Even the child of world-renowned authors doesn’t necessarily grow up with the writer gene. Their ideas may be boring and bland, the exact opposite of what their parents are known for. It may be frustrating if they want to follow in their parent’s footsteps, but it’s normal. No one is born with a big vocabulary and a good grasp of grammar.
Anyone who wants to be a writer starts somewhere.
Writing Requires Imagination
As a child navigates their first few years in school, it’s crucial that they retain that eye for wonder and excitement for learning. No writer lives a solitary life. Encourage them to socialize and play, to spend time with their peers.
For those who always ask about learning to write, worksheets are available, but you’ll also need to help them come up with topics they can write about in their exercises. Those topics will come from their experiences and when they look at life as an adventure, it will show in the colorful words they use in writing.
Writing Needs Correction
Children should be allowed to flex their imagination and write whatever they want, but a guiding hand should help them correct their mistakes and improve their writing. The basics of grammar are taught in school, but children should also be taught how to write cohesively and without losing their train of thought.
Encourage them to write different prompts. An essay will teach them how to limit their ideas to a certain word count or topic. A short story will give them more room to expand their ideas and come up with different storylines, still with a central theme. Introduce them to poetry, as well.
Writing Needs Emotions
It’s not enough that your student knows how to construct their sentences properly. Writing is not just about the composition. It’s also about the topic and how the writer connects with readers through emotions.
Some of the most powerful works of literature are those that left a big impression because of how emotional they are. No one will remember the literature that was just written well. Teach children to open up and show their vulnerabilities in what they’re writing so that they can connect with their readers. This also helps writing become a therapeutic activity, which can be beneficial to the child’s mental health.
Writing Needs Readers
A child may be writing on their own and they may feel shy about letting other people read it. This is normal, as they are afraid of being told their writing is not good enough. To get them to open up, you may show some of your best and worst, and share some of the feedback you got. You may even tell them the story of best-selling authors who also started in the same way. Remind them that if these authors didn’t let other people read their drafts, they will not be able to improve on them and they will not be the author the world knows and loves.
Children don’t need to have an extraordinary background to be a successful writer. All they need is guidance so they will learn to improve their writing and be confident in their achievements.