How to Encourage Writing Skills

karlitob

Hey,

Hope you can help.

My little brother (13) has written two plays and they were performed as school plays. He enjoys reading an awful lot though its hard to move him on from Artemis Fowl Darren Shan etc to To Kill a Mockingbird, December Boys etc. I know he'll get there though. He's mad into rugby also.

Can anyone suggest how I can encourage literature,creative writing etc skills with him? He may not enjoy it but just want to give him an option. He lives in Limerick.

Looking forward to replies.


Thanks

pickarooney

I don't really understand. He's already written two plays which have been performed, so what encouragement does he need exactly?

"He may not enjoy it"

Clearly he gets some enjoyment out of it or he wouldn't write.

Why does it matter to you that he reads To Kill a Mockingbord?

karlitob

pickarooney wrote: »

I don't really understand. He's already written two plays which have been performed, so what encouragement does he need exactly?

"He may not enjoy it"

Clearly he gets some enjoyment out of it or he wouldn't write.

Why does it matter to you that he reads To Kill a Mockingbord?

Jees, relax.

It was in 6th class that he wrote the plays and it was in a classroom setting with his classmates. He's now in 1st year and has the pressures associated with that - big school and all that. Obviously teachers are focused on there subject matter.

It "matters" to me that he develops his reading to encompass a broader range of topics. The way you say it "to kill a mockingbird" is crap.

He may not enjoy it - he loves rugby. The plays could have just been a classroom thing. Thats why I came on the boards to see if there was a way to encourage this outside school hours.

So, if you're going to help do. If not, don't bother replying.

pickarooney

You can't expect people to help if you're not clear about what you want help with.

Who said "To Kill a Mockingbird" was crap?
What has rugby got to do with anything?

I'm just really confused about what you're trying to ask, no malice intended if for some reason you thought there was.

karlitob

Apologies, I thought I was clear.

Apologies again.

Rugby was included to highlight that all he does is think rugby. I want to give him more options so he will have more options to choose from.

Komplett: Marc

A healthy dose of relax all around would help alright.

I come from a family with two professional writers, so I guess the best encouragement is to just keep letting him read whatever he likes. If he asks you for something to read, then recommend away. It'll happen eventually

pickarooney

So essentially since he moved into secondary school he's stopped writing and is playing rugby during all his spare time?

Obviously I don't know your brother but he sounds very well rounded if he's able to enjoy both a solitary pursuit like writing plays and a group activity like rugby. The best you could do, I think, is to make a wide variety of books available to him and let him read whatever he wants.

Is there something implied like he now looks down on writing as a waste of time or his personality has changed since he got into sport? That will happen at his age and he might not get back into writing for years, but he'll be able to type long after he's no longer able to tackle.