My kid wants to be a novelist. She's working on her first long book project this summer; about 20k words in and it's a fun story, but she seems to have hit a wall.
I'm hoping to find resources and guidance meant to help kids plan and finish a first book. If you know of anything that might be useful for a 10 yo, brilliant-but-scattered budding author, I'd be grateful for a tip.
lord knows her parents are not equipped to help.
Thank you!!!
@DrTCombs if there’s a local community college, perhaps she could audit a creative writing class? Also, check with your local library!
@DrTCombs Maybe the Fabula deck of story structure cards? You can use it as a collaborative game, or as a writing tool:
@DrTCombs
Writing a well-constructed story AS a kid isn’t different from writing FOR a kid — the elements are the same ( character development, plot, setting, conflict, tension, resolution, etc).
I don’t know of any specific resources for a child writer, but there are a kazillion references for writing children’s literature, and none I’ve seen would be too mature or intellectually challenging for a kid savvy enough to jump into a project like you describe.
“Writer’s Digest” always has ads for books on “how to write” specific genres, and any library would have references.
As she’s stuck on her story, I’d encourage her to clarify the overall plot by outlining — like a road map — where she’s starting, where she’s going, the various plot side trips. That should help get her unstuck. She needs a clear direction to go.
Writing a novel is an immense project — maybe shorter stories would be easier to perfect until she learns what is a workable structure.
Hope this helped ~~
😊
@DrTCombs
First of all, this has happened to all the writers I know, so she's in good company.
Second, when this has happened to me, I've backtrack through the story to find a point where I might be able to change the direction of the plot and go on from there. Sometimes it's successful, sometimes
not. Good luck!🍀
I would think reading her work in a public library, even if incomplete, would assist. Ultimately it is a practical exercise in reaching an audience.
@DrTCombs you could check out The Loft in Minneapolis. They offer lots of classes.
The most important resource is other writers. People who understand in their own flesh what she's trying to do and can offer constructive advice because they fucked up already and recovered from that.
@DrTCombs Curious if your kid would be interested in short stories first. They're an end unto themselves, not a stop on the way to novels, but they are good for getting something complete that you can be proud of and show to people.
Also, 10 might be too young (depending on the kid), but you might ask about a writing group that an adult leads? Libraries occasionally do that kind of thing.
Best advice I could think of is to take a half step away; have her write about scenarios or how the characters would react if they were in situations she sees throughout her day. She may find one she wants to extend into her project!
@DrTCombs what helped me when I was that age was having a couple of “beta readers” that were my age. They kept asking how the story would continue and give input with their own ideas and theories. That exchange really kept motivation high and gave me new perspectives when I was stuck. 🤔
And as a more specific tool, I eventually discovered outlines for myself, just a bullet list of (roughly) what still needed to happen/was going to happen until the end. 😊
@DrTCombs
https://nanowrimo.org/
Should have some good resources.
A friend's kid did it recently.