How to Help Your Child Discover His or Her "Inner Writer"

We’ve all heard young people say, "I want to be a writer!" And we’ve all cringed a little when they’ve said it. After all, we know how hard it is to make a living as an artist. So how can we support their ambitions, knowing that disappointment might lurk around every corner? And how can we help nurture their creative instinct without crushing their artistic spirit?

It was probably about fifteen years ago that I first started coaching young writers. I still remember their earnest efforts at storytelling, their frustration when they couldn’t quite paint pictures with their words the way they’d wanted to, their elation when it came out right. I remember it well, because it so perfectly mirrored the ups and downs of my own writing. I drew on my memories of being a young writer and helped the children in my care to cultivate their natural talents. And in helping the children to tell their stories, I learned a lot about how to tell my own.

So when parents come to me and ask me how they can help their children develop their writing gifts, there are a few things that I usually suggest:

Encourage your children to read – a lot! Reading has a multitude of benefits for young writers. It builds vocabulary, first and foremost. It also gives one an eye for plot, story structure, dialogue, all the elements of good fiction. And don’t worry if what your child is reading seems simplistic or “below their reading level.” Help to pinpoint what he or she can read easily and with enjoyment, then stand back and watch the pages fly!

Encourage your children to write – a lot! Did your son just make up a funny joke (or even not so funny)? Suggest he write it down. Did your daughter tell you a story about a unicorn who jumped through her bedroom window and started dancing around the room? By all means, hand her some paper and a pen! Whether they’re writing letters to grandma, creating fan fiction for their favorite movie, or chipping away at their twelve-volume masterwork, writers of all ages do one thing: they write. And here’s some inside info: they don’t have to finish everything they start! Every writer has a sock drawer full of half-finished projects. It’s just part of the process. So encourage your children to write, and don’t stress over whether or not they finish everything.

Which brings me to my next point….

Never criticize. When I write that, I’m not simply saying, “don’t say anything mean,” because of course you wouldn’t intentionally insult your child. What I’m saying is, “Don’t say anything negative. Ever.” This can be a tough one for parents, which is understandable. The nurturing instinct makes you want to hover, bite your nails, and offer helpful corrections and suggestions. And if you’re looking at a school project, of course you must help monitor the quality of your child’s work. But when it comes to creative writing, my advice is this: never ever criticize.

Why? Well for one thing, there are few things on earth more fragile than the creative spirit. You’d be amazed at how easy it is to crush a burgeoning artistic impulse. A well-intentioned but careless comment from you could easily put your children off writing for quite some time. For another thing, if your children decide to pursue a career in writing, there will unfortunately be many people who will take their work and tear it down, deconstruct it and pick it apart. It’s a less-than-lovely aspect of the business that we all have to deal with at one time or another. So from Mom, Dad, teacher, etc., they should get only praise and encouragement.

If you’re worried that giving nonstop praise will make them conceited, or set them up for disappointment down the road, my advice is not to be too concerned about that. Yes, disappointment is inevitable. But the best way to overcome that is just to encourage them to keep writing. The more they write, the better at it they’ll become, and the fewer disappointments they’ll encounter. As for being conceited, well, every great venture requires a certain measure of conceit on the part of the “venturer.” Help them to build pride and even a touch of vanity in their work; chances are, no matter how big their heads get, they’ll still be able to fit through the door!

Well, this is a subject about which I would happily write volumes, and in fact I talk at length about these suggestions and more in my workshop, Helping Your Child Find the “Inner Writer.” There are few things in life more gratifying than helping a child to achieve satisfaction and gain a sense of accomplishment and of his or her own self-worth. Do you have a story you’d like to share or a question you’d like to ask about working with young writers?

This blog was originally published on the Vanilla Heart Publishing Authors' Blog.  For helpful and down-to-earth advice on writing, please check out their blog today! 

Great Reads Monday: Russian Roulette by Austin S. Camacho

Austin S. Camacho was born in New York City but grew up in Saratoga Springs, New York. He began writing while he was in the Army: stories of adventure and mystery, set in some of the exotic places he visited during his years of service.  Today Austin does public affairs work for the DoD agency charged with guarding the health of service members when they are deployed. He has settled in northern Virginia with his wife Denise.  When he's not writing Austin likes to run along the shores of the Potomac, watch action films, and shoot - at paper targets, not live ones. He is a voracious reader of just about any kind of nonfiction, plus mysteries, adventures and thrillers.  I know you'll love his novel Russian Roulette - this week's Great Read!

A Russian assassin forces Washington DC private detective Hannibal Jones to investigate Gana, the wealthy Algerian who has stolen Viktoriya, the woman his new client loves. Evidence connects Gana to Russian mob money and the apparent suicide of Viktoriya’s father. Then more deaths follow, closing in on Viktoriya. To save her, Hannibal must unravel a complex tangle of clues and survive a dramatic shootout side-by-side with his murderous client.

Early reviews say Russian Roulette hits the bull’s-eye!

"... Russian Roulette delivers a whipsaw of a plot with more layers than a Vidalia onion.... Solid storytelling and compelling characters Don't miss it!” - Libby Fischer Hellmann, Author of the Ellie Foreman mystery/suspense series

“Hannibal Jones is no John Shaft wannabe. He stands on his own as a welcome addition to the ranks of the fictional private eye.” - Robert J. Randisi, Founder, the Private Eye Writers of America

“Russian Roulette has everything: a terrific story with great characters in vivid settings. Clear time on your calendar for this one." - John Gilstrap, author of Hostage Zero and the Jonathan Grave series

“An atmospheric, entertaining read. Troubleshooter Hannibal Jones is the most engaging character to come upon the mystery scene since Patterson's Alex Cross.” - JoAnn Ross, NY Times Bestselling Author of the High Risk Series

“Russian Roulette starts with a revving engine and picks up speed till racing across the finish line. If I was in trouble I’d want Hannibal Jones on my speed dial.” - Jon Jordan, Editor, Crimespree Magazine

Visit Austin's website to read more!

Or buy Russian Roulette today on Amazon.com!

Setting, Part 1: What Is It, Why Should It Matter, and How Can You Start Using It?

When I first undertook the subject of Setting, I thought I'd blow through it in one blog.  Six hundred words, subject covered.  No sweat, right?  Um, wrong. 

As I began to write about Setting, as I started to think about it and distill my thoughts into semi-intelligible sentences, I started coming to more deep and complete understanding of the subject.  The more I wrote, the more I understood.  And the more I understood, the more I wanted to write!  So then I thought I'd split the subject into two parts: the mechanics of setting, and the subtler side of setting.  Twelve hundred words, subject covered, right?  Um, again - wrong!

So I now have three parts, and it's still growing!  I've stopped counting words and I have no idea when (or if) the subject of setting will ever be exhausted.  And if nothing else, I'm learning a lot by writing these blogs!  I hope that someone else finds some good in them, too.

Step 1: Where and When

Setting is vital element of writing. But what exactly is setting, and how can you use it to enhance the story you're trying to tell?

In breaking down the subject of setting, we can see that the absolute bottom-line, nitty-gritty of it is WHERE and WHEN. Where and when does your story take place?

Of course it's easy to see how this matters if you're writing a World War 2 epic, or a science fiction novel: the 1940s in London is a heck of a lot different than 3010 on the moons of Jupiter. But it also matters when you're writing any modern day novel, whether it's romance, mystery, thriller, etc., because the where and when will effect many aspects of your story and your characters.

Some examples:

• F. Paul Wilson sets his Repairman Jack novels in modern-day New York.
• Holly Jacobs sets many of her romance novels in the fictional town of Whedon, Pennsylvania.
• James Ellroy set his LA Crime novels in mid-20th Century Los Angeles.

In each of these cases the where and when affects the who and what – the setting affects the characters and the plotline. It doesn’t necessarily dictate plot or create the characters for you, but it definitely does have an effect on both (we'll go in-depth on this subject in a later blog!).

For a quick example, imagine a single woman raising a child on her own. Whether she lives in 1629, 1993 or 3010 will make a difference in her parenting style and the set of obstacles she has to face, not to mention the entire concept of her own identity as a human being, and her concept of the identity of her child.

So, WHERE and WHEN does your story take place?

Step 2: Make it Realistic

Research, research, research. If you are writing about a place and time that is unfamiliar to you, make sure you do your homework! My second novel, Still Waters, is set in the mid-1950s in Arlington, Virginia. I was very familiar with the place, but – aside from many years of watching Hitchcock films - not too familiar with the time period.

To research the period, I spent hours in the library, reading newspapers from the months during which my novel was set. I also found a 1950s map of the area and was able to identify what some of the streets were called at that time. I didn’t use all of this information in the book, of course, but it made it easier for me to set my mind to that place in that time.

And here's a hint: you can often find newspapers going back to the 19th Century. One of my local papers has been around since the early 1800s, and has back issues on microfiche that go way back to the beginning!

Confirm, confirm, confirm. There are always tiny details of life in various eras that can't be found in books. And the danger of writing about any place or time outside of our experience is that our conceptions are shaped very much by movies and books, which may or may not be accurate. Hopefully your rolodex (or Facebook friend list) includes one or more people who have education about or experience with your chosen time and place. Ask them questions while you're writing, and/or have them read your manuscript when it's finished. Tell them to cast their expert eye on the details and confirm that you haven't written anything too embarrassingly wrong!

Relax, relax, relax. There is only so much you can do to make a time period accurate, and the primary jobs of a fiction writer are to create an emotional connection with the reader, and tell a good story. You can kill yourself – and your story, for that matter – by becoming obsessed over the details. Make it as accurate as possible, and then just relax, knowing that you've done the best you can.

Setting should serve your story, not the other way around. (Unless you're James Michener, of course, but that's a whole other blog!)
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What settings do you enjoy when you're reading a book or watching a movie?