8 Things Kids and Teens Learn When They Write a Novel (Besides Writing)
As a young adult novelist and novel-writing teacher, I believe kids and teens should be encouraged to write and finish novels, and no, it’s not because they become better writers, though they do.
I’ve helped hundreds of kids, teens and adults write novels. It’s no big surprise that their writing improves in every area, including their essays, but what’s surprised me more is that they achieve even greater gains in other areas. In particular, I’ve noticed eight tremendous benefits outside of the writing.
- Novelist kids and teens develop an increased compassion for others.
Writing a novel can encourage a person to see outside of their own difficulties, to walk in another person’s shoes, to discover compassion. We need to write multi-dimensional characters and see all sides of them; for example, we need to look at why the bully acts the way they do. This naturally leads to seeing all sides of the people they meet, even those they don’t like.
2. They gain self-soothing tools to help with their difficulties.
We all need a chance to recoup from trauma and hardship. Writing and reading fiction provides an important escape. It can be pretty stressful to be a kid or a teen (or an adult for that matter). When kids dive into their imaginary worlds, they can entertain themselves and stop ruminations, resetting negative thought patterns. If something’s bothering them, they can give it to a character and let them hold it, freeing it from their own body. For many kids, fiction writing is a type of art therapy, and they don’t even know it: they just feel better after they’ve written.
3. They gain a greater capacity for wonder and curiosity.
Fiction is all about the details. A writer is asked to observe all the small and meaningful details in a scene: the cracks in a person’s face when they smile, the light glistening off a moist leaf, the way a child has placed their stuffed animals on a shelf so that they can talk to one another. The more the writer starts to add these details to their fiction, the more they notice the details in real life, and this leads to more noticing and more curiosity, which leads to more joy.
4. They grow in their ability to connect with others.
By writing a novel, they’ll learn a lot about themselves. Writers have to guide a character through difficulties and challenges, and help them overcome their flaws in order to move past obstacles in their path. In doing so, a writer gains compassion for their own flaws and becomes braver in the face of their own challenges.
5. They gain executive functioning skills.
In writing a novel, you have to manage several different plot lines and characters. You have to plan ahead (at least a bit). You have to move through the beginning, middle and end. You have to remember who is telling the story and whether it’s in the past or present. You have to write often and follow through to the end so that you finish the book. In completing all of these skills, you improve your overall executive functioning skills, which are important to help any kid accomplish any future endeavors.
6. They improve their storytelling skills.
Being able to tell people about a scary hike or a trip to Disneyland or a fall from a trampoline in a gripping manner will help your kid “win friends and influence people” throughout their life. A good storyteller is able to touch the emotions of their listeners, and this is the goal of every novel. Storytelling skills are not only good for becoming a more interesting person, it can help in any chosen career. All sales rely on good storytelling. Even if your kid goes into science, they’ll need to know how to tell a story: getting a grant requires an ability to tell the story of why the project is important. No matter what they do, having this skill will help them.
7. They gain confidence in their own voice.
In writing a novel, they learn to trust in the power of their words, and as a result, they learn to stand up for themselves and others. They learn the power of a story to change minds. They learn to take risks, bravely using their voice to ask for what they want.
8. They improve their overall confidence when they finish their book.
Finishing is important. I wish every parent could see the look on their own kid’s face when they’ve finished and they’re holding their very own novel in their hands. It’s a look of pride similar to what you’d see on the face of an Olympic athlete standing on the podium, a football player scoring the winning touchdown or the star of a play receiving a standing ovation. This look of pride is coupled with a sense of wonder and joy because they’ve achieved this milestone of writing their longest story ever by diving into their imagination and writing a story in their own unique voice. After they type ‘The End’ and they print out their book, they know that there are no limits to what they can do. They’ve finished a novel! This is something very few people have done, and even fewer kids or teens. In every future moment of doubt or insecurity, they’ll remember they wrote a book at ten, twelve, sixteen…or sixty. (We are all kids at heart.)
So what now? How do you help the kid or teen in your life get started?
Well first, they should be interesting in telling a story. Then, just encourage them. Say only positive things if they let you read their work. This is very important. No grammar, no corrections, no suggestions, not until it’s finished, and then, only very few. The creative process is best aided by getting in the flow. With my students, I talk about what they’re doing well. This fires them up to write more and builds creative confidence, which spreads to every area of their life.
