As the official Young Writers Philippines Tweeter, I get to search hundreds of writing tips when I link you guys to them on our Twitter. Most of them are inspirational, while others are more technical. Nevertheless, these writing tips are helpful. They do make you more aware of what you're writing. So, having explored countless websites offering writing advice, I've decided to give you advice of my own.

1. ADMIT TO YOURSELF THAT YOU SUCK -  Whoa. Okay, I know this sounds a bit mean, but the truth is, we all suck. But is that a bad thing? Yes, if you don't do anything about it. You need to accept the fact that we aren't great writers yet. You're still young. No one was born with the exceptional talent of writing. If you learn to accept that you do suck and that you do need help with your writing, you can enhance your writing skills. That way, you can create something that is truly beautiful.
2. STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHER WRITERS - I read some stories written by people around my age and quickly found myself becoming insecure of my abilities. The stories were just so well-written, and the readers were so happy by those stories. I was suddenly so sickened by my own writing that I decided to reread and edit everything that I wrote. But after editing and questioning my life's purpose, I realized that I hated what my stories had become. It was like its soul had been ripped out. And then I understood that I didn't have to be like a certain writer. Sure, it's okay to study how they write, but changing your writing entirely is not. Why try to write like someone else?
3. DON'T BE AFRAID TO SHOW YOUR WORK - How else are you going to know if your work is good if you don't show it to anyone? Chances are, you think your work needs to be ripped into a million pieces. But what if it isn't bad? What if it's the best thing that has ever happened to literature? Just show it to your friends and ask for their opinion. If they like it, great! If they don't, ask them why. Your work will never reach its full potential unless you let people help you with it.
4. EXERCISE YOUR WRITING SKILLS - Meaning write. Write a lot. Write every day. Write whatever you want to write. This way, you'll get used to writing. You will soon view writing as something fun instead of something that'll only make your fingers hurt.
5. ACCEPT CRITICISM - I know it's hard to listen to people pick on the essay you worked on for ages, the essay that made you sacrifice precious hours of sleep because you wanted it to be perfect. So what do you do with these critics? Punch them in the face You need to be grateful. Be grateful that they took the time to review your work and that they actually want to help you make it reach its full potential. Chances are, these critics have gone through so much, making them experts. Trust them. Thank them.
6. READ AND READ SERIOUSLY - I do two kinds of reading: casual reading and serious reading. Casual reading is when I just read to have a good time, to cry and to laugh at whatever happens to the characters. Serious reading is when I study how the writer developed his story. I take note of his techniques and his way of progressing from one scene to another. You can do this, too. It's fun and helpful.
7. BE ELSA AND LET IT GO - Writing has all these "rules" that can make your head hurt. They can also suck the soul of your story if you pay too much attention to them. So my advice is to let it go. Let the words flow. Don't limit yourself. Don't read what you've written until you've finished writing. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. You can worry about that later.
8. TAKE A COFFEE BREAK - Writing too much can drain you and your story, so take a break sometimes! You shouldn't be worried if you're writing slow (unless you have a deadline) because you have all the time in the world. Just take your time. Relax. Do other things that make you happy.

There you go! Hopefully those can help you with your writing as they have helped me with mine. How about you? Do you have any writing tips you can share with other writers? Feel free to add them below!

Happy writing!

Gail

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When was the last time you read your very first piece of literary work? A month ago, two months ago, or maybe even a year? Let's all admit it. Our first work kind of sucked. Whoops, correction: remove "kind of", because it did suck and we can't hide that now. We were kids who had no idea how to construct sentences and create characters. That's the point. We were kids.

This month, we'd like to take you back to your old writer self. If you're brave enough to bare it all and show the world how you once wrote, then do it. Submit your "worst" work and we'll choose the boldest, bravest ones to feature here. Then, say something about how you became better after the years. What do you think changed in your writing? Did you find your voice, or did you lose it?

This challenge isn't here to make fun of you. It's for you to see how good you've become, to prove to yourself that practice does make perfect. If you think your writing sucks now, then look back at your very first work. If you improved from that, then there's still room for more improvement now.

Your work doesn't need to have perfect grammar (we all make mistakes!) and a format. Hey, it was your first work. Be proud of it! One day, you'll look back at it and smile when you remember the joy of writing your first story/novel/essay/poem.

What are you waiting for? Bare it all.



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It took two girls to come up with the idea of a community for young writers. It took a few seconds of typing to activate a Twitter account. It took an hour for Young Writers Philippines to have eighty followers.  It took you to make this dream a success. And you have what it takes to make your dream come true.

Hello, young writers! Welcome to the official Young Writers Philippines site. Although this isn’t your typical “.com” page commonly used by well-known organizations around the world, we hope to give you the same amount of help that those organizations offer. Throughout the years to come, we will post tips on writing – how to improve it, how to sustain it, and how to use it. We hope you’ll find them to be useful. It’s what we want to do for all of you.

Writing is not something you can simply learn. Yes, true, writing is being taught in preschool but that isn’t the kind of writing we’re talking about. Writing takes a lot of heart; you need to have the passion to write, or else you’ll be writing for petty things. We believe that you, writers of the Philippines, have brilliant minds and burning hearts that desire to scribble and type away furiously. We want you to keep that attitude. We want you to be who you are. We want you to be writers.

It’s time to show the world who you are. You have the right to use your talent. Stop believing that your dreams will not come true, because they will. You just need that little push to get you moving, and we’re here to help you out. Don’t be afraid of your dreams. Grasp them tightly and never let go. There is no such thing as a stupid dream.

The two of us never thought this could be something greater. We thought it would have only a few members, and stay that way until the end of time. But we didn’t give up. We pushed on and on until it finally dawned on us that this could be something extraordinary. What we’re saying is, don’t lose hope. Writing may not be favored by your family or your peers, and maybe even both, but it’s what you want to do. Do what you love, and the rest will follow.

Photo Courtesy of Getty Images

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