This week at the National Book Awards, we mingled with authors and filmmakers and asked them what advice they would give to young writers.
We spoke with author Julia Glass (pictured), who won the National Book Award in 2002 for her debut novel, Three Junes. She told us: “Don’t fall prey to the myths and rules about how to become a real writer. There are so many false truths about what it takes, and everybody gets there in his or her own way. It would have done me a lot of good if I had been a little bit more iconoclastic when I had started out. You don’t have to write every day. You don’t have to write what you know. You don’t have to keep a journal. Find your own way.”
We also spoke with Michael Tyner, nonfiction nominee Manny Marable‘s stepson. (Marable was a nominee for the nonfiction award this year, but he died earlier this year so his family was there in his honor).
While not a writer himself, Tyner is a filmmaker and he gave us advice to share with emerging storytellers. He said, “Tell honest stories. If you speak from your heart, then your story is always great. That is what I encourage. I am also a teacher, so I encourage my students to do the same think. I tell them to think about their own stories and use that as inspiration to tell new and great stories.”
Follow this link to check out writing advice from John Waters, Lauren Redniss and Amanda Foreman.