Kariah,
I think that your striving to become a better writer is awesome. I myself also love writing, especially creative writing, and personally I find that reading other peoples work helps a lot too. There is a website called wattpad where you can publish writing, like stories or poems or essays, and also establish copyright on your pieces. They have some writing blogs too that work to help young writers improve their work. I think that it could be fun for you to try it out, and it will be a way to get your writing out into the world too, also reading other peoples pieces may help you develop your work as well.
Writing is a really good creative outlet and a valuable skill as well, keep writing.

Kariah,

I found your article very interesting. Specifically when you said “Writing about real life experiences is what matters most to me.” I agree with that because oftentimes it is easier to stay engaged when you are writing about what you have personally experienced. It is hard to write about something that doesn’t interest you. I think you would enjoy reading this article (http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-goal/improve-my-writing/9-ways-to-get-started-and-stay-motivated) about how to start writing and how to stay motivated. Thank you for sharing your perspective on this idea. I look forward to reading your posts in the future.

Hi Kariah!
I agreed so much with many points on your article! I myself find it hard to concentrate when writing or finding a focal point for my work. Just like you, writing comes easy to me when I’m writing about things I enjoy or that have happened to me. I believe practice is what you really have to do when working with topics that aren’t specifically enjoyable, and don’t discourage yourself! I’ve found an article for you that gives tips for better writing skills! Here you go: https://goinswriter.com/writing-tips/

Hi Kariah,

I like that your goal is to extend your knowledge of writing. I think that if you have trouble getting ideas down, might I suggest a book with writing prompts? I have one and they’re really nice when I don’t know what to write or I have writers block. The one I have is: 1,000 Awesome Writing Prompts by Ryan Andrew Kinder. It also really helps to just unload your ideas into something and not have to worry about necessarily making it into an actual story. I hope that this helps.

Hello Kariah,
Thank you for sharing; I found you post interesting to read. I understand that writing can be seen as a task more than a pleasure. I relate in which it is hard for me to write well unless I force myself to sit down and get work done. There haven’t been many times I can recall where I willingly wrote an essay for myself. However, platforms like youth voices gives me the opportunity write about whatever I want, when I want- it doesn’t feel like an assigned chore. Through youth voices I’ve actually found writing enjoyable; I hope you can too, soon.
Best wishes,
Mae
P.S. I found an article you might want to read about english class that I found interesting: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/why-hate-english-class

Dear Kariah,

I can definitely identify with the writing struggles that you described in your piece. Two sentences that stand out to me are, “I felt so lost and behind, but since then I think I have grown as a writer. I just need a little more work on writing in general.” They made me think back to my own time as a college student. My writing changed tremendously as I transitioned from college to grad school. When I was writing for my college English classes, my primary focus was thinking about the mechanics of writing and the grade that my professor would give me. However, when I started to write about topics that I was greatly concerned with, and to think about my personal voice as a writer, it became much easier for me to grow as writer. Now I spend time trying to write each day (whether it is in my personal notebook, online, or just on my laptop). This has challenged me to be more strategic about when I write and how I approach my writing. I enjoy finding quiet moments just like you though and the morning works best for me. Thank you for sharing!

Best,

Abimbola