Profiles and Perspectives: Spilling Ink: Writing in the Play Zone

Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter, authors of SPILLING INK: A YOUNG WRITER'S HANDBOOK, discuss techniques that can help teachers more fully engage students in creative writing. Â Mazer explores young writers’ fear of making mistakes and straying from mainstream writing rules. She suggests that removing expectations from the writing process and allowing students to follow their own natural bents will help them to gain confidence in their writing. Potter discusses ways to work with children’s natural instinctive playfulness in order to keep them connected to the writing process. She also suggests various writing exercises, including writing in different venues and collaborative writing. The authors conclude by stating their conviction that when students experience the joy of writing, they then become receptive to tackling the more difficult aspects of the craft.