5 Tips for getting your child to write

Corine La Font, Contributor

1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid became an international best-seller because it appealed to a young audience in the middle school years. Believe it or not, it had a wider reach, even adults and teenagers loved it! The book was written in simple language, even used lingo that related to the younger folks and shared a common experience that most young people went through or are going through. It had 'relatability'. What makes you think your kids are any different? It is just a matter of getting them to write their own journal. No need to purchase an expensive journal either. Just an exercise book will do and ask your kids each day to write what happened at school. It can be something that happened in class, out of class, or something they noticed on their way to and from school. NOTE: Do not attempt to help them in any way. This must not be influenced by you, nor should you make them feel that what they wrote is out of context or that the grammar needs work, leaving them deflated and uninterested.

2.  Let your kids play around with the characters of their story. Let them draw the way they see them and add them to their story as it plays out.

3.  Spend the time to listen to your kids read you their daily journal. You may be surprised at the things you learn about your own child, his or her thoughts on others and the way they mature over time. It is also quite a therapeutic exercise, this thing called writing.

4.  For greater exposure, children need to read. Allow your kids to pick what they want to read not, the other way around. Over time, they will come to the point where they can either appreciate a wide selection or they hone in on an area of specific appeal. Offer encouragement and support at a reasonable distance, allowing you to take notice of what your child's interest are and providing guidance to become the best they can be.

5.  Create excitement. Yes, that is important. Children love to see when parents smile and laugh when they laugh. It shows approval of what they have done. Share their work with others, put it on the fridge, frame the first story or even send it in to be published by The Gleaner Children's Own or better yet, get the work self published on Amazon when they have amassed a number of pages and illustrations. Think it is a far-off objective? No way! The best children writers are children themselves. No one can tell a story like they do and you know it. So add this to your list of back-to-school items for the coming years and never stop. You may be pleasantly surprised where the creative works of your own child may end up.

Corine La Font is an author, certified author assistant and online book marketing specialist. She is also an award-winning publishing resource in the 2013 Small Business Book Awards. Get a copy of her book at http://amzn.to/TFHQka Tune in to her radio programme at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/helpdeskja.