| Creative Writing Writing is Fun and Easy with Concept Mapping! |
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| The Writing Map
Creative writing is one of those subjects that both children and adults tend to struggle with when it comes to getting started. For my children, writing is not a subject that provokes much enthusiasm. After a few minutes go by of staring at a blank paper, I hear the typical writing assignment lament, “I don’t know what to write about”. Well, those writing frustration days are over in my house since we discovered Concept Mapping. This writing tool is a fun and easy way to get those creative writing ideas flowing. Not only does concept mapping work well for fictitious creative writing but also works great for writing: reports, articles and taking notes. How to do Concept Mapping: Step 1: Main Idea To get started have the child write down a main idea or subject in the center of the paper and circle it. For example, if they are to write about the worst morning they ever had, they would write “worst morning” in the middle. Step 2: Abstract Ideas CLICK to See Example Next, have the child write down everything that comes to their mind, without judging if it is silly, not relevant or unimportant. These words should be written around the main circle with lots of space between them. Tip! Often, the more abstract ideas will produce more interesting and creative writing. Step 3: Connect the ideas CLICK to See Example The next step involves using arrows, lines and short notes to give the words a connective meaning such as cause and effect. Connect the ideas (from step two), to each other using words and phrases, circles and lines. Example: Grass and Water: water left on/ slipped on grass Mom and Bus: missed bus/ mom drove me to school Ice-Cream and Books: ice-cream left out all night/ melted on books Step 4: Beef up the ideas! Make a list of nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs for each of the main words and ideas on the map. This list can be referred to as a resource when writing the story in the next step. For example: Running water: fast rushing, trickled, cold Mud: black, thick, slippery Missed Bus: disappointed, ran quickly, sprinted Mom: sleepy, slow moving, Bus: shiny, bright, yellow. Ice-cream: melted, warm, gooey, chocolate Homework: soggy, ruined, wet, sticky, Morning: excited, enthused, good Late: hurry, quickly, frantic Someone (left water running): big brother, little sister, mom, dad Slipped on mud: embarrassed, humiliated, dirty, Step 5: Begin Writing the Story. At this step, the child should have a good amount of material to begin writing a story. Below is a story that could easily constructed from the Concept Mapping that is used in the example. The Worst Morning I Ever Had When my alarm went off bright and early, I was very excited to start the day. I got dressed, put on my brand new, shiny white pair of tennis shoes and went downstairs to eat breakfast. When I got to the kitchen I realize that mom had overslept. There was no coffee brewing, no bacon sizzling or the smell of toast cooking. My mom yelled in a sleepy voice from her bedroom, “Just go ahead and fix yourself a bowl of cereal.” I grabbed a bowl and started munching on my cheerios. I was enjoy eating my cereal when I suddenly realized that the bus was going to be in front of my house in minutes. Knowing that I was in a race against the clock, I frantically looked for my homework. I was relieved when I spotted it under a bag of groceries on the dining room table. I went to pick it up and much to my surprise, it was covered in melted, chocolate, gooey ice-cream that someone forgot to put away the night before! My homework was ruined beyond repair. Just then, I heard the squeak of the school bus brakes. I grabbed my coat and sprinted out the door towards the bright, yellow school bus. Right before I got to the bus door, my feet slipped out from under me. The next thing I knew, I was laying on my back, covered in thick, black, mud. I felt so embarrassed, especially when the kids on the bus started laughing. Apparently, my big brother had forgotten to turn off the sprinkler the day before. The water had been running all night creating a slippery path just for me. Trying to ignore the laughter coming from the bus, I waved the bus driver to go on without me and made my way back into the house. I was covered head to toe in mud and my brand new shoes were a mess. I went in the house, got cleaned up and my sleepy mom drove me to school. By the time I reached school, I was 20 minutes late, didn’t have my homework and was wearing my old pair of tennis shoes. That was the worst morning I ever had and I hope I never have one like it again. |
| See An Example of How to Map! |
| CLICK to Read More Creative Writing Ideas! |
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