how do you help a 9 year old with putting her thoughts down on paper well

[meemee]

finally dd is willing to write and type too. to date she has been a great oral story teller, but when she starts writing she is not well organized. 

how would i guide her? how should i help her organize her thoughts on paper? she does get that at school. but she wants guidance at home too. she has started a blog and wants to write regularly there - mostly fiction. she has a great imagination. 

[whatsnextmom]

I'd start with dictation where she tells and you type. Once it's down, let her go through it orally with you to see what doesn't sound right and what needs to be changed. You can talk about form and organization through that. Kids can get really bogged down in the "function" of writing. Giving her a chance to "write" a story orally as well as gain editing experience and STILL get to see it on paper (or blog) will help AND it's a technique she's surely not getting at school.

[McGucks]

Some kids respond really well to visual organizers...basically, just large shapes on a page that can help them decide on writing progression (beginning, middle, end...you can also get advanced ones for mature writers).

They are also called graphic organizers.  Here is a link of some easy ones to get you started, if you are interested:  http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/graphic-organizers.html

[whatsnextmom]

Another idea... powerpoint can be a great tool for this. Have her put together a powerpoint picture book. Using and placing the pictures and sentences will help her put structure in her story. It's a tool my youngest used in school starting about 2nd grade and loved it. Plus, you get a cute, sort of animated story in the end.

[EarthRootsStarSoul]

I'm a college writing tutor, so I have some experience with this.  I would not focus on organization at first.  If she is telling narrative stories out loud, just tell her to write them the same way she would say it in person.  Then later you can teach her about revising and editing.  Read her stories like a reader.  You don't have to fix it for her, just make readerly comments like, "This is confusing.  Who is this character?  Why did they do that?"  And let her clarify her story in her own words. 

[EVC]

How about having her tell her story orally and recording it (on your phone, a tape recorder, hand held recording device)? She could then go back and listen to what she said and, in the process of transcribing it to paper, make various revisions. Letting her start with her strength (oral story telling) might help her make the transition to paper. 

[Amatullah0]

Along with everything said above, how much does she read and listen to pro storytellers? Encourage her to read stories from different authors, and go listen to some professional storytellers if you can. When reading a story/book, or actually, short stories might be best, since that's what she is wanting to write, read the story as if it were a guidebook. Point out how the author sets the scene, and how the written story might vary from the oral story (e.g. with a verbal story, you might change the voice or otherwise make it obvious that someone else is speaking, but with a written story, it is sometimes better to actually state who is speaking, i.e. "I think cats are cool, sarah stated.")

I know that one of the hang ups that I faced when writing was that I wanted to begin every story with something similar to "Once upon a time." I didn't realize that it's easier to set the scene if you jump right into it, as opposed to telling readers "ok, i'm going to start the story now."

[Jen Muise]

My dd has trouble with reading and writing, and so trying to organize her thoughts while being worried about the mechanics of getting it down has been a problem.  We have 2 main strategies.  One is to scribe for her, as others have suggested, and then reorganize afterwards.  This works best with fictional pieces and stories.  The other thing we do is to get all her ideas down in point form.  Sometimes we use recipe cards and do one idea per card.  Because she doesn't have to make whole sentences, it becomes easier to get her thoughts down on paper.  Once the basic thought is there, we try and fill it out in the spare room on the card.   Then we go through and reorganize, which cards make easy.  This works best for reports and projects. 

[beanma]

meemee, does she like to draw? My dd1 is a story-teller, too, and what helps sometimes with her writing is if she can draw a few key pictures (sometimes it helps to keep the more sketchy instead of too detailed) to help her remember the story. Then when she's looking at the pictures she can go back and write the story. She has trouble staying focused (my next thread) on the story and will lose her train of thought and momentum for the story. Another thing that can help is for her to tell the story and make a note of a few keywords (sort of like a loosely structured outline) to keep her on track.

Dd1 is really into manga now and is creating a new manga story, so lots of illustrations. Dd2 is just typing one up on the computer, but she made a list of the chapter headings first and has drawn some pictures to go along with it.

[squimp]

DD likes to make magazines on Powerpoint.  Her friends love helping her with this too.  She also writes novels in word and loves to make cartoon books.  Does she have a writing journal and a sketchbook that she can keep on her desk, to fill with her imaginative ideas?  If you have an iphone or touch or whatever she could make videos of herself telling stories.  

[meemee]

OH NO!!! i figured it out. i dont know what to do. 

dd has hit that 'teenage thingy' where she knows best. she doesnt want to put in the work. she doesnt want help from mama. she knows the rules but ignores them. 

i am not sure how i can help with this. i will have to talk to her teacher. or maybe find something like a khanacademy online. 

i thought she didnt know. she does - but she just wont apply it. i have no idea WHY?!!!!

[skreader]

 My son was not writing as well as he could have been. He had so much in his brain, and he could tell it all very fluently, but his written work was not matching. Plus, his handwriting was not very legible.

So, I started requiring that he write for me daily: at least 50 words, anything he wanted: story, non-fiction, anything. If he "didn't know what to write" I told him he could copy a paragraph or two from one of his books. 

This helped him get used to writing, and on the days when the Muse did not visit, at least he practiced his handwriting.

Hope some of this experience helps.