Exploring creative writing with your child

This is a collaborative post

Creative writing is a great activity to explore with your child. It stimulates their brain and broadens their imagination. It is also seen as beneficial from an academic perspective as it broadens and teaches skills. Exams such as GCSE’s and A-levels are all written and require a good level of written skills to be able to succeed in them. So, this is where you as a parent come in. Teaching your child when young may be the best time to encourage them to start writing as a hobby. Here are some tips from a private school in Hammersmith on how to get started.

Start by getting your child reading. Creativity is fuelled by new ideas and reading will do just that. By introducing different genres, your child will have a wide range of knowledge when it comes to books and from there can decide where their interests mainly lie when it comes to the world of books. Your child can start by writing up alternative endings to their favourite stories. Children actually have very creative minds, but need the assistance to be able to tap into it. This is an easy method as they don’t have to come up with their own storyline or characters and can snowball off their own ideas. Another way to get started is for your child to write little reviews by analysing characters, settings and features of the story that stood out to them. This creates an understanding to the structure of creative writing which can lead to confidence in writing their own pieces from scratch.

When they are eventually ready, prepare them by creating mind maps. This is a great way to see the ideas in your mind splashed out onto a page. From here they can build plots and characters. Include the senses to really help their creativity hit the next level. If their story takes place on the beach, ask them what they can hear, what they can smell and who is there with them. This really gets them thinking and will bring out the skill of being able to plan out work. 

Don’t be afraid to get involved if you feel like your child is in need of some help. You can help them build on their mind map and even suggest some starter sentences to get them started. Inspire them and allow them to feel like they can ask questions. It is a great way to bond with your child while developing their imagination and building an excellent range of vocabulary.