Ann Said:

Can you become a writer without being good in English?

We Answered:

Jokes about certain popular authors aside, your friend will find it hard to make a living at writing if her grammar isn't at least as good as the average writer. (Average *writer*, note, not average *person*.)

Publishing companies, like most businesses these days, are run by accountants, who are always looking to get the biggest possible return for the smallest possible investment. They don't want to spend a lot of money fixing grammatical mistakes that the author shouldn't have made in the first place. If you send them a story full of mistakes that would shame a ten-year-old, they will almost certainly reject it. (I say "almost" because you might get lucky and catch the reader in a good mood, so that they take the time to look past the surface and see that the story is quite good. But this process involves a large slice of luck already, so why make things any harder for yourself?)

"Isn't this why publishers have editors?" she asks. No, it's not - or not any more. The editor's job is to take a good book and help the author turn it into a great book. It's not to turn a bad book into an average one. They have enough good books being submitted to them that there's no need to waste any time with the bad ones.

"But my stories are really good!" she says. Unfortunately, she's not the only brilliant writer in the world. Unless she's on track to win a Nobel prize, there are plenty of other people who write at least as well as her and have better grammar. Given the choice, a publisher will probably pick one of those other people. And they will have the choice, because they accept only about one in a hundred of the manuscripts they receive.

Having said all that, grammar is a skill that can be learned. Tell her to start paying attention in English classes, or get hold of a "grammar for dummies" book. And tell her to get some impartial opinions about whether her stories are really as good as she (or you) thinks they are. A lot of teenagers think they're amazing writers, and get a nasty shock the first time they show their work to someone who doesn't feel obliged to say anything nice about it.

EDIT: Dom - what do you think writing a novel is, if it's not a "professional writing career"? (If you're writing it with the aim of publication, that is.) And you need to know the rules before you can get away with bending or breaking them. (You see what I did there?)

Curtis Said:

How does a writer become better at characterization?

We Answered:

Put conflicts between them. One is a loudmouth, another likes peace and quiet and is irritated by all the excitement she creates. One is jealous of another for some reason. One is disloyal and the others don't like him.

Also, consider how we show different sides of ourselves when we're with different people. For example, when you're with your friends you're a lot different to when you're with your parents, right? When you're with just a teacher, you're different again. When you're with a boyfriend/girlfriend, you're different again. When you're with an employer, you're different again. In the same way, you can show different sides of your characters' personalities by bouncing them off other characters.

To explore your characters' personalities in depth, try writing the same scene (make it an interesting one) several times, in the viewpoint of a different character each time. See how they react differently and different things are important to them.

Charlene Said:

I want to become a writer for a newspaper or a magazine editor. Should i major in journalism?

We Answered:

You don't have to get a degree in journalism to become a writer or an editor, but a degree in a related field - English, communications, writing arts, political science - is almost a necessity.

As far as schools go, it doesn't matter too much where you go; you don't have to have a degree from Columbia to go on to great things, you can find great programs almost anywhere. USC would be up there as far as West Coast schools go, and you could look into the University of Missouri, Columbia, NYU - but almost any college or university that appeals to you will be able to launch your career. Your success in writing is going to be in large part what you determine it - if you go off to college and work on the campus paper or magazine and make something of the experience, it'll be worth more than a degree from any school will.

Melinda Said:

What does it take to become a superbly good writer?

We Answered:

Know yourself, know your style of writing and believe in it thoroughly....know your audience...are they able to relate to what you want to communicate? "Knowing" is one thing, "being" is another, do you feel the same way that your target audience does....What is the intensity of your desire to put your point across?... the answer for this lies inside you.

Amy Said:

Can a freelance writer become a regular columnist in a newspaper?

We Answered:

I doubt you could get a designated column without a formal employment agreement except maybe at the smallest of small-town newspapers. As for getting a section again after stopping, it's up to the editor.