Handwriting is fast becoming a lost art, especially among children. All evidence shows that handwriting is on the decrease due to the use of digital devices.

Blissfully, creative writing itself is not a lost art. If your child seems to have an interest and flair for creative writing, you can help them develop their skill with the following tips. 

Start  Simple

If your child is not already journaling, you should definitely introduce it to them. Journaling is one of the most effective ways of getting thoughts on paper without any pressure. Many successful writers started off journaling.

Take your child to the bookstore or go online and purchase a journal of their choice. Make it fun for them by buying decorative pens and pencils. You can even get them a customized fountain pen. Doing this will help your child get their thoughts out of their head and onto paper.

Read More

If you are an avid reader yourself modeling this behavior is critical to helping your child become a better reader too. Make sure that you buy books for your child, read to them, or along with them. Great readers often become even better writers.

Encourage your child to join a book club with other children, so that they can discuss what they have read. Reading helps children to understand how characters are developed in fiction and also gives them ideas for their own creative writing.

Set a Specific Time and Place for Writing

Your child is likely to be more willing to write if you approach it as a fun activity. There is nothing children love more than a good story. 

It is even more exciting for them when they get to be the ones who create it. Encourage your child to just write, you can check for grammar and spelling later.

If your child seems to be getting frustrated while writing a story you can offer to be a scribe. Allow them to dictate the story and then you can write it for them.

Let Your Child Share Their Story

For most children, half the fun of writing is letting other people listen to their story or read it. Encourage your child to share what they have written with friends and other family members. 

Make sure that you inform friends and family members ahead of time what’s going to be presented to them so they can be in a mindset to be encouraging and supportive instead of being caught off guard and distracted. Encouragement will help to build their confidence and make them even more excited about writing.

Even if they start off shaky – and all writers do – as they unleash more of their creativity and become more confident, they will start creating better stories. Practicing is what matters not the initial results. 

Encouraging Creativity

Many authors show signs that they will become writers as children. However, often this talent goes unrecognized by those around them.

If you notice that your child loves creative writing, make sure that you do everything in your power to encourage it by using the tips that have been given here and any others that inspire you and them! We all love great stories and great writers all begin as children who love to tell those stories!

 

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