November 7, 2011

“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?” –Satchel Paige

I had two new students last week mention that they were probably too old to start writing. I’d like to debunk that myth. It’s never too late to get started! It’s always a good time to tackle a new dream.

What’s Age Got To Do With It?

Jessica Tandy won the Academy Award for Best Actress at age eighty. James Michener didn’t write his first novel until age forty-two, then produced a gazillion bestsellers before he died at age ninety. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s first Little House book was published when she was 65. There’s a woman in my neighborhood who can out-run me, and she’s at least seventy. I started biking last year (that’s me in the picture), and while my no frills bike (foot brakes, one speed) marks me as old, I can pass younger people going up hills.

Youth isn’t everything–not in physical endeavors, nor mental ones. Certainly not in writing!

Experience Rules!

Become comfortable with your current age, even if it’s not what you wish it were. You have tremendous writing potential because you’ve lived long enough to have learned a lot. You have life experience! By now you’ve been in the work force in one career or more. You’ve raised children–enough material there alone to last a lifetime!

Some years ago I had an elderly student (70′s) who wrote beautiful historical fiction lifted straight out of her childhood–a la Laura Ingalls Wilder. She loved doing it! She didn’t have to do any research, yet her descriptions were superb and rich with detail because she drew on her personal experiences.

Time’s a Wastin’

If writing and publishing are aspirations for you–but you’ve come to it later in life than others–please don’t let that stop you. If you come to the end of your life, will you be disappointed that you didn’t try? I think you will.

You have the same qualities that drive younger writers: creativity, perseverance, and a passion to succeed. You may not have as much energy, but you probably have a much larger pool of ideas and experiences to draw from. You may also have more time to choose what to do now that children have grown and flown the coop.

Don’t be afraid to start something new at any stage of life. Chances are good that, if you apply yourself like any other writer, it’s not too late to succeed.

5 Comments »

1. 

   Amen! One of my most favorite ICL students was a 76-yr-old great grandmother. I am so happy she is writing her memoir to share with all her family. Never a dull moment, we call it.

   Comment by Vijaya — November 7, 2011 @ 9:57 am

2. 

   What an uplifting post! Thanks Kristi! As you can easily guess, I appreciated this very much because I’m …well past my prime! And yes I’ve had a family, children (they’ve flown the coop) and a career, 25 years in the United Nations – I ended as a Director for Europe and everyone around me thought I had done a brilliant career, especially as a woman in a man’s world.

   Now I’m retired (since 2004) and I don’t really attach as much value to what I’ve done as to what I can still do. And one of these things is writing fiction (even though I’m a trained economist!). But writing is an old dream, and all my life I’ve had to do other things to earn a living. So I’m back to my old dream and happy to be able to dig into that pool of experience – as you put it – for inspiration. I think I’ve got enough material to write dozens of books! Yet, I’ve discovered that quite a few people including lit agents seem to think that it’s too late to start.

   That’s why a post such as yours is important. To dispel that mistaken notion.

   Because, you’re so right, it’s NEVER too late to start! Sure, it’s an uphill road, but if you’ve got it in you, you can make it whether you’re 20, 50, 70 or 80! The thing is to have that burning fire inside and to keep stoking it. That’s why a post like yours really helps!

   Comment by Claude Nougat — November 11, 2011 @ 12:21 pm

3. 

   Vijaya, I loved my older students too. The stories they could tell! Eye-witness accounts to history in the making…

   Claude, I’m thrilled for you having time now to pursue your writing dream. And yes, judging from your previous career’s description, you must have dozens of books in you! It’s funny about ages…when I was 30, my editor was in her 50s, as many of them were then. I looked forward to being in my 50s and the same age as editors, hoping I wouldn’t feel intimidated anymore. So I get to my 50s, and suddenly all the editors and agents are about 12. Not what I expected! We just have to write fabulous books/stories and show them!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — November 11, 2011 @ 5:48 pm

4. 

   When I taught first grade, all my students had dialogue journals. They wrote in them first thing in the morning and put them in a basket, then I’d write back to them after school and put their journals back on their desks. If the kids weren’t writing much, I’d put in questions as prompts, so one day I wrote, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” to Juan. His response? “I want to be a fireman. What do you want to be when you grow up a little bit more?” I’ve never forgotten that! I also love the book IT’S ONLY TOO LATE IF YOU DON’T START NOW by Barbara Sher, who compares being a middle-aged woman to being an 11-year-old again but with a car, a driver’s license, and a credit card. Go for it!

   Comment by Katherine — November 18, 2011 @ 8:45 am

5. 

   Katherine, that is just too funny! “What do you want to be when you grow up a little bit more?” Great question! And Barbara Sher writes great books–makes you feel like you can do anything! I enjoyed her LIVE THE LIFE YOU LOVE many years ago. Spurred me on in my dream of writing fulltime.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — November 18, 2011 @ 2:01 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website