CURE THE WRITING WOES Writer’s block hits us all, but the feelings of anxiety and self-doubt that it inflicts on students can be debilitating. If your child is experiencing writer’s block, don’t sit by and watch him give in to his frustration. Here are several steps you can take to get his creativity flowing: Talk about the assignment. Conversation will encourage your child to think about the topic without the stress of trying to force words onto a page. Ask questions and help him explore the topic’s themes to establish a direction. Ask him to note the most outstanding comments made throughout the conversation. Take a break. Children easily frustrate when they can’t think of what to write. Trying to force words is aggravating. If this is the case, have your child take a short break for a physical activity like washing the car or taking a walk. Not only will this relieve stress, but writing ideas may come to her when she least expects it. Create an outline. Too much information can be overwhelming. Use an outline to identify the main ideas. Have him put his ideas in an appropriate order to determine the structure of the piece. Then have him brainstorm two or three supporting details for each main idea. He’ll use this outline to develop sentences and paragraphs and finish the assignment before you know it. Do a sufficient amount of research. Confusion or a lack of information may be what’s keeping your child from completing his assignment. Help her do some additional research to ensure that she has enough information to complete the assignment. If she has difficulty with the topic, help her review her research to clear things up. Eliminate distractions. There are a million things around the house that can distract your child while he is writing: friends, siblings, pets, the phone and the computer, to name a few. Make sure he is writing in an environment with limited distractions. Encourage him to sit at a desk in a quiet room. Turn off the phone ringer and discourage Internet use unless it is for research. By Renee Sarnowski