When I was young, all I ever wanted to do in my free time was write. My preteen years were filled with pencil boxes and notebooks and secret corners I could escape from my five other siblings to write a story.
I wrote mysteries, sci-fi, fantasy, dramas, and even tragic romances. I checked out creative writing books from the library, took classes in high school, and even taught a class for younger kids. Though all this, I didn’t have the tools or education I do now about story structure and the craft of writing. If only I could take what I learned in college, books, and writer’s groups and give it to my younger self.
Maybe I would have felt less lost. Maybe I would have been encouraged. Maybe I wouldn’t have felt so alone.
I hadn’t realized how much those early writing years shaped me into who I am today. How I wish I’d had access back then to the resources I have now. It wasn’t until my middle-schooler niece expressed her dream of writing a book that I started reflecting on what young writers today need most.
I scoured the internet and bookstore for a workbook option for her. I wanted a workbook that helped her plan her story, develop her characters, and learn best practices that would grow her writing interest. It surprised me I couldn’t find what I was looking for.
There were plenty of in-depth guides and workbooks for adults, but few accessible resources designed specifically for a 12-year-old eager to write her first book. Even the kid workbooks were geared towards writing prompts or creative writing in general. Most of them are more useful in the classroom than in the hands of an ambitious young writer.
I guess, I was looking for what I wanted when I was a kid. I wanted to give my niece something that had the knowledge and tools to make her first novel attempt a success. Things that I, as an author, use every day in writing.
That was when I realized my best gift to not only my niece, but my own inner young writer would be to write the workbook myself. I am just lucky enough to find another author who felt the same way as I did.
After countless hours of research, collaboration, and creativity, Brittany Tucker and I created My First Novel: A Story Plotting Workbook for Tweens & Teens. This book is a resource we would have loved to have as young writers. We’ve filled it with tools and tips that we wanted to share with young writers—so much of it we wanted to tell our younger selves.
My greatest hope is for this workbook to find its way into the hands of young writers and inspire them to write their first, second or third novel! I know they have amazing stories to tell.
My First Novel: A Story Plotting Workbook for Tweens & Teens will be available for purchase February 3, 2025. Learn more here!
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