Writing Resources for Teens

Updated 12/9/10

Yesterday I was talking with a friend who has a teen friend who wants to be a writer.  My first instinct was to tell her to write, write, write!  And to learn proper grammar and punctuation because that’s important.  I submitted the question about resources for teens to the ACFW main loop and these are the answers I received.  Many, many thanks to those who helped with this.  I will update this as I find more resources.

  • Christian Writer’s Guild [Jerry B. Jenkins] has a teen program – Squire; Contact info: Leilani Squires
  • One person thinks Brandilyn Collins has stuff for teens – That’s a link to her blog, *I* didn’t see anything with a quick glance but maybe someone else knows
  • Written World Communications has a magazine for/by kids 9-19 – StarSong guidelines
  • Chicken Soup for the Soul is looking for teen contributors [through 12/31/10]
  • Stephanie Morrill’s Go Teen Writers – “In 2011, we’re starting a program called “Write Now” and I’m going to spend the year detailing the process of writing a novel. I encourage readers of the blog to e-mail me writing questions and we have a lot of fun on there.”
  • Mr. Raney [which is also the name of my high school music teacher – but so not the same guy – amuses me anyway ;)] runs Clash Entertainment – “an entertainment website for Christian teens and besides reviews of YA and books, movies, games, etc. of interest to teens, he also looks for contributions from teens, from photography, to reviews, to banner design, etc. The site doesn’t have craft of writing information, per se, but it’s a great place to learn about the publishing and Christian media world, and about current books that are releasing in the CBA.”  Mr. Raney is the husband of best selling author Deborah Raney.
  • Check out Caleb Breakey – Mentorship Program [didn’t have time to look around the page too much but looks like there’s a lot of good stuff there]
  • Clubhouse Magazine and Clubhouse Jr. – Submission Guidelines
  • Jill Williamson’s Teenage Author – she will answer questions submitted through the site
  • Novel Teen – direct link to Chris Solaas’ articles that ask tough questions and give tough answers about the motivations for writing.  Not for the faint of heart!
  • Melanie Dickerson’s blog
  • Randy Ingermanson’s Advanced Fiction Writing
  • Seekerville’s blog – this is personally one of my favorite places on the web – both for writing tips, awesome authors and a fabulous commenting community – plus they have a bunch of NCIS fans.  And food.  Lots of food.  And an island.  Check ’em out whether you’re a writer or not.
  • Linda Burklin has a creative writing curriculum that will be coming out early next year through the Institute for Excellence in Writing. It is aimed at 10-14 year olds, and focuses on writing stories.
  • Donita K. Paul hosts a chat every Monday night for young writers. She is currently working through Jeff Gerke’s book The Art and Craft of Writing ChristianFiction with the teens.
  • Christian online writing groups for teens, such as:
    • Diana Sharples’ Yahoo group – critique group through Yahoo for writers of Christian young adult fiction. Our members include writers at all skill levels, from novice to published, and we have some very talented teen writers in our midst. This group is for serious writers who are able to do at least one critique per week, and prospective members should be prepared to send in a sample of their work and do a sample critique. (I make an exception for ACFW members… no need to go through the approval process.)
  • Chicken Soup for the Soul is looking for teen contributors [through 12/31/10]
  • Jill Williamson’s Teenage Author – she will also answer questions people ask through the site
  • Novel Teen – direct link to Chris Solaas’ articles that ask tough questions and give tough answers about the motivations for writing.  Not for the faint of heart!

Books [recommended by Melanie Dickerson who recently compiled the list for middle schoolers]:

  • Writing Christian Fiction by Jeff Gerke
  • Fiction Writing for Dummies by Randy Ingermanson
  • Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne and King
  • The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman
  • A Novel Idea by various authors, published by Tyndale
  • Plot and Structure, Revision and Self-Editing, and The Art of War for Writers, three books by James Scott Bell
  • The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing Christian Fiction by Ron Benrey
  • Goal, Motivation and Conflict by Debra Dixon

[I have a number of these books – not that I’ve read all of them yet – but have heard many good things about them.]

ACFW, Teen Resources, Writing