Four Best Selling Authors Share Their Writing Tips For Kids

Do you dream of becoming a published author? These writing tips from best-selling authors will help you get started.

Sally Rippin 

When I have a new story idea, the most important thing is to get my ideas down while they’re still bubbling away. If I worry too much about spelling or making the sentences beautiful in the beginning, then sometimes all the ideas just go away.

So when you come up with a good idea for a story, don’t worry about what it looks like or who’s going to look at it. Just get your ideas down while they’re bubbling away and you can come back and fix your spelling later.

Jacqueline Harvey 

I think when you want to be a writer, you have to practise every day. Even if it’s just a couple of sentences. Write a description of something, or think about a character and write some notes.

I advise kids to find competitions to enter. You need to find competitions that identify good writing and give you a bit of feedback. I got my start by winning a competition. So I think they help you to focus because they give you something to work towards.

Write stuff that makes you excited. Write stuff that makes you want to switch off the TV, or get away from your video games, or get off YouTube. know that if I’m writing something really fun, and I wanna do that more than I want to go and watch a Netflix series, then I’m on to a winner.

Jaclyn Moriarty 

Write for the pleasure of storytelling without worrying about rules or getting published. Don’t be afraid to stop one story and start another if you’re growing bored.

Now and then, try to finish and polish a story to make it perfect.

Nat Amoore 

Writing can feel intimidating. I remember when I was a kid, I never thought that I would ever be able to write a book because they just had lots of words in them. But I loved telling stories. So I think even if you think you’re not the greatest writer in the world, if you really love telling stories and you want to tell stories, you can learn how to write. If I can do it, anyone can do it.

When you start writing, one of the scariest things, is putting your story out in the world for people to read. So, when you’re a kid, if you can start entering writing competitions and finding ways to put your writing out into the world, it’s a really good start and good practice for when you become a writer later on.