Teen Writers - Using Your Influences
Channel: TopekaLibrary
Date: 2021-01-18

Hey writers! In our last prompt, we discussed writing honestly and how we can use our experiences to discover and explore our voice. But what happens when we want to try writing something we haven’t experienced? What if we want to explore a style or subject matter we’ve seen someone else use, but don’t want to feel as though we’re copying and pasting their ideas? This is where our influences enter the picture.

While it’s important to find your own voice, and especially important not to plagiarize another writer, we can find unique ways to explore our influences and remain true to ourselves despite their inclusion. What’s more, we can use our influences in such a way to further strengthen our own voice and broaden our skills as writers. Once we’re able to blend them into our work effectively, our writing may be more unique as a result. This is because it now includes both personal experiences and influences specific to us.