Writing by children

When to start

Lots of children and teenagers worry that nobody will take their writing seriously until they're adults and there is probably a little bit of truth in that, but it's also important to remember that there are also lots of writing opportunities which are only available to children. If you look carefully, especially with the help of a teacher or a librarian, there are all sorts of magazines, websites and newsletters you can try. There are also lots of writing competitions which are created especially for young authors, offering some fantastic prizes and valuable experience. So if your dream is to be a published writer, you may not have to wait as long as you think before you can get to work.

Child authors

Of course there are some very young people who have succeeded in having their stories published as books. As well as being one of the world's saddest books to read,The Diary of Anne Frank is also one of the best known. Anne began writing it when she was just thirteen. The youngest author ever published by Ladybird is Jayne Fisher, who wrote her first book when she was only nine. She published twelve books in total and her series, which was about fruit and vegetables with names and personalities, was called 'The Garden Gang'. I was five years old when her books began to come out and I loved them! If you would like to read more about Jayne and her writing, you can look here.

Keeping a notebook

If you would like to be a writer, I think one of the best things you can do is find a notebook to keep with you all the time, so that you can jot down good ideas when you think of them and make a note of interesting things you might want to include in a story some day. Often you only need two or three interesting thoughts before a story starts to form in your mind, so it's very helpful to have a collection building up all the time.

The Henrietta Branford Writing Competition for Young Writers

As you can guess from the name of this competition, it is connected with someone in my own family. My aunt Henrietta Branford was both a wonderful children's writer and a very special person, and this competition was named after her. It is especially for writers under the age of nineteen and every year six winners are invited to a party in London, where they can meet lots of other writers, editors and publishers and also receive their award and prizes. If you would like to enter, you can visit here to find out all about it.