Ashleigh Barton is a bestselling children’s author from Sydney, Australia. Her latest book, Solomon Macaroni and the Cousin Catastrophe, is out now.
I know I’m not alone when I say that I loved writing as a child. It was my absolute favourite thing to do. I didn’t just write for school, I wrote for fun every chance I got. I never stopped writing and now, some decades later, I can say that I am a published author. I have no doubt that writing as a child got me to where I am today – not just from the practice of actually writing, but the encouragement I got along the way, especially from my teachers.
So, if you have a child who loves to write, the absolute best thing you can do is encourage it.
Here are five reasons why:
- Whilst it’s fairly obvious that creative writing gives kids the chance to explore their imaginations, what this also does is help build other skills. For example, creative writing enhances things like problem solving, planning, research, discipline and commitment, focus, persuasive communication and analytical skills. These are pretty essential skills for all school subjects as well as life in general. On a related note, I can’t tell you the number of people I came across working in-house in the book industry as well as other children’s authors who have law degrees (myself included!).
- Creative writing encourages self-expression and can help destress. We all know kids have many feelings and that processing them isn’t always easy. Writing is a safe place for kids to express their thoughts and feelings even if they don’t know that that’s what they’re doing.
- Creative writing gives your child a chance to explore their voice and build their confidence. Communicating on the page is judgement-free, especially if no one ever sees it. Consequently, writing gives kids the chance to write whatever and however they like, allowing them to think freely.
- Creative writing teaches empathy. When we are writing about or from someone else’s perspective, we are forced to really truly think about what that person might be thinking or feeling. This skill can easily be transferred to real life, allowing your child to become an even kinder and more thoughtful person.
- Creative writing is fun! Since creative writing can be classified as a form of play, it’s a serotonin booster for sure.
The sky is the limit when it comes to writing stories. There are no wrong answers and, though there may be a few rules, these rules are flexible and can oftentimes be broken.
One of the most fun things about writing my latest book, Solomon Macaroni and the Cousin Catastrophe – a middle grade novel about the nephew of Dracula – was taking a common trope and turning it upside down. Traditionally, vampires are scary, they drink human blood and they only come out at night. Solomon, on the other hand, is very friendly and polite, he is a vegetarian who loves tofu Bolognese and anything chocolate, and he lives a regular human life. This is because magic has almost completely disappeared in Solomon’s world, which meant the usual rules couldn’t apply and I had so much fun writing my own.
Perhaps, if you have a child who loves to write, you could suggest that they create a story twisting a common character into something completely different, too. This is a great way to get imaginations running wild.
Some examples to kickstart ideas:
- A mystery about Sherlock Holmes/Nancy Drew/Harriet the Spy (as opposed to a mystery solved by Sherlock Holmes/Nancy Drew/Harriet the Spy)
- Turning their favourite villain into the hero, or their favourite hero into the villain (e.g. what if Harry Potter was actually the bad guy and Draco Malfoy was good all along?!)
- A story about their own family or friends (or self) who are actually secretly superheroes (and/or supervillains!)
- What might happen if Peter Pan – the boy who never grew up – did grow up?
- What if instead of fire, dragons breathed ice cream?
- What if instead of grinning, the Cheshire Cat couldn’t stop crying?
- What if mermaids had fish heads and human legs instead of human heads and fishtails?
- What if werewolves were terrified of the moon?
- What if pets were the owners and people were the pets? I.e. what would happen if your dog or cat or goldfish ruled the household?
If your child doesn’t necessarily love to write, you could suggest this activity as a drawing or craft activity instead.
At the end of the day, my humble two cents is if your child has a big imagination, please encourage it! Who knows – one day your child might publish a book of their own.