Mike Smith:
Today, another homeschooled fiction writer joins us. Peter Forbes is a senior, majoring in literature at Patrick Henry College. Peter, welcome to the program!

Peter Forbes:
Hello, Mr. Smith, glad to be here!

Mike:
Peter, on our last program, we heard about some of the advantages homeschooling offers to developing writers. Are there any particular challenges that young homeschooled fiction writers face?

Peter:
Well, Mr. Smith, there are a few, and two of them come to mind right away. First, homeschooled fiction writers often write alone and don’t have a chance to discuss drafts of their works with other writers. C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien were members of the Inklings, a literary group that would get together to read and critique drafts of each other’s stories. Inkling input helped create the books we know and love today. A homeschooled fiction writer should consider joining a homeschool writing workshop. You’ll be surprise how much you’ll benefit from a good workshop—even if you don’t agree with everything another writer says.

Another challenge is finding a place to publish your work. A great solution to this is entering short story competitions. Not only does this give you the opportunity to win prize money, but it’s a good way to gain notoriety to later use in pursuing a publisher. You can find short story competitions everywhere, especially those for young people—online, in magazines, through local organizations. Just keep your eyes open.

Mike:
Peter, thanks for that valuable input! On our next program, we’ll discuss another resource to encourage and cultivate young writers. And until then, I’m Mike Smith.