Wendy Mass
My advice would be that it's never too early to start collecting story ideas. Find a notebook that you love (I use those black and white composition notebooks) and start filling it with your own experiences, snippets of overheard conversations, quotes that you read which affect you in some way, funny/sad/moving stories that you've heard about other people's lives, and descriptions of people and places that you find captivating. That way, when you're ready to sit down and write a story, you'll have all this background to draw from. I'd also suggest taking creative writing classes whenever possible. If your school doesn't offer them, there are after-school and summer programs, and even classes through the Internet. Or form a writing group with like-minded friends where you can comment on each other's work in a supportive environment. Perhaps the most important thing to do if you want to be a writer is to learn how to be a good reader. Read everything you can get your hands on, especially within the field that you think you'd want to write. See how these other authors create their characters and weave their plots. More goes into it than you'd think, and when you start looking at stories closely, you'll see how they all have the same building blocks in common. I'd also recommend getting on the staff of your school newspaper or literary magazine.
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