Ideas Come From the Heart
How to help your child come up with writing ideas
One of the most difficult things for writers of any age is coming up with an idea to write about. Writing prompts can be a good way to go, but they can be limiting. If the topic doesn’t resonate, it makes it hard to write about. One of the easiest ways to engage your child in writing is to give them choice and voice to write about what they want.
How do you find a topic to write about? Heart Maps.
One of the quickest ways to find a topic to write about is to use heart maps. This idea was first introduced by Georgia Heard, and I’ve used this many times with kids aged six to twelve. The idea is to draw a heart shape on a piece of paper. Make it large as they will fill it with pictures and words.
What goes on your Heart Map?
As you may have guessed, a heart map is a place to put everything you love: family, friends, places you’ve visited, hobbies and sports. Here’s an example of what a heart map could look like. Feel free to use words or pictures.
What goes outside the Heart Map?
Encourage your child to think about things they don’t like. These can also be great topics to write about. I had one student write about not liking her younger brother and how he ended up getting lost because she hid him in a hockey bag. You can also write topics that concern your child about. My books have included issues like bullying, homelessness and PTSD for emergency workers. These are all topics I have strong opinions about.
What to do with your heart map?
Once your child has created a heart map, keep it handy. Gluing it into the front of a writing notebook means it’s easy to reference when looking for a new topic to write about.
Writers write about what’s important to them. Taking the time to have your child combine their likes and dislikes on a heart map keeps their ideas in one easily accessible place to reference anytime they want to write a story.
Want to know more about choice and voice? Check out the article I wrote here.
Heather Hobbs is a retired teacher and middle-grade author. It was her love of books that got her into teaching and the inspiration to become a writer. Her first series, Breaking the Rules, deals with bullying and identity in middle school. Her love of ancient history and research led her to writing The Time Chasers Series, time travel adventures for middle-grade readers. The first book, Storms and Scarabs, won the Bronze Medal from Reader’s Favourite in the children’s action category.
