Meg Cabot’s Advice For Young Writers

Writers Write shares writing tips and writing resources. In this post, we share Meg Cabot’s Advice For Young Writers.

Meg Cabot, who was born 1 February 1967, is a best-selling American author. Her 80+ books for both adults and tweens/teens have included multiple #1 New York Times bestsellers, selling over twenty-five million copies worldwide.

She is well-known for writing The Princess Diaries, a series which has sold more than 20 million copies. The series was made into two feature films of the same name.

Meg Cabot (her last name rhymes with habit, as in ‘her books can be habit forming’) currently lives in Key West with her husband and two cats.

We found this writing advice on her website.

Meg Cabot’s Advice For Young Writers

1. Write the kinds of stories you like to read. If you don’t love what you’re writing, no one else will, either.
2. Don’t tell people you want to be a writer. Everyone will try to talk you out of choosing a job with so little security, so it is better just to keep it to yourself, and prove them all wrong later.
3. You are not a hundred dollar bill. Not everyone is going to like you … or your story. Do not take rejection personally.
4. If you are blocked on a story, there is probably something wrong with it. Take a few days off and put the story on a back burner for a while. Eventually, it will come to you.
5. Read-and write-all the time. Never stop sending out your stuff. Don’t wait for a response after sending a story out…start a new story right away, and then send that one out! If you are constantly writing and sending stuff out (don’t forget to live your life, too, while you are doing this) eventually someone will bite!
6. It is nearly impossible to get published these days without an agent. The guide I used to get mine was called the Jeff Herman Guide to Agents, Editors, and Publishers. It was well worth the money I spent on it, since it lists every agent in the business and what he or she is looking for. It also tells you how to write a query letter, what to expect from your publisher, and all sorts of good stuff…a must buy for any aspiring author!
7. And above all, become a good listener. In order to write believable dialogue, you need to listen to the conversations of the people around you—then try to imitate them! So my advice is always to try to keeping quiet, listen only, and let other people to do the talking for a change. You’ll be surprised how much this will improve your writing skills (and how many people will think you’re a really sage person, when all you’re basically doing is spying on them).
8. Good luck, and keep writing! If I can do it, so can you!

Source for advice / Source for image