip as it appears on JUST WORDS

What is your top tip for a young writer?

Practice.

Practice like a guitarist strums a tune or an artist makes a 30 second sketch of an interesting face in the crowd.

How many ways can you think of describing the colour grey between bus stops? Rain grey, ash grey, the blue grey of cigarette smoke, the slimy grey of a fresh slug trail…

And remember there are only two ways of learning how to write:

1)  Write – take risks, try. Try again.

2)   Read – anything. The good stuff will show you the way ahead while the bad stuff will tell you what to avoid. The bad stuff may even give you the confidence to persevere because you know, deep inside, that you can do better …