Chrysalis Academy Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Do you do anything different for writing instruction? I mean, I think every human being who is physically and mentally able must learn to do expository writing. Learning to write essays and other types of persuasive and expository compositions is non negotiable. Creative writing is. But, if you have a kid who really thinks they want to be a writer, who spends a lot of free time reading and writing (their own creative projects) and bemoans that they don't have enough free time to write more, would you consider 1) formal instruction or classes in creative writing, and/or 2) making more time in their schedule (during school hours) for them to work on their writing projects? I do keep my dd's schedule pretty full, and I feel her pain. If she wants more time to write, I think that's an excellent thing, and I'd like to accommodate her desires. But what do I cut? Can I reduce the pace/amount of literature studies and expository writing and fit this into the "English credit"? Do I do the minimum for other subjects so she has more free time to pursue writing as an elective? Also, any favorite creative writing resources, online classes, etc.? I downloaded the NaNoWriMo workbook and I'm going to show it to her, I think she might enjoy doing that. It looks like Bravewriter has a Powerful Fiction Techniques class in the fall, and they have Passion for Fiction listed too.Anybody have any experience with those? My dd is a 12 year old (13 in November) rising 8th grader, btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Jill had a couple of good posts about this. Her ds is the same age as your dd, I think. One of the things she did that I thought was clever was read biographies of writers. Here are the two posts that I'm remembering... https://tadtown.wordpress.com/2014/12/30/what-to-do-with-a-gifted-writer/ https://tadtown.wordpress.com/2015/01/02/follow-up-to-what-to-do-with-a-gifted-writer/ Btw, her blog is just great because it's one of the few I've read over time that does a great job blogging about the middle grades and high school years. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Thanks Farrar for linking my blog. :) In addition to the info in my blog posts I would also add that I give my son a good deal of time for his writing. I try to keep his school work hours down to 2 or 3 hours a day. That may seem like very little time, especially at this age, but it is very important to him to have his writing time. He has had this passion for so long that I do not think it is a phase that he will outgrow, so I want to make sure he has free time to write. He is already writing full length books, and he hopes to have a published book in a couple of years. For him to meet this goal he needs time, and I try to respect that. I also don't control his writing time or what he works on. It is his time, and he is very self-motivated. I try to stay out of his way in this area as much as possible. He enjoyed the Brave Writer class he took. He felt it was a good match for his abilities, and he liked reading the feedback from the instructor. He also started a blog to publish his fanfiction stories. He doesn't post often yet, but he does like having a place to share his stories. One other thing that he does is write authors. He has written a few, and he usually gets a response. This always inspires him! ETA - My son just turned 12 and is a rising 7th grader. I am not concerned yet with high school credits or being prepared for high school, and this does influence the way I schedule his day. This child will probably have a very alternative high school journey which is why I am very laid back in this area. Most likely he will start community college at 16 or so and then transfer to a 4 year. It is for this reason that I don't worry about credits and individual subjects. :) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Oh I just thought of another thing. He always sends his work to my mom. She majored in journalism in school, and she loves to edit. He sends his writing to her, or they read it together online, and she edits it for him. She also gives him verbal feedback. This has been going on for years, and it has helped him greatly with grammar and with learning to take criticism. I highly recommend a trusted editor for every young writer. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted June 17, 2015 Author Share Posted June 17, 2015 Yeah, time. that's always the struggle. Again, as with every year, I ask for her input about what she wants to study, then start building a plan off of that - which grows and GROWS and GROWS until it could easily eat up every spare minute. And what she really wants is more free time. And while I'm planning, I'm even asking myself - how much is this what *I* want to study and how much is really what she'd choose for herself? Gah, I feel like throwing out the whole plan and just going to the beach. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 I'm sort of unschooling the writing currently. My DS is 11 and very declaratory about being a writer. He loves reading biographies so thanks for those links. I really am just listening in. His writing is so good, I kind of don't want to mess with it. I wonder if I'm failing him in some way...or perhaps my standards are low? Eta: when I can, I take him to talks and such by writers he admires. These can go either way, honestly, but maybe that's a good thing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 I think the best thing you can do is make sure her writing skills are good, and then allow her the time to pursue it -- all the time she wants. To build up her writing skills -- is her spelling good? Her basic grammar skills/sentence structure? Her use of synonyms and antonyms? Her manipulation of words? Her ability to take a long essay or writing piece and keep cutting it shorter and shorter -- until it's all told in one paragraph? After that, I'd work on her human nature skills. That is, help her be a keen observer. Help her take the time to see things in people or situations that other people might not see or take the time to think about. Talk about it. Analyze it. Talk about what causes people to do the things they do, or think the way they think. Carry writing over into other subjects. Let history assignments be about writing stories and essays. If she needs help getting at the very basics -- before building off of it -- then do a class or two or three in journalism. Put together a family newsletter. Read great, inspiring books and watch great, creative movies. This is what we did with our son, and he now writes screenplays. He was just hired to write a screenplay for a major television talk show host. I only mention this because really, what he does, anyone can do. He just wrote a lot, and became a keen observer of human nature. And we let him run with his homeschool writing assignments. :) Once in high school, you can call almost any of that "English." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 I'm in the same boat but mine is a big younger (dd#2) & also wants all day to pursue her art. I basically make sure she has everything she needs (for art) and still make her cover all her academic bases. Her writing is usually waiting for me to edit it (spelling, grammar, certain word usage). I'm the bottleneck. She wants to raise horses on a farm and write/illustrate children's books. I'm :lurk5: . (This is dd would skip everything, especially math, in order to draw, write, and listen to audiobooks all day - except in summer when she swims, too.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 I'm :lurk5: . (This is dd would skip everything, especially math, in order to draw, write, and listen to audiobooks all day - except in summer when she swims, too.) This is my son only I would add to the list animating/game making. He writes, reads, listens to audiobooks, and makes computer games and animations all day long. He is very creative, and he needs the time for these pursuits. He willingly does some school every day in order to get his free time, and I appreciate that. It is hard for these creative types to spend time on other subjects when they are so driven in one area, but I do think it is good for him to put in a little time for formal academics. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted June 17, 2015 Author Share Posted June 17, 2015 I think the best thing you can do is make sure her writing skills are good, and then allow her the time to pursue it -- all the time she wants. To build up her writing skills -- is her spelling good? Her basic grammar skills/sentence structure? Her use of synonyms and antonyms? Her manipulation of words? Her ability to take a long essay or writing piece and keep cutting it shorter and shorter -- until it's all told in one paragraph? After that, I'd work on her human nature skills. That is, help her be a keen observer. Help her take the time to see things in people or situations that other people might not see or take the time to think about. Talk about it. Analyze it. Talk about what causes people to do the things they do, or think the way they think. Carry writing over into other subjects. Let history assignments be about writing stories and essays. If she needs help getting at the very basics -- before building off of it -- then do a class or two or three in journalism. Put together a family newsletter. Read great, inspiring books and watch great, creative movies. This is what we did with our son, and he now writes screenplays. He was just hired to write a screenplay for a major television talk show host. I only mention this because really, what he does, anyone can do. He just wrote a lot, and became a keen observer of human nature. And we let him run with his homeschool writing assignments. :) Once in high school, you can call almost any of that "English." All the responses have been great, but thanks for this one in particular. This post was very inspiring to me. Her basic writing skills are strong - grammar, spelling, punctuation, words use, ability to summarize. We are working on the analytical skills, and do naturally tend to do that kind of human nature analysis all the time - both by talking about books and movies, and by talking about real-life situations, things we read about in history, etc. She has an interest in psychology type stuff. This kind of thing is all right up my alley and I can help her develop these skills. Thank you. Your post makes supporting her development as a writer feel very doable. I think I just need to rein in the plans for history & science to a more ruthless minimalism and carve out more time for this stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted June 17, 2015 Author Share Posted June 17, 2015 I think I did it! I juggled the schedule, cut some things, rearranged some others - I think I'm managing to carve out some significant chunks of time, finally, and feeling like my plans are getting more realistic. I was feeling grouchy and discouraged yesterday. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJosMom Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Rose: You might want to look at Brave Writer's Fan Fiction class. If you are looking for a summer class or perhaps a supplementary writing class during the school year it might fit the bill. DD took it and LOVED it. She was able to learn some new techniques in a manageable format. And the teacher, Susanne Barrett, is FABULOUS. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted June 19, 2015 Author Share Posted June 19, 2015 Rose: You might want to look at Brave Writer's Fan Fiction class. If you are looking for a summer class or perhaps a supplementary writing class during the school year it might fit the bill. DD took it and LOVED it. She was able to learn some new techniques in a manageable format. And the teacher, Susanne Barrett, is FABULOUS. Great! I'll add this to my potential BW class list. Nice to get such a great review! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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