Back to School: 5 Ways to Inspire Young Writers

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Back to School has come and gone, mothers are done fighting each other at Target to check that three ring binder off their list. The daunting task of Back to School shopping always reminds me of this funny commercial:

But just because our kids' days will begin and end with a school bell, it doesn't mean everything they learn has to be turned in or graded. Today we are talking about some fun ways to inspire your kids to WRITE!

If your kids are anything like mine, they will relate to this:

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FIVE WAYS TO ENCOURAGE WRITING

 Tip #1: Journaling

One way to get your kids or teens interested in writing is to make it fun to for them to have an outlet to talk about what's going on in their lives. Let them pick out a Journal/Diary/Notebook/Vent-Book that fits their personality- Barnes and Noble has a great selection. Then make it really easy for them to use it- place it by their nightstand or their homework desk and let them pour out their angst. 

Tip #2: Blogging

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If your teen is obsessed with social media, phones or computers, they might love blogging. It's really easy to set up a blog on blogger.com or wordpress.com. Blogging can be a really fun way to spark a love for writing. It's a perfect way to share the things they care about and their friend's comments will reinforces the habit. It's a great platform to get their creative juices flowing.

Tip #3: Read Awesome Books

Great writers become great by reading. Help your kids find books that will appeal to them, a.k.a. COOL books. If you're trying to get them started in a reading habit, my suggestion is to go for something kind of recent.. Here's a quick look at our list of 40 clean books for teens.

Tip #4: Contests/Get Published

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There are lots of ways to be recognized publicly for writing. Contests can push kids to stretch themselves. With everything online, there's a good chance they can be published which would really boost their confidence.  Teen Ink is a great place to start.

Tip #5: NaNoWriMo

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This isn't happening until November, so you have some time to plan. NaNoWriMo stands for the National Novel Writing Month. Aspiring writers pound out a whole book from start to finish from November 1st through November 30th. There is an adult program where participants write 50,000 words, but the Young Writers Program allows participants to set their own individual goals. Over 80,000 young writers signed up and participated last year! You can get all the details on their website: Young Writers NaNoWriMo. Last November I participated and finished along with one of our other contributors, Robin (yay Robin). I learned so much from this fun and challenging project. There's a whole online community to provide support and encouragement. My daughter also participated through her school and wrote 10,000! This is a great program to show the teachers of our schools. There are prizes and fun gifts you can get when you finish as well.

I would love to keep going on this post but I am gearing up for a Target run and keeping my fingers crossed that it won't involve battling other moms. Hopefully this post has sparked some ideas to help your kids realize how much fun reading and writing can be!

Your Writerly Ranter,

Brooke