7 Innovative Creative Writing Exercises for kids to Try Out

We just have to allow kids to be and let them use their limitless imagination. The fact that we are perfect is something we would not want to push onto our kids; perfectionism is the biggest killer of creativity. For a kid to put a good creative piece they need to be guided by their teachers and parents. The main question is how best one can engage a kid’s idea and thoughts so that they can come up with a personal story with all the drama they can think of. Kids are adorable to watch because every time they read a story, they want to act the characters and they start building fictional stories. Turning this creative thinking into a written piece can be a bit challenging. That’s why I have come with these 7 innovative creative writing exercises for kids to try out.

For more fun writing ideas, check out our master list of 105 creative writing exercises to get you writing again!

7 Innovative Creative Writing Exercises for Kids

Creative writing not only improves the mindset of kids, but it also builds their self-confidence and self-esteem because they grow with the characters. Innovative creative writing tips and offering support is meant to help a kid come up with knowledgeable and illustrative pieces of writing in the best possible way. And have them write about things they value and appreciate. Here are 7 innovative creative writing exercises for kids to try and improve their creative writing skills:

1. Teach them to describe: Children need to learn how to use their senses. Ask them to think that they are writing the story for someone who has no idea of what they are talking about. This means they need to describe everything so that the visitor understands what exactly they are talking about. The need to learn how to clearly describe without necessarily stating what they are talking about. If they are talking about a rich character, they should not need to state that the character is rich, but describe the character as one who wears designer clothes or fine looking clothes, shoes and perfume. They drive the latest vehicle and live in a huge mansion in the city. This will help them improve their senses whenever they are describing in detail a story.
2. Encourage them to source for ideas from everywhere: Starting a story is the most challenging thing a kid encounters when they are trying to come up with a creative piece. Give them a great start off and if it will work for them, let them use toys or memories of an event. The use of innovative writing prompts is very important because it makes them come up with a great start for the story. If you ask your kid to write of their favourite machine they will write about what they are experiencing at the moment; some will kill boredom while others will try to get their math homework done automatically. Also bear in mind that some children feel more inspired by looking at image prompts compared to writing prompts. To get you started here are some quick writing prompts to help you:
   • Imagine you are invisible, what are some of the places you would love to visit? And what would you do when you get there?
   • If you are the last person on earth, what would you do?
   • Write about a dream you had?
   • Where would you like to go on vacation? Why? And what would you do with the place?
   • Write about your most memorable day.
   • What would you do if your teacher punished you for something you did? What are your feelings then and what would you do once you are out of that situation?
3. Focus on familiar things: Get children to write about things they are familiar with. If your kid loves a character in a cartoon or a pet, have them write interesting stories which include the cartoon characters they are familiar with or characters they feel connected to. Better still let them, visit a zoo and at the end of the day, let them write down what they saw then request them to turn these events into a story.
4. Use drama and role-play: Let them use drama to come up with realistic stories. Let children act as a character and have them ask questions concerning the character. The change in voice tone and dialogue will definitely spark creativity in their minds.
5. Go beyond reading books: Find innovative ways which your children can learn for different genres. Remember you can find inspiration from anywhere, so don’t just rely on reading books as a source of inspiration. You might be interested in reading this post on getting kids to read with no books involved. There are animated science fictions or comedy pieces which you can allow your kid to read and watch so they get a wide range of knowledge on different subjects. This makes them have a large playing field when it comes to creative writing.
6. Draw a picture: Drawing can be the foundation for creative writing. Almost every kid has had to draw a picture of their family, then later they can write a story of what happens in a family or what happened to their pet. From this, they will come up with a creative story on the occurrence of things. This is definitely a great start for creative writing.
7. Think about daily habits: Have them describe ways they spend their days and why. Do they play all day or take a nap in the afternoon? If taking a shower is their worst moment of the day, why? What do they think will happen if they don’t take a shower? The use of creative writing helps kids develop good habits which they stick to from an early age.

Encourage kids to involve themselves in creative writing because they will always have something to say from experience, knowledge, or observation. Their creative writing does not necessarily have to be perfect, but they can perfect it with time. If they are talking about something then they can definitely write about it. But they need to be guided on how to best organise their thoughts so that their piece is created by a flow of ideas.