In this era where ageism is rampant, isn’t it great to see older writers hit it out of the park?  Ageism is prejudice or discrimination against people based on their age.  It is predominantly experienced by older Americans but can also affect younger people.  A poll conducted in 2020 found that 82% of older Americans reported experiencing ageism regularly.  Like other forms of discrimination, ageism can negatively impact the health and well-being of older adults.  It also sets a despondent tone for the generations that follow.
 
While some people feel and act like older people should be put on a shelf to collect dust or be stored in a back closet like a pair of old sneakers, older writers are packaging their years of life experience and generating stories that readers are gobbling up.  Older writers have real-life experience to reflect on and create novels with depth, historical perspective, and wisdom younger generations just can’t offer yet.  
 
Delia Owens is one such example.  Owens published her first novel, Where The Crawdads Sing,  at the age of sixty-nine.  Her drama mystery set in the marshlands of North Carolina has shattered book sales records across the globe and has now been made into a motion picture produced by Reese Witherspoon.  Not bad, for an ‘old lady’, huh?
 
Sue Monk-Kidd published her first novel, Secret Life of Bees, at the age of fifty-three in 2001.  Her story of a young girl set in the south trying to find answers after her mother is tragically killed has sold over 8 million copies worldwide and has been adapted into a movie, and a musical off-Broadway play.  
 
Other notable senior authors?  James Patterson now seventy-five continues to publish best-selling novels, many of which have become movies.  Nora Roberts has published over 225 novels and yet her new releases continue to be shelved on the New Fiction shelves in major bookstores across the country.  The list goes on!
 
Older writers have had time to polish the craft of writing.  They refuse to drink the ageism KoolAid.  They refuse to be put out to pasture.  They are seen on the back of book jackets, interviewed on popular shows, featured in magazine articles, and appear on the internet.  They inspire us all.

Looking for more inspiration to combat ageism?  Read my latest book #CoolGrannies.  Two sassy age-old friends hit the road in a modern Thelma & Louise story, minus the cliff.

​Trying something new can be daunting, for all of us; no matter how accomplished we are at other things.  Years ago, I wrote a blog about my experience writing my first novel, I KNOW YOU'RE THERE.  The idea came as an "internal nudge", which turned into an internal tug of war:
 
"You don't have an MFA," the inner gremlin challenged.
 
"Who is going to read a book you write?" the inner doubt questioned arrogantly. 
 
 The greater pain won, because as the late, great Maya Angelou once said, "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."

​Not knowing exactly where I was going, but having some idea of the story in my head, I began.  I wrote, and wrote, and wrote.  Eventually I realized that I needed feedback, from someone who actually did have an MFA, and that I could trust to tell me the truth.  I enlisted the help of Alice Osborn, writer and editor.
 
With Alice's eye opening feedback, I rewrote, edited, and wrote some more.  I hired Alice to meet with me on a regular basis to review where the story was going, read some parts for feedback, and basically provide me some assurance that I was writing something that maybe someone else would enjoy reading.
 
Then came the victory!  My book was published, my marketing campaign began and my book was for sale on Amazon.  Wow, where would it go?
 
The balloon I was floating on quickly popped with my first reader review, a scathing, one-star review. I wanted to hide under my bed, to be honest.  

All those gremlins inside were laughing, "We told you!"
 
I called Alice.  She had the perfect antidote.  She shared the quote that Dr. Brene Brown, who was just started to share her work on vulnerability with the world at the time, references in her work.  

​"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory no defeat."  
​-Theodore Roosevelt

​Alice pointed out that the book reviewer didn't have the courage to post with a real name; he/she hid behind a slang word.  Alice also enlightened me that since my book touched on some tender subjects, it might trigger some readers, and this reaction would be a lashing out from that hurt.  I licked my wounds and took a deep breath.
 
Admittedly, a lot slower than I would have liked; patience has never been one of my virtues, other reviews weighed in, comments were made on social media, calls from friends, and emails from readers, who liked the book.  The joy of seeing my book rated four stars, and readers, who I didn't know, post why they liked the book spurred me on to write an unintended sequel, The Sound Of The Crow.
 
My confidence grew, and so did my creativity.  I wrote and published a third book, CoolGrannies.  Imagine my delight receiving this amazing compliment from best-selling author, Mary Pipher:

Writing, by itself, can be a pure joy.  I do a lot of that, without publishing it, as I know many other writers do.  I've heard Elizabeth Gilbert writes whole novels, and then decides to publish them, or not.  I have to admit; however, there is great joy in sharing one's work; seeing that others enjoy it.  So, if you are on the fence about writing your first book, don't be stingy.  Write it.  Someone wants to read it.