Having a strategy to organize thoughts and begin getting them down on paper can help your child get over this hurdle.

If your child enjoys learning best with words, an outline can help her get started on a paper. If she enjoys learning best with pictures, she can try a mind map. Both of these work for fiction and nonfiction writing.

To do an outline, have your child follow these steps:

• Write down the first main idea. Number it with the Roman numeral I.

• List the supporting points she wants to include about her main idea below Roman Number I. Use indented capital letters: A, B, C, etc.

• List additional details under the A, B, C supporting points using indented numbers, 1, 2, 3, etc.

• Include smaller details below the numbered additional details using indented lowercase letters a, b, c, etc.

• Write down her second main idea using Roman numeral II. Then repeat the format.

Have her try these for a mind map:

• Write down the overall topic in the center of a page. Have her draw a big circle around it.

• Write down supporting points for her main idea around the big circle in smaller circles. Have her draw lines between the main idea circle and each supporting point circle.

• Write down additional details for each supporting point in smaller circles. Have her connect these detail circles to the supporting points circles with lines.

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