Supporting Reluctant Writers

If you have a reluctant writer at home, try these strategies to help encourage and support them as writers:

1. Make writing more fun by letting them have free rein on topics. If it’s of interest then they are more likely to want to write.

2. Scribe for them. Not only are you modelling writing but it lets them see a finished piece. They can experience success and that may encourage them to write.

3. Let them type. Handwriting is important, but you are not going to develop a love of writing by making them write if they are very resistant to it. Handwriting does not need to be a barrier to writing. It’s ok to tap into digital tools. 

4. Make writing meaningful by giving it a purpose. When kids can see the reason for writing, they understand the purpose and are more likely to be engaged e.g. writing up a favourite recipe or a shopping list. If they have the opportunity to publish their writing, in a homeschooling magazine or paper, that can be a great incentive.

5. Tell stories first. Before they can write a story, they need to be able to tell a story. Do lots of this first before adding in the mechanics of writing. 

6. For imaginative writing, try using tools such as story cubes. Some children can find it difficult to come up with ideas from scratch, so using tools such as story cubes can help get those creative juices going.

7. When they do write, focus on the content rather than the mechanics e.g. spelling, grammar and punctuation. Focusing on everything can be overwhelming. Take one thing to focus on and highlight the rest once they have grasped that one thing.

8. Read them amazing stories - if you can get them into the amazing fictional worlds offered in stories then this can help foster a love of reading which then leads into an interest in writing. 

I absolutely love reading and writing and I’m passionate about helping children develop a love of literacy. I’m also a homeschooling parent of a reluctant writer so I understand the struggle. It’s tricky because so much of what we do involves writing. What has worked for us is using digital tools rather than an overemphasis on handwriting, and doing writing in short bursts, with a purpose and through interest based topics.