Why You're Never Too Old to Write
There are many things out there that might have an age limit attached to them, but the last time I checked, writing wasn't one of them, nor will it ever be. The reason for this is that human beings are never too old to have stories to tell, and no matter how elderly an individual may live to be, he is never too old to have a voice. For many people, writing is that voice, and as such, it is not something that you simply outgrow once you start sporting a few wrinkles and perhaps develop a touch of arthritis.
Furthermore, age is no reason not to sit down and start writing if you're completely new to the idea. Saying a person is too old to write is not only ridiculous, but groundless. If anything, age is a valuable asset when it comes to such things. The older a writer is, the deeper the well of experience is that he has to draw from for inspiration and knowledge. If he's a long-time writer, then he's had that much more time to hone his craft, and younger writers most likely have something they could learn from him instead of the other way around.
I think that sometimes people may feel as if they might be too old to write, especially if they are thinking of trying to write for the first time. The key to avoiding that particular pitfall is in never allowing anyone to convince them that it's true, because sooner or later someone will probably try. It seems to be the creative individual's burden to be perpetually misunderstood and to have to face discouragement at the hands of others now and again. For something so subjective, there seem to be a lot of people out there who think they are the ones that know what writing really is, what it should be all about, and who should be allowed to call themselves writers at all. Maybe they feel one person is too inexperienced to be calling himself a writer, or that another doesn't deserve the title because he doesn't earn a living via the fruits of his creative labor. Still another person simply can't be a writer because he isn't the right age. He's too young... or yes, you guessed it... too old.
The fact of the matter is that such a thing is just not possible. Whether or not a person actually is a writer or not depends on the answer to one simple question. Does he write? If the answer is "yes", then he's a writer. It doesn't matter how often he writes. It doesn't matter if he's published or if he gets paid to write. It doesn't even matter if his writing's any good, so it certainly doesn't matter how old he happens to be. The right and the ability to communicate through art of any kind is one that each and every one of us has whether we're five years old or a hundred and five years old. A person's humanity in and of itself is the only requirement he needs in order to have full permission to express himself through any medium he'd like, the written word included.
If you're still young enough to be alive and kicking, you're more than young enough to be, or become, a writer. After all, only a writer's body grows old. A writer's heart and imagination are ageless.
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