As I come close to finishing the second draft of my novel, a certain thought keeps coming to mind: what ages am I capable of writing?  I used to believe it was almost impossible to write beyond your age.  I now know that not to be true.  I am now 23 and the core of my novel center around three characters in their late twenties.  Nowadays, my thoughts revolve around the more extreme ages.  Throughout the novel, I bring in random characters in their forties and fifties…but I worry that I can’t make them as well rounded as the other characters because I haven’t gone through that part of my life.

Then there is youth.  With this novel, I feel like I have done a good job with my youngest character.  She is 14.  When I think about it, however, I am not sure if I could go much younger.  I love reading books with young characters…but I don’t know how to develop such a character.  How do you enter the mind of youth?  I talked at length with one of my friends about this.  She just read “Room.”  It’s a book that centers around a five year old.  I can’t even imagine.  Maybe that’s another boundary of my abilities that I need dismantle through hard work and writing practice.

With Love,
Richard