The Writing Process:

• PreWriting or the Big Idea Stage—This is where you brainstorm and come up with ideas for your story. Writers write best when they write about things that are closest to them such as family, hobbies, friends, pets, fears, etc. Sometimes looking at photos or pictures can trigger ideas.
• Writing—let your ideas flow
• Revising—adding, rearranging, removing, replacing…
• Editing—spelling, capitalization, grammar (and try to find a “second set of eyes”, someone who can look the story over and catch any mistakes you may have missed.

And don’t forget…

• Writers read—read anything you can get your hands on like the newspaper, comic books, picture books, chapter books
• Study the work of your favorite authors (their technique, what do they write about?)
• Keep a journal to record your thoughts and ideas.
• It’s OK not to start a story at the beginning. Start with a line or thought and build more lines and more thoughts until the story starts to take shape.
• Keep your pencil moving. Don’t get stuck trying to find the perfect line. Just keep writing without worrying about spelling or punctuation. You can always go back later and fix it.

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