Can a young writer ever write a great book?

I've been a writer as long as I can remember. From a young age, I wanted to write a great book—something that mattered, that left a mark. But can a young writer ever write a great book?

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CHAPTERS
0:00 - The Question
1:23 - I. Growing Up Between Pages
3:32 - II. The Argument
5:22 - III. Precedent
7:00 - IV. Young Brains
8:50 - V. Answers
11:47 - VI. The Long Road

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SOURCES
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ABOUT
I'm Grayson Taylor, an author and filmmaker, here to help you on your creative journey by sharing what I've learned—and what I'm still learning—about storytelling. After writing my first full-length novel when I was seven, I've authored more than a dozen action-adventure, sci-fi, mystery, and dystopian books. I've also written and directed several short films, composed music, and acted onstage, on TV, and in films.

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[Nate-]

You're never too young or too old to write

[rociomiranda]

Mary Shelley was nineteen when she wrote Frankenstein. So, yes.

[emmik]

As a teenager who’s about to jump into the editing phase of her first novel, this is very encouraging and thought-provoking. Thank you 👍

[blairewilde]

As a 16-year old writer and authortuber trying to write and publish my debut novel, I find this incredibly inspiring!! Thank you so much!! I think age doesn't matter as much when it comes to writing, I think there is genius in everyone in some way, and we can all find it, though some don't find it until they're older and some find it much younger (idk if this makes much sense or is written right, sorry), and the more we write the better we'll get and closer we'll get to writing that "great" book (though in a way every book is great, since it impacts at least someone)

[gabriel.casellas]

Thanks Grayson! I think sometimes we concern ourselves a lot with the 'greatness' of what we write. Really, writing something valuable depends on the value it holds to us and the value it holds to those that read it. I don't think being a best-seller or winning prizes shows the quality of a book, only the popularity.

Thank you for the inspiration you provide, Grayson, you're young but you're passionate, and most of the time, that is what matters regarding writing.

[joshuam]

young writers and new writers get a lot of grief about who not good they are my writing buddies are in there 60s they are newer writer and they made the same kind of mistake young writers make me I'm 40 been writing for at least 10 years never sown my work thought it was not good enough but now i am getting ready to get feedback for my writing buddies so nervous
never give up keep improving the journey is just as important as the destination

[KipVaughan]

I did fine at writing in high school but then I largely quit in college so that I could focus on graphic design laying out other people's writings. While in lock-down with all kinds of time on my hands I returned in writings that appeared in my design work while learning new web design tools. I wrote two online interactive books; one a chapter book and the other a collection of writings and short stories.

I am very happy with how all those skills came together later in life even though a really wish there was a way for it to happen sooner. Maybe there was, but I guess you can't think about that too much. Just got to forge ahead and be thankful that it came all worked out at some point right?

[maiapawley]

I'm a similar age to you and an aspiring writer as well. My current big project is a fanfiction and I've found that even in those spaces, which you'd expect to be more casual or accepting older writers seem somewhat dismissive of younger ones, claiming we won't have the experience (both in life and writing) to create something worth reading. Not everyone has that sentiment of course, but overall there's a dismissive attitude. I'm trying to be really ambitious with this fic, though and taking the extra time to make it as good as possible, editing more intensely than I usually do and being disciplined about drafting every day. Originally, I dreamed about "tricking" my readers, for lack of a better term. Basically, I fantasized about people being so impressed with my story that they thought I was older than I was and then I'd get to tell them, "No, I'm actually in undergrad, " and snicker to myself. But watching this video (and reading through my drafts again) helped me realize that my youth is a strength to my writing actually. So what if someone can tell how old I am, as long as I tried my best, right? I'm going to make this story the absolute limit to how good my writing can be right now because if I do, it'll make my writing better when I am older and do have that life and writing experience. If I limited myself now because I underestimated myself, my writing won't be nearly as good later on, after all.

Thanks for this video. I really appreciated it. :)

[resistancepublishing]

Age doesn’t matter when writing stories. But to capture the emotional range of the human experience, a person should have gone through life, have empathy and knows the full measures of storytelling rules enough to be able to break them. Great video

[absolutelycitron]

As a certified old I say yes! Yes you can!

[octav]

I've recently discussed a lot about the worth of movies / series / books that are just entertaining. Apparently there are people who do think that a work of art is not worth anything if it doesn't have a lot of messages and so on. I found the best movies or books, depending on time I watched or read them, to be the ones that just entertain the viewer / reader in just the right way.

So this being said, I think a great work can come out of a young person, or anyone really - however the chance increases that a person with a lot of experience (that comes along with age) will produce a better work. That is all. Also there is the fact that older people actually get to publishing their writings. At age of 15, back before the internet age, I would never have dreamed of publishing anything I wrote. I didn't even know where to begin to do that. A lot of young people will have the tools needed now like never before - we can only wait and see.

[cakestealer]

Your conclusion about needing to be internally driven seems to be an unfortunate truth. For years, I’ve tried to find some sort of passion that drives me to put in the effort, but I never have. Being extremely depressed for the last decade has only made things worse. I strive to genuinely *want* to try, but my fear of failure, and the mental barriers I’ve built up, have only resulted in me giving up before even making an attempt. I desperately want to create something good, but I’m filled with doubt as to if I’m doing it for the right reasons, if I’ll ever be good enough, if I even can bring myself to make a genuine attempt.

[anthonymwangi]

This was good video, definetly encouraged me. Thanks bro

[noah.embrey]

Can you share the book that made you want to be a writer ?

[njames]

As a 21 year old writer, thanks for making this boss

[rantple]

Great video!! I wish more people knew about your channel- truely inspiring. (I know this sounds like a bot comment but I swear I'm not a bot lol)

[mdavidmullins]

Rimbaud published _Une Saison en Enfer_ while still in his teens I believe. Can a teenager produce a great *novel?* The odds are against it as it does generally require a certain type of developed thinking not present in the young, but there's a difference between a great *novel* and a great *book.*

[ItsMe_-lozg]

Is it weird I listen to rock to help me write? The sound is heavy, but the lyrics are heavier.

[ItzzSamantha-il]

I also started writing my stories when I was young (7). but they aren't done yet. and I'm working on another writing project now.

[Ppsicle]

Thank you for this video,
After I shared the fact that I want to write a book with my father I got thoroughly refuted, from my age to my lingual skills. He just didn't believe that someone like me had something to say - No, writers are 65+ retired guys with plenty of life experience.