Writers on Writing: Lee Child on Starting Writing After 40

In this interview, bestselling novelist Lee Child (Jack Reacher novels) explains why it's better to start writing later in life.

[@TheWillHadcroft]

This video was heart warming. I have spent all my life writing and enjoyed some modest success with small press publishers, but only at age 49 was I invited to submit storylines to a BBC range of Doctor Who audiobooks (one hour prose story to be read by a single voice, an actor from the series). They commissioned one of them. Thanks to Covid, production has been delayed. I will be 52 by the time it is released on CD. So, aspiring writers, never give up!

[@henrikpersson4698]

good work will

[@mrchronicblack5810]

My first book was published in 2012 at the age of 39. I'm working on my 12th book now as we speak. It's never too late to start writing.

[@elqord.1118]

but is it any good?

[@richardwestwood8212]

@@elqord.1118 In five short years he wrote 12 books, Idk to ask him the same question.

[@LesandaMooreAuthor]

I've always wanted to be a writer since childhood. Life happened and it got put on the back burner. Here I am now at 40 years old starting my writing career. I just finished 3 children's book manuscripts and I'm participating in NaNoWriMo for the first time this year.

[@dandeangeli9860]

I am starting my writing career now at 58 (good christ). My book is a memoir. I have lot to say. Wish me luck!

[@MrSlurpee12]

+Dan de Angeli goodluck!

[@DavidMeilhac]

+Dan de Angeli Good luck, Dan !

[@thegratefulbrad3072]

+Dan de Angeli You'll never do it! You procrastinate! I'm starting mine at 60. Good luck.

[@absolutiontheory98]

+Dan de Angeli Good luck.Please do tell me when it comes out.

[@keepyouright6157]

Break a leg.

[@independentCog]

Tolkien was 38 when he wrote the Hobbit as a story for his children which is another good example of this. I'm now 38 and I've determined to start writing as it's something I've always wanted to do as a child. I couldn't put my finger on why I didn't fully apply myself when I was younger but watching things like this has made me realize that it didn't feel right because I hadn't lived life enough to having anything meaningful to write about.

[@nikosp3156]

There is a writer named Jay Greenfield and he published his first book at the age of 84!

[@happydayssunny7830]

🧡💯⭐

[@greva2904]

All writers have one thing in common, whether they’re good writers, bad writers, published writers or unpublished: they actually sit down and write the damn book. They don’t dream about doing it, or give up after a few chapters, they actually write the damn book! So get up off your arses and get on with it!

[@richardwestwood8212]

Great advice, appreciate it.

[@frankmorlock9134]

I think this is the best advice anyone can give a would be writer or artist of any sort. Just do it !

[@videowilliams]

Or more accurately get ON your arse and do it.

[@bossdog1480]

I'm 59, I've just recently got my first story published, (and paid for). I'm working on a couple of novels now and I love it. You just have to want to do it. I took a freelance journalist course which helped me see the correct way to approach writing in a serious manner. I definitely reccomend doing that.

[@alofim1529]

Thank you for this. I'm doing a short Creative writing course as one of the training avenues on my way to writing a book, man there's a lot to learn at least for me. I'm glad I'm doing a course. I'm 29, I've got a long way to go. A little training and research can only strengthen things. 🙌

[@Skylardietsche]

I started writing books when I was 20 - which is 7 years ago - and I don't regret it. I think that means by the time I'm 42 I will be a well-seasoned writer already.

[@richardwestwood8212]

Where are you with your writing career?

[@saturnn77]

My wrote my first book at 63...I've written three since, and am working on another of short stories, and a sequel to my second book. The key to writing when you are old, is to write like you are young, with an old voice.

[@Ayush-vr3xh]

Thanks, I am 92 and I am gonna start my career after 10 years after gaining some experience and education

[@tempsanity]

I'm 209 and I wrote my first novel when I was 194. It's never too late.

[@bilalbabal-jahannam6754]

Rofl!

[@jimmydroid7838]

😂😂😂😂

[@m.f.8752]

Good luck, Dan. You’re not alone. Hitting 50 myself next March. 50s are the new 40s, I say.

[@benjaminj.kreger-creative8001]

“Get the words down and it’ll work.” :)

[@jenwhite6509]

I started writing young, now I'm a little older and I understand what he's saying, even though it would have made me mad when I was younger. I DO have a fuller understanding of the world now, my writing DOES have more substance. I'd imagine when I do pass 40, 50 and so on, as long as i keep myself open minded to the world, my writing will be that much richer again. He is not saying you cannot be a good writer when you are younger. It is not an insult to younger people to say that you will be a better writer when you are older. Remember, all older people were younger once, so they have the benefit of knowing what it was like when they were younger (like you) and now. Many careers like to push older people aside and say they are no longer relevant if they have started too late (try to become a pop star at 60 and see how people respond), he is just saying that actually in this career the opposite is true.

[@mementomori4355]

Jen White Fantastic comment and I wholeheartedly agree. There are a lot of youngsters in the comments section who seem to be taking his remarks as a personal attack on young writers, which I don't believe it is. My takeaway from it is that it is never too late to begin a successful career as a writer, as well as the fact that we bring a richer understanding of the world to the table. This really is a craft where age is no barrier. I'm saying this as a relatively young 36 year old.

[@andrewharper1609]

Actually music often gets better with age too because writing is a related skill. Also because people learn more about how to engage with their audience rather than just marketing gimmicks like the Spice Girls or barely knowing how to play your instruments and relying on youthful energy or amphetamines like the punks. Personally I think with a few exceptions pop music has degenerated since we lost the rock n roll part of the sex drugs and rock n roll equation. But maybe that's just me.

[@YankeeBarbareno]

Once upon a time an old man, some 70 years old if I recall off the top, published his first novel. It was subsequently turned into a movie. "A River Runs Through It" by Norman Maclean

[@Lisarata]

This is so right! I'd never had anybody close to me die before I was in my 40's. I'd never survived a family fight or a loved one getting sick, or a midlife crisis. Hence, I couldn't write drama--I'd always avoided it before. I'd never had an emotional affair, hated someone and then loved them again. Very inspiring.

[@Nairuulagch]

Tolkein wrote Lord of the ring after experiencing the WWI. So he absorbed something epic scale events development and relating consequences into his mind and kind of translated into some magical tale novel. Which Lee Child is explaining it through closer angle.

[@TheRubberStudiosASMR]

You have to experience life before you can write about it

[@w.m.aslam-author]

I agree with Child and as a writer myself who also started writing in his 30s I speak from experience.

[@mackfarlainethebarenakedau5113]

I've been working on material for my first book almost a year and a half now. It's a story I've wanted to do since I was in my mid-teens.

[@sushantharpal5854]

I am 33 year old man. I live in a village in India. I am learning English. Let's hope one day I will be there 😊

[@raskarl]

good interview - only problem is that it's far too short ! love the jack reacher stories - everyone should try them out if you like a good crime fiction novel.

[@ImprovingAbility]

I'm 41yo, I don't consider myself "later in life". But then I guess that's what mid 20ties think. Wait a bit, you'll get there :-)

[@absolutiontheory98]

+Feldenkrais with Alfons Yeah I suppose you're right.But I think what he meant is most people in their 40's already decided on their career and has already stuck with it for years.

[@soinlove8306]

Really if most of us live till we are 90+ 40 is pretty young.

[@absolutiontheory98]

Elizabeth Photog Yeah but when you're 40,that's when your body starts declining. Your body and brain power is at its maximum performance during yours late teens to early 30's.Experience is the only thing you gained as you grow older.

[@ImprovingAbility]

absolutiontheory98 sorry to break the news, but that's complete bollocks. For example the big Seattle longitudinal study by K. Warner Schaie showed that the ability to think with numbers does not reach its peak until age 32; reasoning ability peaks at 39; speech and word fluency do not hit their peaks until age 46; and comprehension of verbal meaning does not reach its stride until 53 years. Maybe also look at the book "Finding Ultra" by Rich Roll: "The incredible true story of the author's remarkable transformation, at the age of 40, from out-of-shape average Joe into one of the world's best endurance athletes"

[@absolutiontheory98]

Feldenkrais with Alfons I also should point out that his study isn't supported by other scientific or research institutions as his findings are just findings and are not objectively scientific research.To put it short the scientific community don't find his claims to be facts as it's not backed up with date or results but more so on his observations and finding.Our brains performance will peak in our 20's.There are hundreds of subsets of intelligence but most of them peaks around our youth compare to our older age.You know there are people that we call mental athlete that enters mental tournament that challenges our mental state.Huge majority of them are people in their 20's. Our conceptualizing,analyzing,synthesizing,evaluating information all will start to deteriorate somewhere in the 40's.It's also one of the reason why older people are more prone to dementia compare to someone in their teens.There's a lot of biology aspects to it which I won't go through.Why do you think most Maths professor start losing their speed at calculating complex equation in their head compare to their younger self?

[@adriedmango5915]

This guy made a dope series

[@BrenMurphy1]

Love the advice to wait before you write - I was always advised to wait until I had absorbed and experienced a bit of life before I went along and started writing about it - is a great way to be more genuine and authentic and have a natural voice just there...

[@cagney1568]

+Bren Murphy this advice can also be used as a cheap excuse for your lazyness :)

[@BrenMurphy1]

cagney 156 that it can - my father told me something similar and it stayed with me - use it more as a way to observe and see things with a writer's eye.

[@absolutiontheory98]

+Bren Murphy No ,every good writer will say not to wait for writing and just start right away no matter how bad the outcome is.Lee Child could have gotten better if he started out young.

[@victoriannecastle]

If you are writing nonfiction or a memoir, then you need the `experience` But if you are writing fiction, you start young and consistently write stories, experience doesn't matter. Wait before you write is a sure pitfall not to write at all.

[@mementomori4355]

absolutiontheory98 That's not necessarily true though. Starting young guarantees nothing. You might be better at the technical aspect of writing but not necessarily anything else. Starting young doesn't in anyway mean you will master it earlier, the same as starting later doesn't necessarily mean you are automatically so much more experienced in life. I'm tired of the age debates surrounding the craft. Youngsters defending themselves vehemently on one video, yet on another talking of starting young, they're the same ones wholeheartedly agreeing. Each presents barriers to those wishing to be writers. My advice to anyone reading my comment is to just write. Doesn't matter your age. Never let anyone tell you you'll not be as good as the younger writers and to the younger writers reading this, don't consider yourself to not have a voice because of your youth.

[@damianbegley]

Love this guy's books. Read his first 17 books in 17 months. One a month. January 1, 2013 to May 17, 2014.

[@e.l.s.3048]

Impressive. I'm on #5. I'm reading them in their publishing order.

[@johnburnett5377]

Yeah, I know what you mean, I finished them all in about a year.

[@zephyrkhambatta]

Epic. Thank you Lee Child!

[@MartinWhiteIsAFilmNut]

After film blogging on and off for over four years, I decided to give it a break by doing something else which is, writing short stories. Being almost 32, I feel this was probably the best time for me to start writing. I think writing short stories first before going straight into writing a proper novel is probably good practice for me too.

[@ckluesenergorman]

agree

[@TheRubberStudiosASMR]

What he’s saying is that you have to live life first. It’s very hard to create something out of thin air

[@hasetreksdominion5970]

As an author this give me a lot of hope. To all self published authors aspiring to get their work out , keep pushing we’ll get there. Time works in the favor of the bold.

[@victoriannecastle]

So many millennials defending themselves in the comment section. What is the hate? I am 25 and I started writing young, 19, writing consistent novels. Lee Child meant experienced, if we are all writing from experience we are limited from experience but the heart, inspiration and the theme of writing can be find at any age. A 18 year old writer can definetely write anything he wanted. Imagination is vast. If experience is to be talked about then, an 18 year old also have a lot. Think about coming of an age stories, classroom bullying, societal expectations, these are all fresh from a young writer.

[@ancientearth2250]

Thank you, sir.

[@jimkith7368]

Thanks for this video.

[@redsol3629]

I feel that, there's just a little more I need to live.

[@quentilpompey6827]

Im 36. Ive been writing screenplays for 15 years. In my early twenties I got in a little trouble and had to spend a few years away. It turned out to be a blessing. While incarcerated. I was able to learn the craft. Event hough I had been writing since -my earliest memory- the fourth grade I didn't have all the technics down nor the support. Often I do get discourage as I get older feeling my day will never come. Ive realized that when we want something so bad it's harder to get. Instead we should enjoy every moment of our journey and learn more and more. Believe what you are doing will someday blossom and steer away from those who tell you otherwise...even if it's family. Nit many dream except to win the lottery. Some are unhappy doing the norm but are either content or afraid to dream using kids, love and other things to justify why they shouldn't risk. Yet we risk everyday waking and going to a day or night job in hopes that we will not be laid off or fired. Also, another thing which once bothered me is seeing old classmates on Facebook looking as if they are having the time of their lives. DON'T LET IT FOOL YOU! Most aren't. Social media is like being in prison i.e. you can be what you want behind a key board.

[@josephbuyck7127]

I have read all of your jack reacher books I am waiting for the next one when is it coming out.

[@bruce33331]

Writing a classic piece is a daunting task even to the best. But you should enjoy every moment of that journey, and believe that it will turn out to be a classic - and eventually it does

[@CofyjunkyPNW]

I'd always loved writing, but I didn't start writing a full novel until 40 myself. 📚

[@syedaanamgilani0148]

I'm 22 and doing that, is it okay? It's really hard but I have a burning desire

[@XavierLeong]

I've seen numerous authors talk about getting a start later in life, and I think it's one career and artistic expression that never feels 'too late to start.' However, it's always been a passion of mine and I began writing at a young age, and just published my first novel The Kings of Maple this year at 27 years old. Love to see the inspiration to start later in life but also don't see anything wrong with trying now

[@adamhawn2523]

Writing isn’t like other careers in entertainment like acting or music where they’re always looking for the next young star. Good writing needs experience which young people can’t have.

[@lukewarmwater6412]

sitting here, bored and unemployed. wondering if I could write something worth reading.... also about halfway finished collecting all of the jack reacher book, as a matter of fact, there should be three more books showing up on my doorstep soon!

[@nufsed12]

Great interviewer. Where can I find the rest of this interview?

[@kevgh3869]

I wish i would have started way back when i was 40.

[@mcd3379]

Very insightful, and Lee child definitely knows his stuff. Importantly, he knows the kind of writer he wants to be and the types of stories he wants to write / tell. He wants to be an "entertainer", not win the Nobel Prize for literature.

[@nelsonx5326]

The Reacher books are fun.

[@Kendojin]

I wanted to be a writer when I was a little kid... And in my 20s I felt like I should have started already. I'm in my 30s now, and beginning writing... And feeling like I started so late... I found out recently that LOTR was published when Tolkien was 62. Make of that what you will, of course... He was plenty busy before then.... But still :D

[@CroMarduk]

completely agree

[@d1skarnate]

I think, if a 40-year old person is so wise and experienced, they should know the value of youth and younger minds. I agree that writing is a good career for later in life (if you can make money at it), but I would suggest to anyone younger to write and publish as much as possible, not just to "hone their craft" or some patronizing thing like that, but because they may already be wise beyond their years and capable of writing something amazing.

[@absolutiontheory98]

+ReignOvKaos Thank you,that's what I've been saying.IMO if you have the desire do it now then do it now.Dont procrastinate.It takes years to be a master at writing craft and people who had a head start will be at their prime by the time they reach their 30's and 40's.

[@anshjaveri1541]

I absolutely agree. Writing doesn't need an age. It just needs the correct motivation. One should start writing as soon as they can.

[@RimantasLiubertas]

Indeed, you can write crap at any age. As most do.

[@AFO_AnalyRics]

0:45 Exactly what Bukowsi was trying to say.

[@WORLD8NSH5KNIGHT1]

This is interesting but not sure I entirely agree. There are 60 year old's who have never been outside their own city and 30 year old's who have travelled all over the world. I respect Lee Child and he is right that it is never too late (Catherine Cookson wrote all her works in her 50s onwards) but I disagree younger people haven't experienced life. Different people have different experiences. It has got little to do with age.

[@reginaldforthright805]

Haha. Travel isn’t the kind of experience he’s talking about. The experience of growing old, of loss, of disappointments, of suffering and hope are nearer the mark. And in that sense I think older people do have a large advantage in general.

[@mayanaicker4866]

U don't have to have travelled any where, to have experienced LIFE!

[@dbag57]

Met a lot of well travelled folk with very little life experience..they are different things

[@Tommy_007]

Traveling is NOT the same as experience. Experience is the amount of thoughts (about all kinds of things) you have accumulated.

[@andyzambrano2423]

Novel writing and film directing are two things that I’ve noticed require age and experience before they garner esteem. A 35-year-old director is considered young and fresh, because most directors aren’t taken too seriously before they’re 40 or 50. Same for authors. As opposed to a 35-year-old football star, who would be considered “over-the-hill” of their career. Perhaps the mind develops slower than the body, or maybe it’s the target demographics.

[@nightlady2001]

Whatever age u are is a great age to begin

[@schleshraz6306]

Ray Bradbury really didn't write much noteworthy until he was in his 30s and look how that went. Fantastic authors take time to brew.

[@urestauro6367]

The most celebrated Writers are in their 40s. These younger Writers think they know everything...but lack substance. With their immaturity. Believe me I used to be one of them. I hope that younger readers can embrace a Writer who is alot older, than them with respect and love. So, they can know how awesome a past generation was like before them.

[@dottiedogdiscovers]

Ditto, I’m 41! I’m barely working on my first short story!

[@chuckstevens2672]

Maybe there’s something to this. I’m 20 and trying to write short stories. Having a really difficult time doing it

[@Mr-ep2qi]

hes real af

[@udz24]

"Get the words down and it will work." Can get a better starting point than that!

[@breadyegg]

Truth. You can't edit a blank page.

[@acornsucks2111]

Fortyish seems to be a good starting point. Younger than that would be the exception.

[@ricksomething]

I'm 119 and I'm just as unimaginative as the rest of the commenters on this video.

[@helium73]

What I'd rather hear is "I worked to be a writer my whole life and nothing worked until I ... And after that it was easy."

[@diannebdee]

I agree with him on when to start writing. I see all these "youngins" and the obsession with young adult fiction as if they can be the next JK Rowling with the "Harry Potter" series. These young writers don't have the length of life and lived experience. They have this thing called "the magic place" where they think they can write something of note when it's only a self-fulfilling pursuit. Meaning they are only writing something so they can put themselves into the universe, instead of writing wholly new characters that are not them to experience the broad spectrum of emotions and experiences. For me what I wrote when I was 15-25 was all young angsty crap. What I'm writing now is entirely different than what I started out with. In fact I've gone back to some of those early stories and plucked ideas out of them to expand to the book I'm working on now in my 50s.

[@NeroVuk]

Mary Shelley says hi.

[@baharl2981]

I don’t believe in this, having something to say, a message for the world, it’s not something you should get older to have. If you have it in you, go for it... if you find pleasure in writing, GO FOR IT!

[@coastalbeer]

Age old wisdom. Do you want to be a writer? Write. The more you write, the better you get at it. You tend to critique yourself. So write. Try to save what you write. Someday you will lose some memories. So keep a copy.

[@classicalperformances8777]

great, but i so worry when people listen to this and choose to forget the " lightining and lottery" comment and choose to be inspired by this rare case of success... i know people who wasted large parts of their lives dreaming of being authors professionally and all of them regretted it. just be careful, is all i'm saying. and also, these times are different

[@ChrisSmith-bw1nt]

Lee Child IS and inspiration, because if he can sell this writing then anyone can. This is not literature!

[@wantdreamhome]

I am starting my career at 44 because I am half-blind and I want a better life than what I have now. Tired of being on a fixed income

[@nortesur9504]

This the only career where you get better with the age...

[@kgeo753]

With any luck almost 40 isn’t “really late” in life.

[@karmaforsale2334]

Do not agree on the age for starting to write. Jackie Collins wrote her first bestseller when she was like 18 years or something like that.

[@Skoora]

He believes this because it’s his experience. And it might hold water if you want to write books in the same vein as his but to say that for, writing in general, is way off the mark. I think people should create as soon as they feel the spark or risk that flame dying out as years pass. So many writers best works are their early books, as so many musicians best albums are the first few and so many directors, their early movies. There’s nothing wrong with a late start to creating literature but to say it ‘s how it should be done is way off the mark IMO

[@binder946]

I want to write a book but my writing is horrible. No plot no character.

[@CsnvLsRnst]

Nah. I'm sorry, but as inspirational as his example is, I think he is absolutely WRONG by saying that aspiring writers should wait ten or twenty years to publish, because young writers are "hollow" since they haven't lived or experienced enough. Mary Shelley was only 21 years old when she published 'Frankenstein', the undisputed masterpiece that singlehandedly launched modern science fiction; by that point she had known the sorrow of losing her child. Victor Hugo published 'Notre-Dame de Paris' when he was only 29, a novel filled with deep reflections about fate, love, religion and architecture (and by this point he had already been publishing for most of his life, including 'The Last Day of a Condemned Man', at 25, a powerful critique of the death penalty; and the stage play 'Hernani', at 28, which caused the famous "battle" that put French Romanticism at the cultural forefront of the time). Charles Dickens published his first novel at 24, and two of his greatest works: 'Nicholas Nickleby' and 'Oliver Twist' were published when he was 27, by then he had endured what it was to lose his family because of father's imprisonment due to debts, and knew firsthand of the horror and pain of schools and factories of his time. Goethe published 'The Sorrows of Young Werther' at 25. Thomas Mann was 26 when he published 'Buddenbrooks' about the downfall of his own family, and it was this specific novel that earned him the Nobel Prize... His FIRST novel from his youth. Charlote Brontë was 31 when she published 'Jane Eyre'. Jane Austen was 19 when she wrote 'Sense and Sensibility' (though it was published much later). F. Scott Fitzgerald was 29 when he published 'The Great Gatsby'. My point is: Youth doesn't mean ignorance of life. Sure, we all grow and mature with the years, and writers get better at their craft, deeper in their message. But that's not because young people are unable to grasp and describe with passion and reason the many aspects of existence, be they joyful or painful. Child's argument sounds to me like a patronizing, adult-centered dismissal, perhaps in order to come to terms with the fact that he didn't or couldn't begin as early as he wanted.

[@karishort7561]

It's a WHOLE lot harder to get a book deal then back when he started out.

[@illuminated2438]

This is the kind of nonsense that causes people to quit before they start. Why on earth would you care to get a book deal? Just self publish. publishers are morons and scam artists. They are just parasites. If it's good the market will respond. Some of the best selling books ever were self published.

[@gardenglory6624]

WOW..."40 WAS SO LATE IN HIS LIFE." I mean SOOOOOOOOO LATE, why even Start. (I don't like that the PRESENTER said that) You started SO LATE....No he didn't. 40 is not late. Get a reality check buddy.

[@TheWillHadcroft]

Perhaps he means it's "late" compared to those who are first published in their twenties and thirties? I know some writers and editorial people who were in the business pretty much straight from university. Others, like me, have been trying for a long time and have only recently made significant waves (I'm 50 and have a BBC audio commission).

[@amandab5035]

they're wearing the same shirt

[@Luisa-mu9yw]

I think age doesn't matter, there are good and crappy writers of all ages. And a seventeen-year-old can bring something completely different to the table than a 57-year-old! I wouldn't want to read about the struggles of being a lesbian millenial, written by a 60-year old straight dude, no matter how much wiser and more experienced he might be.

[@rustyalcorta3643]

Lu na Or a young woman telling me about a gay boy's life in the 60s

[@urestauro6367]

Plus, Writers don't have faces. Like movie stars. They are only known for their words.

[@girishgowda7661]

Stephen King started writing in his late teens. Just saying.

[@RimantasLiubertas]

And yet Lee Child is one of his favourite writers. They even got a talk together, should be on KZbin.

[@Caleb983]

Stephen King is the exception to the rule. And his endings sucked until about the mid 2000s, so go figure

[@user-ns1zp8wz2g]

I beg to differ, many young writers have experienced enough to have more to say than anyone that is more older. Age does not determine what you know, some young people go through more as a teen than many go through in 30 or 40 years.

[@charlie5thumbs351]

I'm writing much later in life because...well I've failed at everything else.

[@karishort7561]

Lol :) me too!

[@Dan210871]

If you consider what Lee Child does "writing", you have stretched the definition of the term to the point where it includes anyone who can spell as a "writer", thus rendering both terms utterly meaningless. Lee Child is the male Stephenie Meyer.

[@garywagner2466]

Envy is an unattractive quality.

[@Dan210871]

@@garywagner2466 A person who create "literature" for the borderline illiterate does not generate envy but disdain.

[@garywagner2466]

@@Dan210871, he isn’t creating “literature,” he is creating entertainment. Is it the millions of books sold around the world or the millions of dollars he has earned that bothers you the most? Have you written anything beyond a silly comment on KZbin yourself? I’m guessing no.

[@Dan210871]

@@garywagner2466 Defending Child by differentiating between "literature" and "entertainment" is a lame cop-out. Shakespeare's plays were entertainment created during a time when access to education was less common than today and when the literacy rate was much lower than today, yet their quality is undeniable and it passes the test of time. Neither Child's sales figures nor his wealth "bother" me. Trash peddlers make a lot of money and gain a lot of notoriety sometimes. Child falls in the same category as Meyer. E.L. James; and those that produce TV shows like "The Bachelor". Since I'm not in the target audience for any of their low-quality products, I am not directly affected by them. I simply wrote an accurate assessment of what Child does. If you can't tell the difference betwen that and vitriol, then you shouldn't read anything more complex than his writings. To answer you final question, I am a published author. Then again, my books and articles are written primarily for highly educated people with advanced degrees, so you're probably unfamiliar with them.

[@garywagner2466]

@@Dan210871, oh, so you are just a pompous ass then? Should have noticed earlier. I’m guessing your ‘articles’ are about subjects no one really cares about. In which case your comments now fall into the same category. Shakespeare?! Really?

[@xSwanlundx]

I think he meant don't try to pursue a literary career while you're young. But continue to write and learn the craft. Still wholeheartedly disagree with Mr. Child.

[@streettalk4thesoul]

"... REALLY LATE in your life." 🤔

[@breadordecide]

This is why I don't read books written by anyone in their 20's. You get garbage like Divergent.

[@Rose-qj7wt]

The Outsiders was published when S.E. Hinton was 18, The Great Gatsby was published when F. Scott Fitzgerald was 29; there have been plenty of younger writers who have written what we now consider classics.

[@Loth440]

Christopher Paolini is an excellent example, horribly derivative.

[@StudioNostalgik]

I've read some brilliant books from young people. Don't look at YA fiction as the crust of amazing fiction. There are good young authors out there.

[@aaronying4989]

Haha I agree!!! Can’t stand that drivel.

[@dcle944]

I find it such an insult to young writers by saying it’s a hollow thing. There are wise young people and there foolish old people. There are good young writers and there are bad old writers. There are hollow writers of all ages.

[@ckluesenergorman]

I think what Child says about age and experience rings true. The denominator of total life experiences for a young adult is much smaller than someone 40 and above. It's just logical. It makes sense.

[@bramblebop1904]

To be fair though: what he writes is horrible drivel. I read (well...) the one the first movie was based on. Mamma mia. He probably writes a book in a weekend.

[@bramblebop1904]

Actually, I can confess, I don't understand why it's successful.

[@garywagner2466]

@@bramblebop1904, and you never will. That’s why he is successful and you write stupid comments on KZbin.

[@thedashes6854]

Lee Child says you should wait to be a writer. BULLSHIT. Do it NOW. Tomorrow is only a promise, not a guarantee...

[@wdnb995]

What an obnoxious thing to say. Anyone can tell a story at any age!

[@sabejreid2072]

I was a fan of Reacher but the books are no longer the same quality: endless descriptions and no moving 'fan of Women without the sleaze' romance or patriotic values. Also the Plot here in Sentinel is all Russia Russia Russia which is BS - Ch i N a are the enemy and I would have thought Mr LC could have worked that out by now. No longer a fan.

[@winskypinsky]

Are you too old to write? What a vacuous question.

[@MartianTom]

Shame he writes such pedestrian prose. He can tell a story - but takes far too many bland words to tell it. Most of his novels could be short stories. Trouble is, no one pays for short stories. All about the money, Lee, isn't it?

[@soulfood9841]

I'm now starting my writing journey at 55 years old. I pray that God will be my muse and help me find the words. I absolutely love books and reading. I think writing is a natural progression of that.😊🙏🏾📠

[@davidowens5898]

This is true of reading as well: I bring a LOT more to the books I read now than i did as a 20 year old or even a 30 year old. (I'm 69). I've re-read books from my youth and recognized that I missed many of the things the writer 'hid' between the lines (so to speak). Aging is not always a disadvantage.......