Writing Life: Student Writers Need Encouragement

By Kelton Hill

Creating a novel is a lot of things. It can be a privilege, a hobby, a distraction, a burden, and many other things. It is not naturally good or bad, but it’s what you decide to do with it. But writing to make a whole series of books takes a lot more than simple writing skills.

Writers need four things: imagination, sources, encouragement and patience. Imagination is vital to writing a book because most beginning writers will try to compare their books to others, such as “The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien or “A Song of Ice and Fire” by George R.R. Martin. If a writer tries to compare their story to those other stories, they’ll be limited to what they want to add in their books. A book must be written freely without being limited.

Sources are also very vital to writing books because although writers can’t base their books off of others, they can base them on events or people that have happened in real life, such as wars, assassinations, and even things that have happened in their personal lives. Examples of using sources would be looking up various cultures, names, and other things referring to something that’s happened in real life.

Heck, even reading other books can serve as sources.

”Writers need to read a from a variety of sources,” said Natasha Christian, an English teacher.

Arguably, the most important asset to writing a book is encouragement. Even though imagination and sources help in a very big way, a writer must have encouragement to go on. Any encouragement, such as saying “cool writing” can give a writer more desire to continue on with their books. In fact , November is National Writing Month, which will provide authors a chance to spread their wings and receive all kinds of comments from other writers.

Patience will also be a very important part in writing a book because writing a book is not like baking a cake. It does not take a few minutes, it can take months, probably years just to get the idea down. If a writer has a vast imagination, then as he continues to write, more ideas will flow into his head.

“I write off my emotions, so I need the experiences and heartbreaks, just like authors need this,” said Alex Neuzil, a freshman student, who has been writing ever since secnd grade.

“Many times, efforts may seem futile, but all it takes is one opportunity and that’s all what you work for. Don’t let anyone deter you from your path,” said Vincent Davis, a reporter for the San Antonio Express-News.

Being a writer can be a whole lot of work, but if it’s a beloved passion, then it’ll be worth the months and years that you put into it. Who knows? Maybe someday, that writer will become a best selling author. But that person must always be willing to persevere.

“The one thing that I believe an writer needs to succeed is the will to never give up on his or her dream,” said Davis. “Discipline, practice and mastery of the written word all play a large part in the makeup of a writer, but it’s all for naught if you stop trying when faced with rejection letters or others who tell you to seek another career.” He couldn’t be more right.