Click to read Brandan & Ophelia’s stories from last year.
Earlier this week my 10-yr-old son Brandan and 9-yr-old daughter Ophelia were featured in our local newspaper, The Manly Daily, in an article encouraging more kids to get writing. This is Brandan and Ophelia’s third year entering our local council’s writing competition and their stories have received praise in the past. Between them they’ve received runner up prizes, highly commended certificates and encouragement awards. So the reporter wanted to know more about story-writing in our household, and asked Brandan and Ophelia for their top writing tips. They were thrilled!
We thought perhaps other families might want to know their tips too and, thinking about it, I have a few tips of my own to share…
Brandan’s Advice
“Let your imagination run free. When you’re writing there are no limits!”
Ophelia’s Advice
“Don’t think you’re going to lose, don’t think you’re going to win – otherwise you’ll be disappointed if you lose – don’t worry if your friends will laugh at you, kick that thought out of your head like a soccer ball. Just brainstorm what you know, then write, check and double-check!”
My Advice
PRACTICE. Think of writing like any other after-school activity, your kids will need to practice if they want to improve. All I ask from my children every birthday, Christmas and mothers’ day is for them to write me a story – it doesn’t matter what or who it’s about. They’ve written stories about their teddies, frogs, African safaris, rhinos, getting exploded, goo-goo worlds and other such crazy stuff! None of these stories will ever see the light of day, but it’s like kicking a ball in the back garden – they need to test themselves, see what works for them as individuals and what doesn’t. Why not ask your kids for a story for your next birthday?
ENTHUSIASM. When Ophelia was five, she wrote this story:
Once upon time there was a girl called Olivia. She was an adult. She was in love with Tom. She married Tom. She had kids. They had three kids.
Did I tell her it was too simple a plot with no threat of failure, climax or character arc? Of course not. The development of any new skill comes in stages. All anyone has to do is start, it doesn’t matter where. Praise every story your kids write. Offer a small piece of feedback perhaps, just one thing to note for next time, but it’s important to keep your young writers enthusiastic. The telling of stories is a valuable skill. The ability to communicate ideas will be useful in any career. So inspire your kids, not just with writing and books, but the stories they watch in movies and on television. Press pause and ask them where they think the story’s going – it will teach them about foreshadowing and plot structure. Ask them afterwards who was their favourite character and why – it will teach them about character development. Talk about the setting and atmosphere, what could have been cut, what could have been added – it will set their imaginations on fire!
Writing needs space to breathe!
SPACE IT OUT. Don’t make writing a chore. Writing can take time concentrating in solitude. The sunshine outside beckons. The digital beeps of their devices call to them. They want to laugh with friends and do craft. When there’s a long lead-in time, like with our local council’s writing competition, encourage your kids to space out their writing sessions. In week one, they can brainstorm for half an hour, talking through the topic and developing ideas. The next week they can write a first draft, not caring about word limits – they can just get their stories down, figure out the plot, worry about the rest later. The week after that they can edit their stories, deleting anything non-essential to the story they really want to tell, until their words fit the limit. The following week they can go back in and layer their stories with metaphor and adjectives. Finally, take a week’s break and do nothing. Then, right before anumber deadline, they can read their stories through one last time, polishing until they’re happy.
Fingers crossed my kids go well in this year’s competition! It’s so good that our local council runs writing competitions, supported of course by our local libraries. Sports and fitness is pretty big in our local area. No one expects their children to become sports stars, but encouraging kids to get active helps establish healthy habits that can last a lifetime. In the same way, your young writer might not become an internationally bestselling author or win a Pulitzer prize, but encouraging children to write can give them an outlet for their thoughts and ideas, freeing up their hearts, minds and souls.
So, what are you waiting for – get your kids writing!
