Does age have anything to do with anything?

27 here. I do think sometimes i'm getting too old, but more in terms of the way i've spent quite a lot of those years doing things other than writing. Still, almost done with novel number one ;)
 
I said:
I'm 41, and I'm sincerely hoping to get published in the next two years, through sheer hard work, determinism, and a willingness to take criticism.

I would have loved to have been published 10 years ago - BUT my work would be a lot stronger now - not simply because I understand a little more about writing, but also I have more life experience, and especially because I've done a lot more research. There's a whole wealth of detail I would be missing if I was published earlier, and IMO this can only make my current work much better.
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I'm 42 and though I have some short pieces out there, I hope to get a novel finished in the next year.

Age is only a limiting factor if you allow it to be one. And I plan on writing until I'm 100. :)
 
I was older than you when I first started writing
iwas older than you when I first got published
I was older than you when I got big Six/Five deal

You are a perfectly normal age for a person, or writer -- they tend to be quite similar I find.

No, it does not matter. Agents and publishers do not care (though if you are 14 ir 101 they may use it for marketing!)


None of this matters
Except one thing

Write a bloody good book

(There IS a modicum of luck here - that you write the right book at the right time. But if you are reading widely in the genre, of recent books, you should have a good idea of what is the right sort of book. If that's what you want to write is another matter. And if you write something else? You can probably still find a home for it. You can be the writer that turns things on its head. Perhaps. But you need to write a bloody good book first. That's your goal. Everything else is secondary, or should be)
 
I'd say if you have a 96-year-old grandfather, you probably have a few good years left in you.

I've told this story before, but it's still relevant: many years ago, someone asked Dear Abby if she was too old to go to medical school, having finished raising her children. She said it would take eight years, and she would be 48 years old when she graduated. Abby's response: "And how old will you be in eight years if you don't go to medical school?"

I'm going to be 45 soon, and I haven't published anything yet. But I'm getting older regardless of whether I keep trying. Don't give up!
 
I'm turning 38 soon, and I hope to have at least something published somewhere by the time I'm 40. By published, I mean online, in a magazine, anything - not necessarily printed on paper, although that of course is the ultimate dream.

I finished the first draft of my first novel this summer, and just yesterday I heard back from my second beta-reader who, while she liked it as a whole, raised the same issues as my first beta-reader. It took me over three years to finish that first draft, so I have to learn to edit and revise rather quickly now if I am to meet my goal. But at least, thanks to these first few beta-readers, I still believe in my story and want to work more on it.

Anyway, the point is, writing takes time. Writing to get published takes a lot more time, and a lot more than just writing. And who knows what the world will look like by the time you and I have actually produced something printable, Josh? We may have been invaded by friendly squirrels from outer space, who give us the ability to magically project our thoughts onto pellets of grain that people can swallow to enjoy our stories, instead of reading books in any of their current forms.

All we can do while waiting for that to happen is keep on writing and getting better at it. Regardless of age. ;)
 
I will say, getting serious about writing in my 30's and 40's has definitely given me a bit of an edge. Not to discount those lovely young pups out there, but I find I have so much to pull from insofar as experiences and (yes, I'm going to say it) wisdom.

And patience. At 25, if I had written what I wrote now, I would have sent that sucker out after draft 1, burned all my query bridges, and probably given up forever. 40-something "Me" is so much better at some of this stuff!

(Note: I know younger writers can do just as well!)
 
You need to get hold of a book called Devil in the Flesh, by Raymond Radriguet, not because it's such a good book (though it is, something of a classic in erotica) but for the foreword.

It's by another author, and it basically warns against being successful too early as a writer. (Radriguet wrote the book at about age 20) You either die right away, (like Radriguet) or have a somewhat weird and unhappy life, like Baudelaire, who had great early success as a poet but then went into a series of health and financial crises, dying at 46.

It also points out that, while artistic prodigies in some fields are almost common they are nearly unheard of in authorship. This is logical, you must have actual experience of life to write about it convincingly.
 
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Mouse said:
There's some proper oldies here. Oh they're old. So ooooooold.
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Oi! I resemble that remark!!;):eek:

As an elder statesman, I'd say you haven't got enough life experience by the time you're forty:eek:, but to quote Mandy Rice-Davies (see, you're too young to get that one!) '"Well he would say that, wouldn't he?"

It's not an authors age/race/religion/height that sells a book - it's the writing, nothing more...
 
Yes greater age equals greater life experiences and does come in very useful. But there is a point that older people reach when it all starts to deteriorate! So I guess we have a peak age! I wonder what age that is?
 
I'm 26, but I don't think age matters. What matters is when you decide to take writing seriously. That's when you'll start to learn everything you need to know (if you want to get published).

EDIT: 'life experience' isn't calculated by how old you are, it's thrust upon people of all ages. There are some of us who started learning at an early age to deal with the world and its evils. Just because you're young doesn't mean you've spent years drinking with your head in the clouds, and just because someone is 50, doesn't mean they haven't spent their whole lives in a factory providing for their family and sleeping in between shifts.
 
Christian Nash said:
EDIT: 'life experience' isn't calculated by how old you are, it's thrust upon people of all ages.
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This is absolutely true

Mind, at 25 I was so busy having my life experiences* I didn't have time to write :D


*there's been a lot of weirdness in my life and most of it came before I was 30
 
One can always claim that one is young at heart.


(This is not recommended when consulting a cardiologist, obviously.)
 
I will totally agree with Christian on the experience card. I know people who are 50-60 that have never really lived life. They never holiday, they don't have hobbies, they don't read, write, walk, gym, cook, go to shows...they watch tv...and complain...a lot.

And on the flip side there are young people I know who travel all over, life in different cities just to do it and travel Europe and work for 3 months at odd jobs while staying in hostels...so there are many different ends to the spectrum.

In my personal life, I felt held back until I was over 30. Something snapped and all of the sudden I knew there was more out there for me and I began trying to expand myself..writing being one of the areas.

And KMQ, it is really nice to hear you hadn't even began to write at my age (33) because your books are great and I know you will have huge success commercially out there so congrats to you. :)
 
WriterJosh said:
I kinda feel like I stepped on toes. All I was asking for was whether or not I'm above the normal age for a debut writer. I certainly don't mean to imply that I'm "old" or call anyone else "old".
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Ow ow ow ow OW! my toes! I use them sometimes, you know. :D;)

Age ain't nuthin but a number... :cool: if I acted my 41 years I'd be; a) unemployed, b) have missed out on one of the best game franchises ever created, and c) never be able to provoke the 'what's wrong with Jar Jar Binks?' discussion ;)

That's what I like about writing, there is relatively little impact of age on shelf life. I'm sure some of these sci-fi cleverclogs here can devise an equation formula to prove as much


pH
 
Life experience is more crucial than age, in my very-humble opinion. How can we develop interesting multifaceted characters if we've not experienced the up' and down's of life? We can guess, sure, and of course that's what we do half the time, but actual experience gives us an edge.

When I wrote in my teens I would guess that my work was pretty shallow. As time goes on, married with two kids, the death of both parents at a young age, an interesting job, lucky enough to travel.. It all adds pennies to the experience jar which can only further enrich one's writing.

:)

I'm 34 and have a lot of life experience ahead of me yet ;)
 
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