Creative writing is one of the most profound ways to express your thoughts and ideas to the world. But when it comes to children, it not only helps them express themselves; it also enhances their grasp of the language they are writing in and widens their vocabulary. Especially when our children learn a language like Malayalam with a vast vocabulary and irreplaceable literary treasures, encouraging creative writing will dramatically improve their grasp of the language and enable them to grasp deeper concepts of the language.

Imagination is the greatest asset of a learning mind, and for young children, creative writing is the best way to encourage the growth of their creative minds, but getting started with story writing might look like a confusing and difficult task. At Akshharam Online Malayalam Learning School, we hope to make the learning journey of each student a little simpler, and in this article, we will attempt to lighten this starting trouble by providing a simple guide for kids to follow while they attempt story writing.
 

Want to write a story? Read first!

Creative writing is very different from writing an essay for a school project. It’s like building a Lego house from scratch, except there are no Legos; you have to create the pieces and build the house all on your own. Through creative writing, you can express your emotions, ideas, and thoughts; in other words, it’s a medium for self-expression. Encouraging creative writing in children will grow their confidence in the language and enhance their critical thinking ability, along with their creativity and imagination.

But how do you write a story? Well, to write a story, you must first know what exactly a story is, right?! Before getting the pen and paper for your kid to start writing, make sure they have a clear idea about what a story is. For that, make them familiar with age-appropriate Malayalam short stories. Make children’s storybooks available for children and encourage their reading habits. Reading stories will help them develop their own idea of a good story. Some kids might like a story with a moral lesson, while others might like a funny story or just a story for the sake of a story without any lessons. Reading will help our kids get an idea about different genres, writing styles,  and techniques, and with enough encouragement, they will develop their own ideas and narration skills.

Plot and character creation

Creating a plot for a story and building characters to drive that plot is the first step in writing a short story. To encourage and help your child build the plot line, ask them helpful questions. Is the story completely from their imagination, or are they rewriting a plot they already know about, or are they writing about something that happened in real life in their own way? This question will help children form a general plot and motive for the story. Different people have different writing styles, so if your kid only has a premise and is hoping to build the plot as they write, so be it.

Children’s imagination knows no bounds, so give their imagination a free ride and encourage them to create whatever characters they like; mystical creatures, animals, plants, and humans can all be characters in children’s stories. Help them create characters by reminding them that the purpose of different characters is to drive the plot line and create conflict. Ask them questions about the lives of the main characters, their interactions with each other, and their purpose; also encourage them to create side characters who might not necessarily be needed to move the plot but are essential to giving the story more substance.

The conflict

Conflict is an essential element in a story; it is what gives the characters a purpose and drives the plot, and in general, resolving a conflict is the end of a story. Help your kid understand the concept of a conflict. It could be a problem a certain character should resolve; it could be a villain; it could be an internal struggle of a character; or it could be a quest. In short, a conflict is a struggle the main character or characters go through in a story.

The structure

Now we have a plot, characters, and conflict, but where to place them and how to write them? The plot, characters, and main conflicts are all just a jumble of ideas, and building a structure for the story and deciding where to place the conflict and characters in the story will finally make your child ready to start writing. For example, some stories begin by introducing a set of characters by making them interact with each other and generally narrating the circumstances and story elements; the conflict is only introduced in the middle of the story when the characters are well established, and then the story continues with the struggle of these characters to resolve the conflict and reach their end goal.

On the other hand, some stories begin by directly introducing the conflict and some characters in the beginning; the characters grow as the plot develops, and the whole story follows them trying to resolve the conflict, with some turning points or plot twists introduced in the middle. Introducing characters is also a structured process; you can introduce characters from the beginning and then move on to the conflict, but to give a story more intrigue, introduce characters as the story grows, or introduce some characters in the middle when the conflict is revealed. Build a unique story structure that’s convenient for you and create the beginning and end of the story, and you are ready to start writing.
 

The writing part

So now we have all the tools to start writing, but as the children write, many things will change: the character introduction, the conflict, the ending, everything. But no worries, because no one achieves perfection in the first draft, right?! Building a basic structure, characters, and plot will give your kid the outline for a story; it’s their freedom to colour the picture and make it a story of their own. As they write, help them with vocabulary and ask questions that push the plot forward. If they struggle to finish, encourage them by reminding them of the structure and the planned ending. After they finish writing, read it with them, ask questions about the parts of the story and character motives, suggest edits, and help them rewrite it.
 

Akshharam

Akshharam Malayalam language learning school online has created a revolution among the Malayali community living outside Kerala who struggle to pass on their culture and language to their children who are growing up away from home. As an online Malayalam learning school, we focus on creating an ideal virtual classroom and learning environment for children with the help of our customizable curriculum and dedicated faculty. Reach out to us to learn more about our summer courses and learning modules.