Expert: Cathy Clamp - 10/12/2007

Question
    Hello. I'm going to high school next year, and I'd like to now the education needed to become a writer. I know I'm still young, and not even in high school yet, but I want to know if I need to go to college, if I need to go to a university, or both. I want to also know what I need to take in high school depending on what the high school has to offer. I also want to know how much it pays. And it doesn't necessarily have to be a writer for books career, it could be for a magazine, newspaper, textbooks, teaching, etc..
   
    Thank you for taking your time to read this question, again I know I'm still young, but I want to understand before it's too late.

Answer
Hi, Briana!  Glad you're taking an interest in writing so early in life. I didn't start until I was in my 30s, and it would have been really useful to have gotten an earlier start. The nice thing for you to know right now is that you don't HAVE to go to college for the sole purpose of learning how to write. There are plenty of classes that can teach you how, though.

In high school, once you have the ability to choose elective classes, concentrate on grammar, composition, and spelling. The biggest mistake I hear from aspiring author is, "Oh, I don't need to know that stuff. That's what an editor is for." Well, guess what? Editors have lots more to do every day than correct grammar and spelling. You'll have a lot better luck selling a novel, or article or short story, if it's *technically* correct. Then the editor can concentrate on being WOWED by the story--the plot, the characters and the flow. If they get distracted by mistakes, you lose that first chance to impress them.

If your high school has a creative writing course, definitely take that. It'll help you develop the ability to create realistic people to live in your stories, and plots that make sense to the reader, when you actually have someone knowledgeable to look it over and offer advice (for free!)

For the moment, one thing you can do is keep a journal. Write down ideas you get from watching people, or interacting with your friends. A lot of teen writers get started writing YA novels (young adult) because you KNOW what people are thinking. Just be careful not to base any one person on particular people. You don't want anyone to recognize themselves and get mad at you. You want them to have to guess who you might have used as inspiration (if you used anyone at all.)

Now, a lot of writers swear by getting an MFA (Master of Fine Arts.) But, it really doesn't help in selling a story. I only have a high school diploma plus a lot of self-study. So, it's certainly possible.

My best advice is to concentrate on perfecting the language. Learn as many synonyms as you can. Read the thesaurus constantly, try to learn as many different words as you can, and mostly---HAVE FUN! Writing is much more vibrant when you're having fun. Good luck!

Cathy