writing help

[SChomemomof3]

:lol:
I need some help knowing how to help my daughter to like writing stories. I needs lots of help in the writing area and I can't seem to get her interested in it. Thanks.

[Dianna]

:lol:
I need some help knowing how to help my daughter to like writing stories. I needs lots of help in the writing area and I can't seem to get her interested in it. Thanks.

Are you talking about your 7th-grader or another child? Either way, writing is such a different kettle of fish than other subjects. It's a skill, but it's not as cut and dried as math, reading, and other subjects. There's a lot of subjectivity to it. That said, it's a learnable skill, but not always the favorite among students. :smile2:

You said that she doesn't like writing stories. Is story-writing something that you absolutely want her to learn? The reason I'm asking is because, unless your daughter wants to become a writer of fiction, it's really not a necessary skill. Even if your daughter decides to become a journalist, a magazine writer, or other type non-fiction writer, story-writing still isn't a required skill. And if your daughter decides to go to college or enter a field that doesn't relate to writing, story-writing definitely won't come into play (unless she takes a creative writing course in college).

I do teach story-writing in my online Writing class, but it's only one story so they'll have the experience, and then we move on to other forms of writing. If they want to continue learning the craft of fiction writing, there are creative writing courses at local community colleges and learning centers, as well as tons of books on the topic.

I guess I'm just not much help, am I? I know that there's a resource called Writing the Novel Way which may be useful to you. I've never used it, but I know another mom who bought it for her daughter who enjoys writing fiction. Wordsmith (the book I use in my online Writing II class), also has a section on writing stories. There's a review of Wordsmith on my reviews page at www.carolinahomeschooler.com/reviews.htm (http://www.carolinahomeschooler.com/reviews.htm) that includes a link to the website as well as samples of the text.

I hope this helps in some way. Please let me know how you decide to proceed and what resources you decide to use. Your experiences would be helpful to others with the same question. :smile2:

Warmly,
Dianna

[SChomemomof3]

No, I don't really care if she can make up a good story on paper but I would like her to be able to write a good report on a book. I had her tested and she has a processing disorder. That means she has information in her brain that is very hard to turn around and put on paper so it makes it very hard to write things clearly but she can give an oral report like wild. LOL
Maybe I should let it go. I just worry if anything should happen to me and she had to go back to ps that she would be in trouble.

[Dianna]

No, I don't really care if she can make up a good story on paper but I would like her to be able to write a good report on a book. I had her tested and she has a processing disorder. That means she has information in her brain that is very hard to turn around and put on paper so it makes it very hard to write things clearly but she can give an oral report like wild. LOL
Maybe I should let it go. I just worry if anything should happen to me and she had to go back to ps that she would be in trouble.

Lorna, do you think she would do better if you broke it down into small steps. If you want her to write a report on something, first ask her to think of a topic, then take notes (just for a set amount of time each day for several days), then bunch the notes into several topic areas, then write an outline, then write a rough draft... etc. Each of these steps may take just a day, or more, depending on the work required, but it would break it down into more manageable bites.

Do you think that would help?

Dianna

[yellowpiano]

We started using Writing Strands this year and it has made a huge difference in the writing ability of my son. I also limit his writing time to 30 minutes. I find if he is in a thought, he will go over his time until he completes it and if he is stuck, time away helps him think better. Writing anything is a long process. A smaller, more manageable chunk doesn’t seem to make him overwhelmed.

:smile2:

[SChomemomof3]

Hey, I won a writing strands here so maybe that will help me.
Thanks for all the ideas. I will try them.
Maybe it will help her.

Thanks,
Lorna

[reedross]

We've used Writing Strands for 3 years and I DO like it! That said, I am currently looking into a program called writesource......... they provide writing 'coaches'.............. anyone ever heard anything about this?

- April

[SChomemomof3]

No, I haven't heard of that.


Lorna

[reedross]

What processing disorder does your child have? Mine has dysgraphia although I am still deciding what 'route' to take (or not take) as far as therapy. Upon further research, I found this website: www.writeguide.com which I like better than the writesource. We can continue to use Writing Strands but have someone be able to 'coach' him through the steps!

- April C