Category Archives: Writing

Writing Exercises For Children

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Our grandparents used to emphasize on good handwriting, now with computers there is not much emphasis on handwriting but on writing still exists. Computers are great help in writing- they can correct your grammar, sentence formation, spellings etc. If only there existed computers for scanning your thoughts and ideas and expressed them into words, computers would be communicating instead of us and we might be just plugged to computers. May be then imagination lessons would be designed -What an imagination!!But till such time comes true everyone is supposed to know writing and writing skills are developed to place you better.

Writing is not improved by any other method but writing and more writing. A generation might come when instead of writing with pen or pencil there will be just keyboards and converters to make your voice to words and sentences, and children might be astonished to see their grandparents write.

Children these days don’t enjoy writing. Whenever they are said to write and practice, they will resort to oral lessons instead of written. But in doing so, they are not developing the art of writing but will develop the art of mugging and producing the same. For developing writing skills, elders try various tricks and design various exercises in their own innovative way.

Children usually find writing exercises boring and try to get away from it, the first exercise comes for us when we create interest in the child to write or motivate in such a manner that they enjoy writing as much as they enjoy playing. Basically children spend too much time with the books (in the school, then at home doing their homework) that in the free time they try to be away from it.

Emotions: They can be asked to express their feelings of love, anger, guilt, excitement, fear, dreams, and fantasies in writing. This way they become conversant with the words of expressions and can explain better in future as they would not hunt for the appropriate words then. Also they become aware of the impact and power of words.

Describing food: Children can be told to write to describe the food that they relished during when they had been to the party, restaurant and they should give a detailed account of food -its appearance, taste, texture, aroma etc. Next time they can given the exercise of writing something, they would never dare to taste or eat again in life.

Dialogue writing: dialogue that the child overheard during travelling in bus, train, plane, or between friends when they were playing. Conversation between two or more persons when they were wet in rains or met each other in shopping mall after a long period.

Sometimes, when you want children to be quiet, let them play anything in which they will communicate in writing and also keep account of negative points for breaking silence. Winner can be rewarded- smart way of attaining peace!!

When children quarrel, or fight sometimes an innovative way of fight can be introduced by guiding them to fight in the written form. In doing so, they also fade their anger and no one hurt. Parents, teachers can encourage children to give written complains about anyone. Sometimes they might stop complaining, if they are not aware of the words or probably learn news words to complain. Benefited both ways!!!

Children can be told to write comment on a particular book, its author or an article they have read.
Writing about the country, culture, formation, type of government, water and energy, about neighboring country, what they want, about their terms and relations with our country.

Tell them to imagine themselves to be on a particular time in the past or future and let them describe their experiences that time. E.g. If they were in Stone Age, or in sixteenth century or in twenty third century, and let their imagination flow freely and expressed in words for us to read and understand.

They can write on something they like best in nature, behavior of some person, this can also help them know about values from person they adore and practice to write such elements by converting thoughts to words.

An incomplete line can be given so that the child gets ignition to his new world of words and write on it. For e.g.” If the gravity becomes zero then…, I remember……, If the leaves were blue…, If the fishes could fly…, etc. Beware!! Do not burden them so much with exercises that they take it as a punishment rather than fun.

The Keys to Writing a Book

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Writing a book is such a complex task that key success factors exist for any area of writing you might chose. You can write about the keys to writing a book no matter what topic on writing you chose. Spelling. Grammar. Editing. Discipline. It doesn’t matter the area, there is a key success factor associated with it.

The short answer to the question of what are the keys to writing a book is: finish it, don’t waste time, and make it eminently readable. But frankly that’s not a particularly useful answer.

So let’s dig a little deeper. And see if we can’t give you a framework to understand how the keys to writing a book fit together as a whole.

If we think of writing as a whole there are four intersecting elements responsible for success:

1. The process of writing. Writing is first and foremost a craft. Writing is a process. A set of tasks and procedures like any other craft or fabrication process. And like any other process the key success factor is to turn it into a system. A system appropriate to the task at hand. Writing a book is the most complex type of writing. As a result you need to have a system which provides a detailed specification for the book. It also needs to be matched to the type of writing you are doing. And finally, you also need a system which avoids rewriting.

2. The mechanics of writing. Also known as the craft of writing, what we are talking about are such niceties as spelling and grammar, style and word use, and ultimately voice of the author. We’re also talking about sitting at a keyboard and punching words onto a screen. We’re talking about opening a vein and letting out your heart and soul. The keys to successfully writing a book for this element are things like write first, write fast, fix later, and write a conversation not a book. It’s Hemmingway’s four rules to writing.

3. The discipline of writing. All the keys to writing a book don’t matter if you don’t actually sit down and write. The key success factors here are involved in getting you to actually sit and write. These are keys like scheduling your time, avoid distractions and focusing on writing. They are keys like keeping yourself writing even when you are depressed, and setting yourself up for success not failure.

4. The book itself. Here we’re talking about the keys to writing a book that relate to the definition of the book itself. These are the key success factors that talk to getting the book itself correct. They include such factors as knowing your reader and solving their problems. Or knowing the size your book needs to be before you write.