Gifted young writers span the ages, from Mary Shelley, who began writing Frankenstein at the age of eighteen and published it a year later, to Christopher Paolini, who started weaving the saga of Eragon at 15, saw it hit bookstores three years later and turned into a movie three years after that in 2006.  (More on teenage writers, here.)

SE Hinton published The Outsiders at 16.  Nancy Yi Fan sold her first novel, Swordbird, to HarperCollins at the age of 13.  Actress Ally Sheedy (The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo’s Fire) had a back-up career when she began acting as a teen-ager; she’d published a best-selling book, She Was Nice to Mice, at the age of 12, and Alec Greven taught his elders How To Talk to Girls at the age of 9!

If your child has a yen to see their name in print, there are many opportunities for the gifted young writer of short stories and non-fiction to strut their stuff.

New Moon (http://www.newmoon.com/) is a magazine for and by girls, while KidSpirit  (http://kidspiritmagazine.com/), Stone Soup (http://www.stonesoup.com/) and Skipping Stones (http://www.skippingstones.org/) accept submission from both girls and boys.  (For a detailed list of publications willing to review work by young authors, click here.)

Scholastic holds an annual, national and regional Art & Writing Contest (http://www.artandwriting.org/) with various categories, including Short Fiction.  Founded in 1923, the Scholastic Awards are the oldest, longest-running, most prestigious recognition program for creative teenagers in the United States.  National award medalists are invited to a series of professional development workshops in New York City to learn about careers in the arts.  (When I placed 3rd in 1987, it led to my first published short story, in Scholastic Magazine, at the age of 17.  Since then, I’ve written two non-fiction books and twelve novels, including a pair of New York Times best-sellers.)

If your child is hankering to take a stab at a book-length work, their age should be no impediment to success.  It may even be an enticing hook.

HarperCollins editor Phoebe Yeh told Publishers Weekly of Swordbird, "I began reading and knew immediately that this was very good.  I knew that a child had written the book and that was part of what caught my attention, yet the writing was truly top-notch and very imaginative... Nancy's level of sophistication in her approach to writing was amazing. It is rare to find a child capable of her level of understanding of what you need to do to get it right."

To help your child get started, we turned to Dan Elish, best-selling children’s author of such books as The Attack of the Frozen Woodchuks and Born Too Short: The Confessions of an Eighth Grade Basket-Case.

Read Dan’s advice below!

How should a young writer go about writing their first novel? That’s a difficult question because there are so many different ways to answer it. The first and most important rule is that there are no rules. The famous novelist, John Irving, plots out every detail before he writes a word. Other writers start with an idea and figure things out as they go. But I suppose the most important thing any writer needs is a desk of some sort and a chair. The next step is to sit in the chair and get to work!

OK, now that you’re at your desk, what happens next? Well, you need a good idea. But what makes an idea good? Well, generally speaking, most good books focus on a single main character (Harry Potter, or Charlie in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) who the reader will want to root for. Usually, something quite out of the ordinary happens to this character. Harry Potter discovers that his parents were famous wizards. Charlie wins a gold ticket which allows him to be one of five children who tour Willy Wonka’s amazing chocolate factory. But whatever your idea is, it has to be something that excites you. Never write a piece of fiction that seems boring. Whether your story is a fantasy set on the third moon of Neptune or a true-life novel set in your own backyard, make sure that you think the idea is great.

OK, so have your great idea. Now what? If you’re the type of person who likes outlines, go ahead and outline your book. Starting with chapter one, write down everything that is going to happen and who it is going to happen to. Get to know your characters. Give them names, friends, jobs and families.

As you draft your story, make sure it has a beginning, middle, and end. Let’s take Harry Potter again.

The Beginning: Harry was an orphan who discovers he’s been accepted to Hogwart’s. What event propels your character on his or her journey?

The Middle: Harry is at the school, studying, playing Quidditch and trying to unravel various mysteries. Where does your story take place? What obstacles does your hero have to overcome to reach the end?

The End: Harry defeats "He Whose Name Cannot Be Spoken" (at least until book two) and survives his first year of school. How does your book end? Does your hero win a fight? Does the team win the big game? Or lose the big game? Does the main couple live happily ever after? Try and have a general idea about that before you start - that way, you’ll know what events you’re writing towards.

OK, you’ve thought through your story, you know your characters; you have a solid beginning, middle and end. Now it’s time to get to work. Write a chapter. Read it through. Change what you don’t like. Then write another chapter. And another. Pretty soon, you’ll have a whole book, right?

Well, sort of. No one that I know of has ever written a good novel in an afternoon. When I began my first book, The Worldwide Dessert Contest, I thought it’d take me a couple of months. In the end, it took a year and a half. I’m not saying that it’ll take you that long - it probably won’t. But nonetheless, as the saying goes, books aren’t written, they are rewritten.

But don’t despair! You love your idea, right? It’s going to be the best novel ever! So rewriting it will be kind of fun. Show it to friends and teachers you trust. Get their opinions. Be willing to change something if you think it can improve the book. On the other hand, never let someone talk you into changing something that doesn’t seem right to you. Remember - it’s your book.

One final thought. I’m a big believer in inspiration. By that I mean, the inspiration that can come from reading other books. If you love Charlotte’s Web, read it again and again, studying how E.B. White constructed his scenes and structured the plot. Other writers are there to help you. Reading books you love will only make you a better writer.

And now, a final, FINAL thought. Getting published. Publishers are always looking for good new work. So make sure your book is as original and well done as you can make it, then look up the names of editors at your favorite publishers, and send them a short, well-written cover letter, describing the book, along with a couple of chapters. (Don’t forget to make sure your manuscript is double-spaced). Another way to get published is to get an agent (an agent is someone who shops your book to publishers for you). There are also reference books that list every children’s agent in the country. Write them polite query letters, describing your book. Again, include a couple of chapters. If you’ve spent all your time writing and loving your book, you might just be surprised at the positive response you get!

(Editor’s Note: The Gifted Education Examiner strongly discourages authors of any age from taking the self-publishing route.  This is not considered a genuine credit in the publishing word and will work against the author’s selling a future project to a legitimate publisher.  Any time an author is asked for money from their publisher, they cannot be considered legitimate.  If you are asked for money, you are simply getting your book printed, not published and certainly not professionally edited.  This is fine if you simply want a few copies to give out to family and friends, but not if you would like to be considered an author.  More on self-publishing, here.)