Kids' arts and crafts are still pretty visually appealing, how come the same can't be said for kids writing fiction? I think it's because they never had a focused time where a teacher guides them through a fiction project in some guided way like they do with art and music.

Interesting question. Do you mean like a messy scribble of vague shapes from a toddler can look endearing, whereas they couldn't possibly write anything even resembling a story at that age?

I'm not sure I'd agree with you there. I find so much of what children produce to express themselves to be endearing, or at least have a kernel of beauty to them. But you gotta look beyond just written stories. When I've been babysitting very young children I'm always impressed at the ideas they have for stories, whether they can write them down effectively or not is another matter (to me, writing is a very strict and complicated form of drawing). I used to play a game with one girl about 7 years old, she would tell me ideas for monsters and characters and I would draw them for her on the spot. Then she'd look at my images and make up a fun story based on them.

/r/writing Thread