Best Apps for Young Aspiring Writers
Best Apps for Young Aspiring Writers

by Bev Bachel

I’m lucky. I grew up wanting to be a writer, and that’s exactly what I became, thanks to a lot of support and encouragement from family and teachers along the way.

Now, young aspiring writers can get that support and encouragement — and develop their skills — via a number of mobile apps (of course a little family encouragement along the way really helps, as well!).

Write About This

Ages: 8 and up

Cost: Free; full version available for $3.99

Download from the App Store

This teacher-designed app comes with colorful and engaging photos, each with writing prompts built in. For instance, your child will see a photo of brightly colored shoes on kid’s feet and will be prompted to finish a fictional story that begins with, “The girl put on the pair of magical shoes and …”

As kids develop their skills, the prompts — which come with the option of being read aloud — increase in complexity.

Kids (and parents) can also add their own prompts, drawing from their real lives or imagination. What’s more, the app offers a variety of kid-friendly features, including easy-to-navigate icons and the ability to make audio recordings of their stories. Work is saved within the app and can easily be both browsed and searched. Kids can also easily share their compositions with grandparents and other loved ones via email.

Writing Challenge for Kids

Ages: 9-11

Cost: $1.99

Download from Google Play or the App Store

Writing Challenge for Kids also offers creative prompts that are designed to ignite your kids’ imaginations and get them writing, but these are in the form of game-like challenges. They just press start and follow three simple steps.

Here’s an example:

Step 1) Write a story that includes the words “pirate,” sunflower” and “princess.”

Step 2) Add a scene that takes place in a forest.

Step 3) Add a character who forgets his or her own name.

As long as users keep writing, the app continues to give them new prompts every minute in order to encourage them to add new characters, locations and events. Because they’re concentrating on incorporating the prompts, kids forget about their fear of the blank page. 

Wattpad

Ages: 16 and up

Cost: Free

Download from Google Play or the App Store

Writing on Wattpad is easy and can be done on any device: phone, tablet or computer. Users start by creating a profile, writing the first chapter of a new story, and publishing it for others in the Wattpad community to read and comment on. Writers then add additional chapters whenever they’re ready. A notification alerts readers when new content is available and invites them back, at which point they can read, vote and comment, providing your aspiring writer valuable feedback on what’s working, what’s not and how to improve. Simple to navigate, Wattpad comes with a helpful FAQ to get writers started, and support is available in 50 languages.

One word of caution: Both teens and adults can publicly share their writing on Wattpad and comment on other people’s work. And while a movie-style content rating system does exist, it is voluntary. As a result, some explicit content may appear. Also, while most readers are encouraging when providing feedback, some may be overly critical. Users should be mature enough to receive comments without letting them extinguish their own creative flame.

 

Freelance writer Bev Bachel lives in Minneapolis and uses her phone to talk, text and email friends and family around the world. She’s the author of What Do You Really Want? How to Set a Goal and Go For It!

Article: Copyright © iHaveNet

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