Let’s begin by addressing the elephant in the room. Why should kids practice creative writing? Although many parents still consider creative writing a waste of time for their kids, I urge you to think again. Be it a college essay, a speech at a wedding, or a job application, your child will need creative writing skills at different stages of life. However, even though you are a great creative writer, it becomes difficult to train your kids. After all, how would you explain the next-to-impossible journey of an idea to a piece of writing? Trust me, dear reader, as a creative writing teacher, I know your pain. Therefore, I am writing a step-by-step creative writing guide for kids to make it easier.
Revision Although revision is a very tedious job for children, it’s an unavoidable step of creative writing. In fact, many writers think revision is what provides depth and shape to a piece of writing. You may be able to convince them to write, but revision is almost next to impossible when it comes to children. No matter how you convince them, there is only a handful of kids who agree to revise. However, if you use the right tricks and turn revision into a fun activity, your child may learn to revise at an early age. When your child finishes working on a piece of writing, never ask them to revise immediately. Let it rest on the table for at least two to three days. Next, encourage them to perform it. If they wrote a story, ask them to read it loud and perform it like a storyteller. Moreover, you can also make an impromptu stage in the living room or at the dining table before dinner. In case they wrote an essay or an article, ask them to perform it like a speech. But if your child is shy, don't push them too hard. Even loud reading would do the job. This will help them hear what they wrote. Besides getting conscious about the sentences, they will also develop a sense of punctuation and pauses. Once your child adapts all the above points as habits, then, only then, it’s time to move to the next step—grammar. To conclude, creative writing is indeed a difficult arena, but with the right skills at hand, any child can be a creative writer. In case if you are finding it difficult to teach creative writing at home, you can always hire a professional creative writing teacher.