We’ve most likely all had moments where we are facing a blank page and can’t think of a single thing to write. For some students, this is a daily occurrence. When given a task to do creative writing, some children get so overwhelmed that they can’t produce any words. Here’s how you can help your child.

If possible, set aside time before any impending creative writing deadlines where you can just brainstorm topics with your child. This pressure-free activity should get their creative juices going. Help them come up with a list of things they might like to one day, write about. One way to start this list would be to ask them to list some of their favorite activities, places, people, dreams, memories, etc. Another list could be coming up with fun story titles such as The Time I Shrunk to the Size of an Ant, The Bunny Who Barked Like a Dog, or My Life on Mercury.

When you have a nice, long list post it in a place where your child can access it when needed. If possible, perhaps make a copy to send to school so that your child could use it there during creative writing time.

Now that they have a list of topics, how can they transfer this to the page? For many students it helps to map out their story before they start writing it. Getting the main parts organized first can make the actual writing easier. An easy way to get this done is having your child use some type of graphic organizer to plan the writing. A storyboard is one popular organizer because it allows children to draw out the main parts of their story first. Then they can just write some brief notes about their drawing to begin to get their thoughts on paper.

After your child has had a chance to do this important pre-writing, he should be better equipped to begin writing. Offer plenty of encouragement along the way. Suggest to your child to put anything down initially that comes to mind, explaining that this is not the final version and that he can go back and refine it later. Avoid focusing on spelling or grammar errors when he first starts writing. This will slow down his writing flow and most likely discourage him as well. Have the focus be on getting words on the page If your child is getting frustrated, suggest taking a quick break and returning to the writing piece a bit later. They may also benefit from talking out their story ideas with you to get the creative juices flowing again.

In the long run, one of the best ways to help your child with writer’s block is to encourage them to write often. Daily creative writing will not only boost their confidence, but it will help them begin to internalize story structures that they can then use regularly. Good luck!