Can you still improve your writing ability at an old age ?

Question

I'm 17 which may not seem old to most people but it is to me.
I have never bothered to consider taking writing as a possible career choice until now. but i have come to the realization that my writing lacks taste and substance.
I'm constantly plagued with writer's block and can't jot anything down without thinking about it for a long period of time.

Is this normal or is it I just lack the 'know-how' that's native to good writers ?

Answer 1

There has been no writer ever born who was not plagued at some point, or even many points, throughout their careers as writers, by writers bloc. Do you know that there have been many good poets who did not start writing poetry until they were well advanced in age past 30 and even 40? How do you know your writing lacks taste and substance? Have you asked someone for advice? Without reference points or feedback, you will not know exactly what your writing lacks. Many writers, if not most writers, think their writing could be better, Yes, the best of them.

You can improve your writing until you are too old to think anymore, so don't worry about that. You need to have someone look at something you've written so that you can get some feedback on it first. It could be that your writing is good and just needs editing.
If you find yourself in writers bloc, leave the writing and come back to it after a relief.
Some writers lock themselves in their rooms for days until they emerge with something, anything, that resembles writing
You will find what is comfortable for you.
You are overthinking and overextending your thoughts, twisting them into an incomprehensible pile in your head.
First things first, get opinions of your writing. When you get an idea what you have to work on, you can go from there.

Second thing is to find a routine that suits you.
I would highly recommend the book : The Writer's Desk
by Jill Krementz http://www.amazon.com/Writers-Desk-Jill-Krementz/dp/0679450149/sr=8-1/qid=1163837481/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-4989363-6088658?ie=UTF8&s=books to help you on this journey.
Classes on creative writing may help you as well.
Good Luck! You have so much time ahead of you.

Answer 2

I often have that problem. I sit down, write three or four chapters, lean back and think "Ok, now what?" It is a problem. It's a problem that only you can work through. I use a few techniques that might help you. My first one is an outline. If I'm having trouble I sit down and plan a light idea of where I want the story to go. Oftentimes this has opened up a new path for my character to embark on without me even knowing it. Another technique that I use is the "fresh start". I save that story and go to a short something that I have in my mind. It cleans the slate. And then two days later... No longer than that or I tend to lose the story completely... I force myself to go back and read all of what I've written. Then I pick it back up with the VERY first thing that I think of. Yet another technique is my "Write until you stop" technique. With this one I simply write and write and write. Even if it's terrible. I can always go back and delete whatever I don't like. But some of my best ideas have come from that jumble of thoughts. Every once in awhile I hit a key phrase that spins the story into the right direction. And sometimes I just write myself to another idea. I hope that some of these help, but it's really about finding what's good for you. Also, free writing helps to free your mind and allow yourself to access your imagination. Writing is a discipline. It isn't easy, and it isn't always fun. Take it from someone that does it for a living. But it will always be what you want it to be. You just have to work at it. I suggest writing every day. In a journal, online or in a book. But do it everyday. Set a limit, maybe a page or two, and meet it. Everyday. It will help.

Answer 3

All it takes is practice. Not being able to write stuff down without thinking about it -- write down everything you can, even just random sentences and words that sounds good together.

The thing about writing is, it takes practice. Lots and lots of practice. If you want help, check out the Yahoo! group Young Writers 101, or sign up for FictionPress.com. Or better yet, do both. Try to connect with people who can read your writing and give you good criticism. I've found that sometimes all I need to get rid of writer's block is to have someone read what I've written.

I hope this helps.

Answer 4

I would say there is still hope for you. I made a big step forward in learning how to write when I was 28. I went back to college after dropping out. I learned to write when two things came together: first, a good instructor, and second, the real desire to get a message across. The instructor could see where I was trying to go, and she gave me the feedback I needed to bring my message out. After that, the art of writing made more sense. Now I work as a technical writer, and writing has become the easiest part of my job. The research part takes more time than the writing.

Good luck.

Answer 5

Many famous writers waited until middle age to really start their writing career. They may have dabbled at writing a little when young but it wasn't until their late 30's and 40's that they really started writing. Two good examples are Sir Walter Scott (Ivanhoe, The Red Gauntlet, Waverly, etc.) and H. R. Haggard (She, King Solomon's Mines, The Allan Quartemain series).

Don't worry about your age. Many writers found they had to live some and experience life before they could write about it. Or at least write about it and then sell their books.

Arthur Conan Doyle went to medical school and became a doctor. He turned to writing and Sherlock Holmes stories in his late twenties because his medical practice was slow and he needed to supplement his income. (In those days, doctors bought the practice of successful doctors who wanted to retire. If you couldn't afford to buy some other doctor's practice, you opened your own in the poorer parts of a town and struggled to make money. That's what happened to Doyle.) When his writing career became lucrative he retired from practicing medicine.

Answer 6

To begin with your first question. Both my husband and I are 71 and we both write and have plenty to write about. My husband has written two novels. He has written his life story, his mothers, his fathers and his brothers, who died of leukemia He started when he was 52. I started ten years ago. My history, my mothers and 500 pages of my fathers history. We probably won't publish but we have copy right with the library of Congress on some of our writing. I just keep getting better all the time. You must do a lot of reading. I have listed all that I have read since I retired in 1996. I have read 406 books. Reading has helped me more than any thing else. You need a subject to write about. I have a list below. They are questions for you to answer about your life. You might as well be the first thing you write about. You will also have the story of the begining of your life. You will love it if you will just start and have some one help you edit your writing. The all caps questions are headings.


WHEN I WAS A BABY
I was born
When I was a baby, some people said
When I was born my family lived at
I remember our home as
When I was born, my family included
Stories my family tells about me when I was a baby is
WHEN I WAS A CHILD
One of my earliest childhood memories is
I started school at the age of
The things I liked best about school then was
My nickname as a child was
Some of my favorite things to do were
The most popular games then were
MY CHILDHOOD FAVORITES
Toys
Songs
Books
Movies
Activities
Some special things from my childhood that I’ll always remember are
WHEN I WAS A TEEN
I remember being a teenager as
My favorite age was
I had my first kiss when I was
Some of the things I remember about dating are
At that time, for dates we usually
For other fun on weekends, I would
Some of the rules my parents set for me were
I was expected to help at home by doing things like
To earn spending money
How did I spent my money
Some of the special things from my teen years that I’ll always remember are
My education ended

Answer 7

Yes but it takes a lot of practice. A good place to start is at your local college. Most Community Colleges and satellite campuses of your state college has writing courses designed to teach you how to write.

Answer 8

most people don't write, and therefore publish, until they are well into adulthood.

keep trying..you are never too old to learn