Do you have a child who writes for fun?

[dragons in the flower bed]

What do they write?

 

My son is writing a book on defense against vampires. :001_huh: I think it's 'cause he just read Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide.

 

My other writer pretty much just sticks to fanfic, probably because that's where he can be top of his peer group. He's one of three people writing Pokemon fanfic on the internet who can actually spell, and he likes being on top.

 

I'm wondering what your kids tend to write, and why you think that's what they prefer.

[Hillary in KS]

My son (13) is currently writing one "novel," and is halfway through a second.

 

The first is sort of spy/adventure stuff. The second is about superheroes. He works on them a little each day.

 

I think he writes what he'd enjoy reading. These are sort of the stuff he likes to read, so it makes sense he'd try to imitate it.

[Starr]

The first "book" my daughter wrote was a book of instructions on how to fly. It was her passion to be able to fly. Something to do with Peter Pan? She was 4. :lol: Ten years later she is finishing her first novel, a fantasy story.

[Melissa B]

All of my daughter's stories are short stories about animals. Her stories are similar in vein to B. Potter or T. Burgess. Each story is specifically about one animal but an animal from a previous story sometimes pops up as a secondary character in a new story. She loves nature guides and she likes to add obscure facts about an animal into the story line. Over the last two months she has written several stories about otters, but this week she has moved on to owls. She is working on one story about a barn owl and a second story that I believe is about a gray owl (not sure on that.) She tries to write several pages per day. Before otters, it was bats. :001_huh:

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

What do they write?

 

My son is writing a book on defense against vampires. :001_huh: I think it's 'cause he just read Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide.

 

My other writer pretty much just sticks to fanfic, probably because that's where he can be top of his peer group. He's one of three people writing Pokemon fanfic on the internet who can actually spell, and he likes being on top.

 

I'm wondering what your kids tend to write, and why you think that's what they prefer.

 

Yep, fanfic, some animal scenario books that would mimic the Warrior-type fiction. I don't know what she writes for fun nowadays, because she's 16 and doesn't show me a whole lot of it. But I know that it's very therapeutic for her. (And I never ever expected this one to write for fun. I figured she'd be the type to rather have her eyes gouged out by the blunt end of a spoon that to put her thoughts on paper in her spare time.)

 

I think she went through a phase of Neopet fiction, too. And Watership Down continuations, IIRC.

[joannqn]

My 9yo DD likes to write for fun but isn't thrilled about writing for school. Almost all of her stories are about a girl about her age and nearly all of them have a horse in them. Her stories run about 5,000-8,000 words with a ton of dialogue.

[linders]

Hey, there was supposed to be a third trilogy in that, right? An my son is writing it. Seems that the Empire gets the upper hand again...

[JennifersLost]

My 14 year old is writing a fantasy novel. In order to keep track of all the places/continents/etc. he's created a wiki to go along with it.

 

Yep, we're a family of geeks.

[Jean in Newcastle]

ds11 - a story set on a submarine - set during WWIII? - anyway - some war in the future.

 

also - a fantasy, I think. He hasn't shown me this one yet.

 

dd7 - a story about a kitten and a girl.

[dragons in the flower bed]

My 14 year old is writing a fantasy novel. In order to keep track of all the places/continents/etc. he's created a wiki to go along with it.

 

Yep, we're a family of geeks.

 

That's cool, Jennifer. Do you guys use a desktop wiki or one online? I love my Voodoo Pad, deeply and truly.

[dragons in the flower bed]

My 9yo DD likes to write for fun but isn't thrilled about writing for school.

 

Yep, that's my little guy, too. Kiddo fills notebooks, just not his school notebooks.

[Rose in BC]

I have little notebooks from before she knew the alphabet, filled with lists and notes. She journals. She writes for her blog. And she's always writing a book . . . usually fantasy (huge LoTR and Narnia fan), sometimes adventure fiction. She even writes poetry. She always carries a notebook and pen. It's a passion.

 

I sometimes feel inadequate as her teacher because I know she does have a natural bent for writing and would like to challenge her.

 

Oh well . . .

[ElizabethB]

My husband dislikes fiction...so far, so does my daughter. She won't read fiction, and what she has written so far is all non-fiction.

 

She wrote a several page "newspaper" of her activities in the park with a friend and is always making schedules and lists. My mom, a compulsive scheduler and list maker, thinks that's great!

[Misty]

Yes, my 11yo daughter is obsessed with writing fiction. She writes and edits all the time. Right now she is writing a series and she's on book two. The first book wasn't that long, only about 200 pages (typed). But she wants nothing more than to be a published, successful writer. She is very talented and extremely imaginative. The title of her series is called Unei Macrea so watch for it in a few years!! :001_smile:

 

By the way, that's her as my Avatar!!

[Laura Corin]

Hobbes is writing a novel about Genghis Khan. He likes fighting and enjoys history.

 

Laura

[Melanie]

My son writes poetry and has been working on an Asian dragon novel for a long time now. He also has a mythology notebook that he has kept for years; he write summaries of the myths, draws maps, makes family trees, etc. He's been rewriting articles he wrote when he was younger, and gets upset when I won't let him throw the old stuff away. :D He liked to write screenplays when he was a little guy.

 

My daughter writes short stories. Her newest story is about a stuffed dog who comes to life and devours whoever is mean to the main character. (Sort of like Calvin's tiger, only it really eats people. :tongue_smilie:)

[Haiku]

My dd (now 7) wrote her first book when she was 3. It was about dinosaurs. It's 8 pages long. I illustrated it for her (at her request).

 

Lately she has been very interested in winning a Newberry award and has written several books for our local library. They are mostly about unicorns.

 

She also likes to write poems, which she keeps in a word document on the computer. Her poems are mostly about the things she loves and about nature ... mostly about the things she loves in nature.

 

Tara

[Carrie12345]

What do they write?

 

My son is writing a book on defense against vampires. :001_huh: I think it's 'cause he just read Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide.

 

My other writer pretty much just sticks to fanfic, probably because that's where he can be top of his peer group. He's one of three people writing Pokemon fanfic on the internet who can actually spell, and he likes being on top.

 

I'm wondering what your kids tend to write, and why you think that's what they prefer.

 

My 10yo writes The Avatar fan fiction.

Unfortunately, it got him in trouble a few weeks ago. We discovered he had set up an online account without permission :001_huh:. We're still trying to figure out how to let him back in (because we think it's a great outlet for him) without looking soft on the whole deception thing. <sigh>

[MamaT]

My 12yo dd is always writing, and has notebooks all over the place. The last thing she wrote was about a little Jewish girl during WWII. My 10yo ds's last story was about a king who adopted a group of orphans and took them to his castle to be his children. My 9yo dd always writes about girls her age in hard situations. All three of them write all the time.

 

My oldest two are writers as well. My oldest son has notebooks full of poetry. My 21yo ds has had short stories published and is currently working on a novel in collaboration with his English professor. I think this will probably get put on hold now that he is about to be deployed.

 

My only child that does not write for fun is my 15yo ds. He will only write what is required, no more.

[Chris in VA]

My dd keeps a diary she named Rose Alice. She writes poetry and has tried her hand at a song and a couple of stories for fun. (She's 8 as you can see--)

[Harriet Vane]

My dd loves to write. It's usually fiction or plays, with an occasional poem thrown in for good measure.

[ereks mom]

She & her bff have been working on a story -- sort of like a clean, Christian teen soap opera, I guess you'd say ;) -- for a couple of years now. Ek also writes similar stuff on a couple of role-playing sites online. Like your ds, EK is one of the few who can spell & punctuate correctly.

[ereks mom]

I have little notebooks from before she knew the alphabet, filled with lists and notes. She journals. She writes for her blog. And she's always writing a book . . .

 

She always carries a notebook and pen. It's a passion.

 

I sometimes feel inadequate as her teacher because I know she does have a natural bent for writing and would like to challenge her.

 

Oh well . . .

 

Yep, I know just what you mean!

[dragons in the flower bed]

Unfortunately, it got him in trouble a few weeks ago. We discovered he had set up an online account without permission :001_huh:. We're still trying to figure out how to let him back in (because we think it's a great outlet for him) without looking soft on the whole deception thing. <sigh>

 

This happened to us, too, a few years ago. We took away computer privileges for a month, then let him back on only with direct supervision for a month (like, someone sitting beside him). We used NetNanny for a year or so, but eventually took it off. As far as we can tell (and I think I'm pretty good at stalking him online), he only ever made the one (big) mistake. Kids screw up. Then they grow up. It's how it works. :)

[plimsoll]

My son is working on a multi-chapter adventure story featuring his various stuffed animals as characters.

[HRAAB]

I have two that write for fun. My 17 yr old dd has always written for fun; from the first moment she could put 3 letters together to make a word. Around 11 or 12 she was writing stories based on The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. She and some friends were even developing their own elvish language. She used to put together a newsletter for friends. Her writing has really matured, and I am amazed at the way she is able to put words on paper. She writes short stories, essays, poetry. Her favorite college class this semester is Poetry.

 

My 11 yr old dd also loves to write for fun. She has wizarding notebooks, spy notebooks complete with instruction guides, stories, poems. She's been working a book all about girly slumber parties. She writes stories, usually based on fantasy - her current favorite. Lately she's been making brochures for each season full of fun ideas, book reviews, poems. Her writing isn't nearly as advanced as her older sister's was at the same age, but she loves and enjoys it so much. However, the same enjoyment doesn't spill over into required school writing.

 

Janet

[Maria/ME]

Another writer here...

 

My dd11 has always enjoyed writing story's and carrying books and notebooks. My husband and I are the same, so she comes by this fascination with storytelling quite obviously. However, doesn't enjoy writing for 'school'.

 

She writes short story's. Usually about her mouse friends, in keeping with storys by Avi, Brian Jacques and Beatrix Potter. She also has written short story's about imaginary friends and their adventures. Right now it's taking the form of comics like Calvin and Hobbes, whom she admires very much. Her story telling skills have improved my listening to and reading writer's she admires. She seems to inherently "get" the way to write a good story and it's elements.

 

She illustrates all the story's herself, too, which is really her first passion. A shopping trip is never complete without getting a sketchbook and new notebook. While some kids want new gadgets she wants new pencils and notebooks!

 

We enjoy entertaining ourselves as a family by reading to and writing for each other.

 

I'm glad we homeschool, giving her more time to explore this desire she has to "put things down".

[Emmy]

My 8yo writes short books and illustrates them - he really enjoys them. He likes to have lots of chapters so he can come up with chapter titles :p They aren't long but he enjoys it so I encourage him whenever possible.