Bailing the creative writing train

My ten year old was never obligated to write anything creative last year, her first year of being homeschooled. She worked on grammar (including outlining) and received writing instruction on the persuasive essay, personal narrative, outlining, summarizing and such, but not once was she ever assigned a creative writing piece. She responded to journal prompts such as “Share one of your most embarrassing moments,” or “Describe the perfect vacation,” for example, and the topics were always very concrete and specific.* She read a good range of quality writing both fiction and non-fiction. She modeled good writing through dictation exercises including The Gettysburg Address and the Declaration of Independence. She wasn't ever assigned a short story, asked to respond to some ambiguously touchy-feely prompt, or write about her innermost feelings.

She didn’t seem to miss it at all. Actually, she was genuinely relieved because the only thing that her previous writing instruction had taught her was that she was not a writer and now hated anything having to do with it.

I am happy to report that despite (and perhaps because of) the lack of creative writing instruction, her writing has improved significantly. Not only has she abandoned her temporary hatred of writing that caused her to freeze up at the mere mention of it, but ironically, she has decided to write a book. Not just any book, either. She's writing a book based on fantasy creatures that she has been conjuring up in her imagination for some time. She’s put together a cast of characters, is working on a glossary of terms that it seems she has invented, has got sketches and clip-art of characters to provide inspiration, and is typing her book into a publishing template. I have nothing to do with this project aside from helping her find the template.

This past year she wasn't taught or required to do creative writing, in fact, I’ve worked diligently to erase the damage such instruction has caused. I trusted that quality curricula and well chosen literature would be enough. It seems to have been an exquisitely perfect choice. Not only do I have a child who is learning to write thoughtfully and well, but I have a writer who chooses to write for the sheer joy of expressing herself.

I share this because I’m certain she wouldn’t be writing a book, or anything (fiction or otherwise) not required of her, if she had gone through another academic year of creative writing exercises of the Ed-school variety. By that I mean requiring more and more creative writing under the mistaken belief that ever increasing quantities of creative writing on demand leads to inspiration. Just ask Calvin (see above), this mostly results in sheer panic.

There is so much emphasis on being a creative writer in our schools these days when the reality is that adults will never have to write creatively. Adults must write letters, reports, and summaries, but the creative writing is purely optional. It’s a choice. So why do we force it on our children? Why not build the foundation, develop the content knowledge, and grow competent and confident writers?

I'm thrilled that my daughter's excited about writing a book, but I'm not going to push it. This will be her choice exclusively. I will support her in her efforts, but she knows that this project is supplementary. That is, perhaps, what makes it so magical.

Grammar and writing and math and science and all the other important subjects that will give her the content knowledge she needs will always come first. Her desire to write creatively has grown out of this despite not being explicitly taught or required and as such, should continue to give her the tools to accomplish these kinds of personal goals.

In Writing with Ease, Susan Wise Bauer ends the chapter Why Writing Programs Fail by reminding us that “the process of writing needs to be taught in an orderly, step-by-step method that will set young writers free to use their medium rather than wrestle with it.” My daughter has seemingly proven this true and I cannot express what a gift bailing the Ed-school creative writing train has turned out to be.

*Our program of choice for the middle school age is Grammar and Writing by Christie Curtis and Mary Hake.

Ghost

way off-topic:

I've just this moment read the last line of Robert Harris' Ghost. Incredible. I may have to study this book. The narrative structure strikes me as perfect. Maybe I'll pick up a copy of James Bell's Plot and Structure and read the two together. That's a fancy way of saying Don't open the book unless you're prepared to stay up nights reading.

bonus: His portrait of a writer having a breakdown is worth the price of admission alone.

For me it was.

Susan Wise Bauer on writing

Susan Wise Bauer has posted additional preview chapters to The Complete Writer: Strong Fundamentals over at Peacehill Press. In Chapter 4, The Three Stages, she has this to say:

What You’re Not Doing

But what about journaling, book reports, and imaginative writing?

In Years One through Four, it’s not necessary for the student to do original writing. In fact, original writing (which requires not only a mastery of both steps of the writing process, but the ability to find something original to say) is beyond the developmental capability of many students.

There is plenty of time for original writing as the student’s mind matures. During the first four years, it is essential that students be allowed instead to concentrate on mastering the process: getting ideas into words, and getting those words down on paper.

Some children may be both anxious and willing to do original writing. This should never be discouraged. However, it should not be required either. Students who are required to write, write, write during elementary school are likely to produce abysmal compositions. Take the time to lay a foundation first; during the middle- and high-school years, the student can then build on it with confidence.

In the Well Trained Mind forums, in response to the common lament of children shutting down when it comes to creative writing, she had this to say,

"[I]t's absolutely NOT necessary for an educated person to write creatively. You either enjoy it, or you don't, and forcing a child who doesn't have a bent for creative writing to do creative assignments can result in a child who loathes ALL kinds of writing."

Here's another favorite nugget from The Three Stages:

It’s important to resist the my-child’s-writing-more-than-your-child pressure.

Your neighbor’s seventh grader may be doing a big research paper, while your seventh grader is still outlining and rewriting. Don’t fret. Those research papers have been thrown at that seventh grader without a great deal of preparation. He’s probably struggling to figure out exactly what he’s doing, making false start after false start, and ending up with a paper which is largely rehashed encyclopedia information. I’ve taught scores of students who went through classroom programs which had them doing book reports, research papers, and other long assignments as early as third grade. This doesn’t improve writing skill; it just produces students who can churn out a certain number of pages, when required.

As someone who’s had to read those pages, I can testify that this approach is not, across the board, working.

Finally, someone really gets it.



New from Susan Wise Bauer:
Writing with Ease: Strong Fundamentals
Writing with Ease Workbook 1
Writing with Ease Workbook 2
First Language Lessons 4