12 Ways to Help a Kid Conquer Writer’s Block

If you’ve been writing for any length of time, you know what it’s like to have the words dry up. It’s like you’re dying of thirst, and the rusty ol’ spigot just won’t give up a drop.

I probably felt that most intensely as a newspaper reporter and editor with a daily deadline. Writing facts in an orderly fashion was easy enough, but I worked in the Feature Department, so creativity was in high demand. Clever headlines. Intriguing lead sentences. Weekly humor columns. (Funny can’t be forced.)

It wasn’t long before I learned the merits of a “slush file” – also known as a backlog. I kept a file with random ideas, outlines of columns, and puns to prompt creative headlines when I was in a pinch.

I also made a habit of reading the news feeds and other literature resources, jotting down interesting facts and thought-provoking quotes – all stored away to use like one of those yeast bread “starters” that periodically get passed around the office and among friends.

You can do the same for children, who claim they can’t think of anything to write about. Here are a few ideas to get those creative juices flowing.

1. Provide physical prompts. Place a dog collar on a stool or a deflated football, a heart-shaped box of chocolates with one candy missing or a gift-wrapped box. Ask “How did this get here?” or “Tell me the story behind this item.” Or, use an intriguing photo.
2. Make it safe. While I think spelling and grammar are important, it is crucial to avoid striking fear of failure in the young writer. It is more important to nurture the joy of storytelling and the beauty of words. The mechanics will follow.
3. Give a fun situational prompt.    a.) “If you could have three wishes, what would they be?”     b.) “If I were invisible, I….”    c.) “If you had to live on an island by yourself for a year, what 5 things would you take with you?”
4. Use words to connect to others. Encourage kids to make cards for friends and grandparents – visual and language arts rolled into one. Plus, it teaches them to think of others: thank you notes, get well cards, holiday greetings. (My kids loved getting to add their two cents to the Christmas letter.)
5. Mimic a book character. Give a verbal prompt and ask your child to write something in the voice of a book character with whom they are familiar – the Cat in the Hat or Junie B. Jones, for example. “It’s fun, I tell you.”
6. Allow a little fun. Make writing notes in class “legal” on Thursday afternoons or turn on some music for 10 minutes and have kids take part in a written “Word Spill.”
7. Ask kids to be convincing. Encourage children to write a persuasive paragraph about a trip they would like to take or why they would like a particular toy.
8. Keep a family meeting notebook. I knew one family with five girls who kept notebooks in which their children could write anything: Why they got mad. How they broke the vase in the den. A prayer request. A thank you note. A joke.
9. Tap humor. Kids get spelling and vocabulary words for school and often are required to use them in sentences. When my girls dragged their feet, I encouraged them to have fun with their words. Anything was legal as long as it wasn’t mean-spirited. They ended up laughing and liked to read their favorite sentences to me. “Mom grumbled when I ate her last piece of delicious dark chocolate.”
10.  Gravitate toward superlatives. Kids love them. “Blank is the worst food in the entire world.” Tell them to write three sentences explaining why. Or, “My cat is the best pet because….”
11.  Let kids lock up secrets. Diaries don’t entice all children to write, but a book with a lock and key hints at secrets and treasure. Write a secret. Lock it up. Hide the key! Or, have children write clues for a big treasure hunt.
12.  Read books.  What can I say? I saved the best for last. Good books breed active imaginations. Books expand the mind until the words must flow somewhere. (Grab pencil and paper, a recording device or the easy-to-use authoring tool at BigUniverse.com to record the creative stories that result.)

I’m sure there are a gazillion other great ideas out there. Please share how you encouraged the children in your life to write!

Treading Mud . . . Writer’s Block

Hah! Whoever said a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step should have his/her head examined. The truth is a thousand steps in lots of directions might—one day, if you’re lucky—–coalesce into a single journey. I write this from experience.

One would think that I’m at a good point this summer; for the first time in years I’ve actually got some free time on my hands. I could finish one of the many projects I have that are partially done. I could start a new novel or other project. But I keep stumbling first one way, and then another. And then I retreat . . . I’ve taken a whole lot of steps to get exactly nowhere fast.

My husband has complete faith in me. Don’t I already have ten books out and more under contract? He knows I’ll find my way. I don’t. One would think that the more writing one does, the easier it gets. I should have learned something about how to start by now. But it seems to me that every book has its own fits and starts. Each one is different. I can’t find a pattern about how to jump in and get going. It’s like I’m circling a pool and wondering where do I wade in? As my southern kin would say, I’ve been “treading mud.”

I’ve no dearth of partial projects, sketched ideas, picture book drafts, lists, character studies—–all things I could work on. And still, each morning I get up and try to find anything else to do but write! Why is it so hard? I love words. I even love working with an editor on the revision process. I just really do not like creating that first draft. It’s a bit like Michael Kanin said, “I don’t like to write, but I love to have written.”

I know the routine—–the things you’re supposed to say to help snap someone else, or yourself, out of a slump. I’m also a writing instructor. I know all the bits of wisdom (or at least a good portion of them), like looking back to the initial excitement of a piece. What was it that spurred me originally to jot these ideas down, to get this partial manuscript going? I’ve been rifling through my unfinished manuscripts and asking myself that a lot lately. I know I need some block busting technique, like timed writing everyday, or a writing buddy to help me through. I know, I know, I know . . . But it’s just not clicking.

Lately, I’ve even had dreams of going back to work. Gads! (I’m a retired librarian.) I told them to my husband. He laughed and said that’s only because any day job is easier to do than putting my rear in the chair and trying to create magic with my fingers. He’s right. A job would just be another excuse not to write.

Whenever I do a workshop and a child looks at me and says, “I don’t know what to write.” Believe me; I’m right there with him/her. The blank page is a frightening thing. (Is there a term for that fear?) Sometimes I suggest that the child just keep drawing big circles on a piece of paper over and over and over until a word pops up. I learned this method of loosening-up from an art instructor. Besides, it’s a better thing to suggest to kids than suggesting Gene fowler’s method. He’s said, “Writing is easy. All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.”

Okay, I’ve written this posting. Now I’ve gotta go face my fear or, at least, produce another bit of abstract circle art to tack up on the bulletin board above my desk with all the others. If it’s drawn in blood, come get me.

Ciao!

Shutta

Writer's Block in Children

We know about writer’s block in authors. We even know that when we sit down to write a letter or a memo we often have a hard time getting started. Yet, as teachers we expect our students to write with little notice on a topic we’ve decided on. We then place time constraints on their writing. Is it a wonder that so many of our children leave high school with such bad writing skills?

Of course, there are children who can’t begin writing even with the most detailed of prompts, days notice and given their own choice of topics. These are children with the ability to write but a disability that keeps them from even beginning the process. Many of these children have such an obsessive need to be perfect that they can’t begin writing because they need to see the complete picture, beginning to end, in their head first.  Children who fall into this category are children with Asperger’s Syndrome, Autism, Emotional Disabilities, Obsessive Compulsive Disorders, and other highly creative kids who just need time. Often the best way to get these children to discover their own ability to write is to let them write – give them freedom. 

A website that gives children the freedom to discover their inner author is Big Universe. This site has a book authoring tool where anyone can write, add pictures, print and even publish their own book.  My fourth grade students with learning disabilities authored some incredibly creative books on Big Universe, often making them into sequels. bookChrisL and bookMahtabA were just two of these authors.

 The confidence this site gave my kids is incredible. Many of them began the year not able to write good sentences. When they saw they could create books, writing sentences was no longer a problem. They are all now able to write good detailed sentences and were even able to write to a prompt for the end of the year assessment. Thanks to Big Universe my students went on to fifth grade with the ability and confidence they need to be successful as writers.