I am 10 years old, and I want to publish a book [closed]

Question

Here is my situation: I am writing a book about a remote that warps time, like a movie. The story has some LGBTQ+ and a person in a wheelchair, as Some of the characters are based on my own non-binary experience, well, minus the coming out. There are definitely crushes between the characters, one of which based on my former crush. One character is a Chinese Confucianist, one is an American Christian, and one is an atheist.

I've written around 50 pages so far, in random scene order. How do I tell my parents I am writing this? My mom says that only studying is useful, and writing shouldn't be done too frequently. She is somewhat okay with it. My dad; however, spends almost no time with me, so I have no idea what his reaction will be. I've shared the document with my friends, who write occasionally but not as a career. I also have no idea how they view LGBTQ+.

If I somehow do make it that far, does anyone have any advice? My teacher says that it's amazing and that I should be a real writer, which is where I got a final push to write a novel. I've written comedy shorts also.

Here is a sample of my writing, so you can decide if this is worth your time:

“So! This is my room. Do you like it?”

Jin said this as he swept his arms around the room. It was quite small, >but quaint. It seemed like the perfect amount of space. There was a small >bunk bed in the corner, while a white closet stood in front. The armoire >on the side was a mud brown, dot with pencils, erasers, and paper.

They responded in turn. “This looks amazing!”

He smiled and gestured to the bed to sit down. Ash took a few steps towards, and then plopped down roughly. Jin started walking towards a closet that they hadn’t noticed before.

And that’s when it happened.

Everything turned black and white, like an old movie. Jin froze in his spot. The pen on the desk ceased falling off and hung in air. Amy stood up, since that signaled something was wrong. They rubbed their eyes in disbelief and walked around the room.

Meanwhile, Jin was experiencing the same thing. He too, was in shock. He walked over to Ash.

What happened next shocked them both. Jin went over and touched the desk. For a moment, the desk returned to its muddy color.

Amy could see this too, but Jin was still frozen to her. They went over and touched the bed.

Immediately, it turned a bold black, rather than the old movie look. It was quite obvious that the original color had been restored.

Suddenly, a thought came to them. If they touched Jin, what would happen?

Turns out, Jin had the same idea. He walked over and touched them before they touched him. They both immediately turned the same color as they were previously. Ash suddenly saw Jin in front of her, as if they had been shown two different pictures with no warning.

They stared at each other.

And stared some more.

They did the only reasonable thing.

They jumped back and screamed.

Thank you for your time.

Answer 1

Heyo, aspiring author. This story idea looks very cool, your writing is smooth, and the diversity in your characters is great. And jeez, you're TEN and writing this? Respect to you.

As for how to tell your mom, who isn't too keen on writing, and your dad, who isn't around often, what you're doing... that's a hard question. I think telling your parents about something personal like this is something where the method depends on context. Overall, if you feel like you need to tell them, I guess that timing and presentation are everything. Be attuned to when it is/isn't a good time to bring it up, and when you do, present it as something positive rather than negative. Not to disrespect your mom or anything, but I highly disagree with her comment. Writing has kept me sane through quarantine, and I've met a group of people through it who have sort of changed my life. Don't act like it's just some hobby when you present it, allowing whoever is on the receiving end to doc it as something that 'shouldn't be done too frequently.' Instead, maybe let them know how writing not only allows one to express themselves as a person, but also helps grow their spelling/grammar/punctuation/narrative skills (so hey, in a way, maybe writing is studying - it helps with language class), allows them to connect with all kinds of people through the words, opens up opportunities for them as an adult, and keeps them busy enjoying/pursuing all those things instead of going out and breaking laws and getting into trouble. That is, if the person you're speaking to needs that kind of convincing. Listing stuff might turn them off - it depends on the situation.

Honestly, just the fact that you have a passion that you're working toward is something to be proud of. As long as you work hard in school and don't let your fictional world negatively impact your grades, is there really any harm? The only other thing I could think of is screen time, but that's a whole other matter.

In regards to the issue of not knowing how someone will respond to the LGBT+ aspect, one thing I could suggest is testing the waters. Slyly asking questions or bringing up topics related to the queer community without explicitly stating it's related to you could give you a window into a person's attitude/stance on the topic. Then you might better understand if it's safe to bring up your writing or not to them, or your own identity. You'd just need to be careful not to be too pushy or obvious - but remember that no matter what, there's absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. In a perfect world, everyone could be open about who they are without issue. But that's not how it is right now, sadly.

This is from a fifteen-year-old who's been writing for a while and loving it. Maybe take my advice with a grain of salt, though, because though I do consider myself part of the LGBT+ community, I've been lucky enough to not encounter anybody major in my life who opposes it - i.e., I haven't really had to juggle that 'should I/should I not say it' aspect (just maybe censored myself a bit around some religious folks, but they aren't close to me, nor do I see them often). My parents also are cool with my writing. So yes, what I said was general, but it doesn't necessarily stem from experience. All I'm saying is, everyone is different, and I don't know what the general consensus is where you live or in your home.

If things don't blow over super well with your parents, don't let it stomp on you too hard. If this is really something you want, you can do it, even if it takes time. Don't give up. Remember how your teacher said you should be a real writer (I mean, you're already a 'real' writer - I'm assuming they meant, like, a published writer?). I mean, that doesn't happen every day. But if for one reason or another you end up deciding that it's better to let it go, or to wait, there are always other ways to go about getting your ideas out of your head - just gotta get creative. Because I'm not suggesting that you outright oppose your parents and cause hard friction because your opinions clash. Be smart. But your ideas are valuable.

Hope this was helpful at least a bit :)

[PS: You may want to condense your question. Trust me, I know how fun it is to explain your story, whether it's verbally or through typing. But if the focus of your question is how to handle sharing what you're doing with your family and friends, the details about the plot may not be relevant. It seems like the LGBT+ aspects are relevant since part of your advice-asking seems to be about how to handle it if you don't know how someone will react to LGBT+ representation, but the time-pausing thing may not be, even if it's awesome. I've seen many comments on here about things being on-topic for the site, and it's usually best to be a succinct as you can when you're asking a question. But this is totally up to you.]

Good luck with things!