Do you have a writer?

[Anonymous]

I have a DD who is in 3rd and loves to write. What should I be encouraging her to do with this passion of hers? Should I be steering her into writing books and publishing them online? What type of careers in the future love people who like to write? I’m not bragging! Just looking for a little advice from someone else whose kid also likes to write long complex stories or like to sit and write for hours?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a DD who is in 3rd and loves to write. What should I be encouraging her to do with this passion of hers? Should I be steering her into writing books and publishing them online? What type of careers in the future love people who like to write? I’m not bragging! Just looking for a little advice from someone else whose kid also likes to write long complex stories or like to sit and write for hours?

And there is absolutely nothing I did as a parent to create this. It’s just one of those passions that sort of developed as she started to read, do homework and start school. My other children will not sit and read or write for longer than a minute.

[Anonymous]

Be supportive and encourage her to read a variety of genres. There are lots of different writing-based careers but getting the basic skills and practicing is what's important right now.

[Anonymous]

I was one of those kids. Great writing skills are valuable in a lot of careers, I ultimately became an archaeologist. I think trying to steer toward careers in third grade is a little ridiculous. Just encourage her to keep it up and keep reading.

[Anonymous]

No do not encourage her to publish online. Ugh.

Make sure she has plenty of good books and plenty of free time to write. I wrote a time when I was in public school then I went to a top private and did other activities and I didn’t have the time to write as much and my creativity suffered.

[Anonymous]

Our daughter did a number of programs with https://www.writopialab.org/regions/greater-washington-dc

It was a terrific program for her. She’s in college now and an English major. Don’t worry about careers. She’s 8. They find their way.

[Anonymous]

Oh and if she likes to store she should also read a lot.

[Anonymous]

I was like that as a kid and have made a living as a professional writer. I was a newspaper reporter for 15 years (8 at a major daily) and then switched to healthcare comms for the in-house daycare at the hospital. Now my kid is older and I'm at a PR firm. Anyway, writing always came easy to me and it is something I enjoyed - though it's more fun as a kid, less when you are writing about medical things. Anyway...

I don't think you should do anything different than what you are doing. Just let them write what he/she wants to write, it doesn't have to end up anywhere but your files (keep a few - these are fun to read when you are older). I also agree with the PP - keep a lot of different kinds of books around.

As an adult I believe good reporting makes good writing - fiction and non-fiction - but kids should just enjoy the flow and creativity. Good luck to your writer!

One last thing that changed things for me in my life - we had a school family when I was growing up where the mom published a YA novel. She came to our class and explained how she wrote the book, the publishing process, etc. I was probably in 5-6th grade and had never met a writer. I didn't know this was something I could actually be until I saw a person there who did it, telling me in broad terms how it happened. So if one of your child's favorite authors is coming to town to do a signing or something it might be worth a trip to the local bookstore to hear that and ask some questions.

[Anonymous]

10:54 PP - Also helpful was my parents letting me major in English lit and apply to journalism school. Basically they said I had to move out and pay for myself but left the rest up to me. It was a scrappy few years initially paying the bills but it worked out and I am forever grateful that they encouraged me to pursue my dreams and skill set rather than make me get a more conventional job that paid more.

[Anonymous]

My 10 yr old loves to write. Mostly I encourage her to read a lot, listen to the stories she writes when she wants to share them, and ask her questions or prompts. I wouldn’t consider publishing / looking for a place to publish.

[Anonymous]

My daughter was very similar and loved the Writopia programs. She also went to a few weekend GMU writing things for kids, and in high school to the UVA Young Writers Summer Program. Take her to see children’s authors at bookstores, and to indie bookstores. Get her subscriptions to kids’ magazines. Help her make her own books with craft materials.

True writers just have to write. I was the same as a kid.

When my daughter was upset after we slid into a snowdrift on the way to school on a day they should have had school, she announced firmly to her first grade teacher when we finally arrived, “I need my journal!”

Oh, and definitely get her a journal or diary with big pages. Trying to write on a small page cramps your hand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was one of those kids. Great writing skills are valuable in a lot of careers, I ultimately became an archaeologist. I think trying to steer toward careers in third grade is a little ridiculous. Just encourage her to keep it up and keep reading.

+ 1 million.

[Anonymous]

My teen is an excellent writer who enjoys writing stories, as well as keeping a journal. When he was your dcs age, I bought him blank booklets so he could write his stories and illustrate them. He also typed on the computer, but creating his own books brought him a lot of joy. Nowadays I make sure he has journals, sketchbooks, notebooks and notepads. He gets ideas while he's out and keeps a pen and pad handy. I also make sure he understands the technical aspects of writing. He is a voracious reader, as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a DD who is in 3rd and loves to write. What should I be encouraging her to do with this passion of hers? Should I be steering her into writing books and publishing them online? What type of careers in the future love people who like to write? I’m not bragging! Just looking for a little advice from someone else whose kid also likes to write long complex stories or like to sit and write for hours?

Not writing but art. I have a DD in 3rd who is incredibly creative and draws constantly, loves to experiment with makeup and clothes/fashion. Definitely not inherited! I just foster it as much as possible and let her be who she is.

[Anonymous]

Agree with the PPs. My teen has also loved to write since she was much younger and as long as she has time and a place to write, you’re good. Also agree with keeping some of the stories and it’s wonderful to read them later. She recently started reading she wrote at 8 (she’s 14) which she thought was hilarious but I loved every word.