Back at school this week, children are not only being asked to read lots of books, but to write their own too. Many teachers are asking children to write their own novel and – get this – to write it in one month!
This is part of the USA’s National Writing Project and we could learn from this.
This carefree approach encourages writers to take imaginative risks and truly enjoy the experience of writing. In other words, you have a stab a writing a whole novel without worrying about how good or bad the words are.
There’s a lot to learn from this. Here at from you to me we believe that writing for yourself (and your loved ones) is a wonderful experience. You have no audience to consider and there’s nobody to please but yourself. You can choose how honest you want to be in the safe confines of your family and friendship group. The more honest you are the greater the rewards – the closer you get to your loved ones.
The other benefit here is confidence. When writing with no boundaries you build your own confidence in your writing, and your confidence in your voice. Often you read back what you’ve written and surprise yourself at the standard and creativity. And if you can say you’ve written your own life story, you can do anything!
from you to me’s Journals of a Lifetime are a wonderful way of starting this journey of expressive writing. Or get your kids excited about writing, drawing or doodling with our Get Kids Writing range: Rant & Rave, the perfect back to school treat. Answering questions about your life in your own way could get you started on the road to enjoying writing and expressing yourself of paper.