It’s exciting when your bookworm teen announces his or her plans to be a writer. But teenagers can be a finicky lot: if the adults in their lives are too excited or too supportive of a new goal, suddenly that aspiration is gone. (And having a teen with the writer’s temperament means you’re likely dealing with a moody teenager squared.)
Rather than bombard them with fancy pens and motivational reading, direct them to a comfort zone: the Internet. These sites are great resources and landing spots for future storytellers. Suggest them to your teen writer (or maybe just leave this list lying around somewhere where it’ll be seen).
Figment — Specially tailored for the teen reader/writer, Figment is a community dedicated to reading and writing stories online. Addictively fun, users can rate stories by whether they made them laugh, blush, cry, or just say “wow.” The site frequently runs contests and features work from well-known authors and editors who sometimes drop in for Figment chats with the site’s community.
Teen Ink — Supported by the nonprofit Young Authors Foundation, Teen Ink is the twenty-five-year veteran in the fostering-teen-writers game. The magazine, book series, and website are devoted entirely to writing, art, and photos by teens. It’s also a go-to for teens interested in writing and publishing nonfiction essays and articles as well as poetry.
NaNoWriMo — Short for National Novel Writing Month, NaNoWriMo is an awesome thirty-day adventure for any writer, but teens might be especially inclined to join. In November, would-be novelists the world over attempt to write a 50,000-word (or more, if they can do it) book in thirty days.
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