Get The Write Stuff
How do you help your child to improve his creative writing? Here are some helpful hints:
READ WIDELY Encourage children to read a board range of narratives. Guide them in analysing how writers use words to create certain effects. Children can be inspired to imitate ideas gleaned from the books they read.
OPEN WITH A BANG Focus on finding an initial opening for the story that acts as an invitation to read more. A story start can be dramatic, an interesting introduction to the main characters, or an exclamation which will draw the reader straight into the action.
INVESTING ENDINGS We know how it feels if we miss the ending of a story. An ending can take the form of moral point, an indication of what has been learned through the story, or a hint of what might happen in the future.
FLASH OUT THE CHAREACTERS Think in-depth about the character in the story. Develop their personalities through vivid descriptions, dialogue, the names they are given and their actions and behavior.
WRITE IT DIFFERENTLY Think of different ways to make a boring sentence more interesting. Try including adverbs, adjective, lively vocabulary, and alternative verbs. Children and young people can note down “effective” words in a writing journal or vocabulary book.
USE A STORY PLANNER Think of the following key question:
- Who – are the characters?
- Where – does the story take place?
- Why – are the character there?
- When – does it happen? Time, weather, etc.
- What – happens to get the story going?
- How – will it be written? “I”, “She/He”, present or past tense?
Helen Marjan
Joint Managing Director & Director of Studies
Lorna Whiston
