10 Ways to Motivate Reluctant Writers
Do you have a child who is reluctant at best to write? I am a published author and homeschool mom who has helped my own reluctant writers publish their first books. Here are 10 proven ways to motivate reluctant writers that work for any age!
1. Teach them to LOVE books: Great readers make great writers. Kids (and adults!) tend to believe they are either readers or not, but I believe there is a reader inside everyone, they just need to find the right book! As a parent, you can help by reading aloud to them and helping them search for books they will love. It also helps when they see you spending time reading, so learning to become a reader yourself can help your child succeed!
2. Try Creative Writing: Even if you love to write, you probably don't want to write an essay about something you don't care about. So find fun things they are interested in to get them writing. If they are funny, have them write a comedy set and perform it for you. Grab or make some puppets and let them write a play. Challenge them to write a song. Let them focus on the right brain creative side without editing themselves. Don't worry about grammar or punctuation (yet), just create. It's what we're here to do!
3. Write with them: Try a guided parent and child journal, or simply get an empty notebook and write back and forth to each other. Bonus, rip out the pages and teach them to fold them like the cool notes we passed in middle school.
4. Get new pens and notebooks: It sounds simple, but there is something about a new, blank notebook and a nice pen that makes you want to sit down and write! Challenge them to fill the notebook with a mini story or comic book.
5. Try typing or dictation: Sometimes it's the act of writing that is difficult, not the creative process. Switch to typing a story if that helps, or better yet, have them dictate their ideas to you while you type. You can even try voice-to-text notes, although be warned that they may not know what they were trying to say if it gets the words wrong!
6. Try a solo RPG Journal: If your kiddo loves games, they will love the game-style of a solo RPG journal. Each day they will roll a dice to determine what happens next, and then write about it in their journal. The journal can also be filled with drawings, stickers, etc. to really personalize it. We use this as our homeschool journal for the year, and the best part is that you can find prompts unique to each kid and their interests!
7. Start with a prompt: In my courses, we talk about how we can bust through writer's block by starting with a prompt. There are tons online (or check out my writing prompt generator here) and they can really help get the gears turning before a writing session.
8. Don't force the boring stuff: If your child is really fighting writing, I'd highly recommend taking another look at their curriculum. There are so many fun, useful ways to use writing, that white knuckling their way through an essay might not be the best option for them. Find something they love that works for them! A good foundation in reading and writing will help them in every other subject.
9. Make it a game: Maybe if they write a paragraph, they get to move up a pawn chutes and ladders style. Or if you've got wiggly kids, maybe they can get up and jump around after every sentence. Find what makes it exciting for your kid and do it until you need to try something new!
10. Good old-fashioned bribery: When all else fails, don't be afraid to resort to bribery. Sometimes a reward at the end of a writing session is the best way to learn that they can actually enjoy writing, I recommend keeping the reward simple and not using screen time as a reward, since we don't want to reinforce the idea that screens are better than books. They can both have their place!
For more fun writing motivation and to publish your own book, join us at Storytellers Studio!