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The month of April has become home for one of the most underrated and important National Days on the calendar; National Encourage a Young Writer Day! National Encourage a Young Writer day takes place on April 10th and creates the perfect platform for professional writers to share their own experiences and tips to further inspire aspiring young writers of the next generation. Because of this, we have compiled a list of professional advice from some of the most inspiring self-starting authors and publishers from around the globe.
Check out their specialized writer’s addition brain hacks, and grab some advice from those who have been around the block of the professional writing world.
Brain Hack: Focus on your desired outcome.
This brain hack offers young writers a chance to center themselves and their thoughts. A career in writing is one of the most competitive workforce climates, and can often create thoughts of doubt in one’s mind, especially for a young writer. By centering your thoughts focusing in on your ultimate desired end result, you can single-handedly promote the positive mental encouragement you need in order to make this outcome ring true.
“The First assignment we give patients is an exercise called form, feeling function. This is an exercise that gets the patient to change their focus from the negative symptoms they are feeling to the positive healthy version of their bodies they want to experience.” – Lanae Goolsby and Henry J. Trip, Authors of Empowered Medicine: Harnessing the laws of the universe for optimized health
Brain Hack: Take the road less traveled.
This is most certainly a phrase we have all heard many times before, but it often goes unused, especially in a professional setting. Pursuing a career in the writing industry is often scary and very uncertain, which pushes many great young authors away from reaching their full potential. When it comes to this industry, you simply cannot play it safe. This brain hack encourages young writers to reach for the stars, and create something no one else has gotten around to creating yet.
“My tip is to encourage everyone to look for the unused space in their life. So many people think of their careers, or relationships and play it safe. They try to follow the path all others have used. Instead look for the space others have not gone. Be brave and try to fill the empty spaces.” – Derek Koehl, Publisher and Founder of VerbalEyze
Brain Hack: Show up ready to work.
Most young writers are often scared of failure, thus creating a fear that steers a lot of them away from putting in the draining hours of work it takes in order to create a successful finalized product. This brain hack is simple, just do it. By showing up every day and demanding the very best from yourself, you can promote a more fluent writing process. In turn, publishers are going to see the blood sweat and tears that was put into your work.
“If you want to create just create. Make yourself do it more. There are good days and bad days but you have to show up every day to get there.” – Jim Landwehr, Author of The Portland House: A ’70s Memoir, and On A Road
Brain Hack: Love yourself.
This brain hack may seem like the most simple one on our list, but it is also often the most difficult to enact. If you are not capable of loving yourself through your professional struggles such as writer’s block, or a failed story, it becomes hard to create the work you are most capable of. Loving yourself creates the confidence that is necessary to create the book of your dreams.
“My brain hack to have a firm foundation in self-love. You need to have it rooted in your heart, not just have it as an idea floating around in your head. Your core heart has to see yourself as lovable, loving and loved.” – Joffre McClung, Author of The Heart of the Matter, and Former
Brain Hack: Channel your inner entrepreneur.
All of us see problems within our world and society each day, especially writers. This is where many writers gather the inspiration to create a story in order to solve or express a deeper issue at hand. The difference is found within those that decide to use their entrepreneurial skills in order to act upon these problems. Do not be scared to create an original story, or else someone might just beat you to it.
“I think some people see a problem but the entrepreneur decides to act and actually thinks they can make a difference.” – Barb Daniels, Pinnacle Award Winning Children’s Picture Book Author of the Timmy Teacup Series
Brain Hack: Have faith.
It is often easy to doubt yourself, especially as a young writer. This brain hack encourages young writers to keep the faith. Think positively about your work and know that no matter the turn out everything you endure is a greater learning experience. When you focus too much on the nitty gritty, you can lose sight of your creative process. So sit back, and let faith guide you through it all.
“Have faith that the book will turn out well. Just believe there is something coming through you.” – Ivan Obolensky, Author of Eye of the Moon
Brain Hack: Take a risk.
This brain hack may be easier said than done, but it is one that young writers should listen to. In order to stand out within this industry, you need to break barriers and do something that has yet to be done. As individuals and especially in writers, we all look at things from different perspectives, so take a risk on your uniquely original ideas.
“The brain hack is to think about this problem differently … we need to be comfortable with taking some risk.” – Raleigh Sadler, Author of the upcoming book Vulnerable: Rethinking Human Trafficking.
Brain Hack: Find the perfect publisher.
This brain hack offers advice that writers can often overlook. The publisher that an author chooses greatly impacts the exposure their work receives. This hack stresses the importance of weighing your options. Don’t just jump at the first publisher that loves your work. Instead, make this process a deeply personal experience, and choose the best fit for you.
“Point one is decide what is the best home for your book. Don’t just try to publish anywhere.” – Kate Gale, Managing Editor of Red Hen Press
Brain Hack: Find your voice.
The writing community is a large and competitive one, and this brain hack stresses the importance of finding your personal voice and using it strongly. As an author it is vital you are forming a connection with your audience, and this becomes much easier when you have a strong and stable voice. Use this voice, and don’t be afraid to promote it to the entire world.
“The brain hack for authors is to have a strong voice. The writing community is so diverse and big. There are so many different voices out there you need to stand out.” – Lindy Ryan, Publisher and Founder of Black Spot Books
Brain Hack: Form a creative space.
Writing is a skill that takes a unique sense of creativity. However, even some great writers can often run into roadblocks. This brain hack strongly encourages making adjustments and adapting your environment to reach its full creative potential. A creative environment and a positive attitude can pull the award-winning writer out of anyone.
“The best brain hack is to create the most creative environment for every person.” – Greg Diehl, Author of Brand Identity Breakthrough: How to Craft Your Company’s Unique Story to Make Your Products Irresistible, and Founder of Identity Publications.
Brain Hack: Face your fears.
Facing your fears in writing is the only way that a young writer can grow. This brain hack encourages young writers to set aside their fears and tackle them head-on. This is the only way that we can move past these often debilitating negative thoughts, in order to create the best work.
“People don’t face their fears … move beyond the fear to actually take a step forward” – Marty Vargas, Award-winning Author of A Place for You – How I found my Homeless Mom and How it Changed my life
Brain Hack: Be selfish.
The perk about a professional career in writing is the sense of entrepreneurship that comes along with it. Young writers need to be selfish when they are creating their stories and content in order to stay true to who they are, and to share the message they hope to get across. When you lose sight of your goals, it becomes difficult to inflict your views upon your readers.
“It may sound selfish, but think of it this way, if you do not place yourself first, and I mean the VERY FIRST, how can you motivate and inspire all of the amazing people around you?” – Adita Lang, Author of SuperPowers, A Busy Woman’s Guide to Health and Happiness, and women’s advocate for healthy living
Brain Hack: Avoid fake news.
Fact checking is one of the most important elements in the writing process. When stories are published with false information, it can ruin a writers reputation, and eventually their entire career. This brain hack stresses just how important original, and fact-checked content is within this industry.
“Look for multiple sources. For any story. Compare the sources. And don’t just take three printings of the same story.” – Karl Suchman, Author of Murdering the Message: How Real Journalists Cope with Fake News
Erin Proud is currently a Junior at the University at Buffalo, pursuing a degree in Communications. She previously was a writing intern for Glitter Magazine, and currently is a PR/Marketing intern at Farrow Communications.
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