Tips for Teaching Kids to Write Fictional Stories
Have you heard the saying, ”Children nowadays are mostly daydreaming!” in the community and school? If so, don’t worry because ‘halu’ (hallucinating) or imagining is a good power if appropriately used, especially in when writing fiction. The ability to write is essential because it is one of the basic skills that must be possessed when children enter elementary school.
It is undeniable that being able to writing fiction is a useful skill in the 21st-century world of work. With the development of increasingly diverse social media, job opportunities related to writing are also expanding, for example, as a professional contentcreator, copywriter, scriptwriter, storyteller,etc. These jobs require creative writing skills. For this reason, the ability to write is a valuable skill in this digital world.
Creative writing that has meaning or an unquestionable impact also come from innovative thinking. Creative thinking in children or adolescents can be honed in various ways. Starting from a good mood for writing, natural writing skills (talent), and language skills, the habit of ‘halu’ or imagining is no less critical.
If we are teachers and assume that all students are budding writers, using the Pahlawan Super method is the right way to teach proper fiction writing. This method prioritizes students’ ability to imagine. ‘Pahlawan Super’ or, in English, ‘SuperHero’ is not just an expression of a character or figure admired by students but an acronym for writing a work of fiction consisting of the following steps.
1. Pahami Tokoh (Understanding the Characters)
2. Lakukan Halusinasi (Do Hallucinations / Imagine)
3. Waktunya Narasi (Narration Time)
4. Susun Dialog dan Struktur Cerita (Arrange Dialogue and Story Structure)
5. Perbaiki Kekeliruan (Fix Mistakes)
The following explains each stage of creating a work of fiction using the ‘Pahlawan Super’ method.
1. Pahami Tokoh (Understanding the Characters)
Give students pictures of characters they like, such as cartoons, heroes, artists, superheroes, or other figures. From the images given, invite students to analyze the weaknesses and strengths of the characters they choose. Ask students to explain their reasons for choosing the character, then let them develop their own thoughts about their characters’ appearance.
The next step is to invite students to draw new figures or characters according to their ideas. Students have succeeded in developing their creative thinking through pictures by analyzing and describing the characters.
2. Lakukan Halusinasi (Do the Hallucinations / Imagine)
From the pictures each student has drawn, ask them to tell their friends and the teacher about their version of a superhero. By presenting in front of the class, at that moment, the students have already visualized how they would make up stories as best they could to create memorable heroes for their listeners.
The next tip is to invite students to display their drawings in class. The class will look like an exhibition and be fun for students. Teachers can use the gallery walk method where students can see the work of their friends. Thus, students will build more imagination because they will be inspired by new weaknesses and strengths of each character their friends have described.
During the gallery walk, the teacher can ask students to take turns telling stories while other students listen and respond. That way, the character strengths that students have drawn can be improved with input from listeners. From each student’s curiosity, the teacher can explore students’ imagination and then provide constructive feedback to get students thinking more creatively.
3. Waktunya Narasi (Narration Time)
The teacher can read aloud two types of engaging short narratives to students. At this stage, the teacher introduces students to types of narrative paragraphs, how to develop descriptions, and examples of creative descriptions that students can write.
There are two types of fictional narratives:
A. Narrative Paragraph,
Narrative paragraphs have the following characteristics:
1. There are story characters
2. There is an element of action or deed
3. Establish the setting; time and place
4. There is a time sequence or chronology of the story
B. Paragraph Description:
To describe the situation more realistically, students must be able to explain the problem objectively and in detail. This is what can make the reader cry while reading the novel. In this description paragraph, students must bring out sensory impressions so the reader can feel what is in the story. Here are tips for building descriptive paragraphs.
1. Describing places, people, actions, or objects
2. There is an image
3. The reader or listener seems to feel what is being told
4. Lots of adjectives in the story
After knowing the types of paragraphs, then students need to make an inner conflict. Inner conflict is closely related to one’s psychology. This conflict is unpleasant in the heart or soul of a story character. Do you think there is a problem that is happening in the picture that has been made by students? If you have yet to find a conflict in the story, invite them to create problems for that character. The following stages are simple ways to trigger students to develop creativity in steps.
1. Model writing relevant to the student’s level first so they can imagine according to the examples of stories given.
2. Allow students time or pause to feel the existing emotions before they start writing.
3. Guide and encourage students to sharpen their senses, for example, by inviting them out of class to get a new environment for imagination.
4. Then, the teacher can display and discuss an example of writing with students.
4. Susun Dialog dan Struktur Cerita (Arrange Dialogue and Story Structure)
How to make the story more alive? Dialogue is the answer. Pay attention to the following things to create dialogue in the narration.
a. Come up with more details about the appearance and personality of each character that has been drawn and described.
b. Bring up cultural or background differences from several characters, for example, the use of regional dialects so that there are cultural differences in the story content. Readers become aware of the differences in personality and habits of each character told.
c. Construct the story setting. Describe the story’s location in detail by using specific vocabulary about the location, such as, in a dark alley, crossroads, on the right side of the house entrance, and so on.
d. Pay attention to aesthetics by describing the beauty of the location and plot experienced by the characters in the story.
After introducing the dialogue, the teacher can explain that fictional stories need a clear structure. This structure is essential for compiling an outline and making it easier for students to write engaging fiction stories. The system of the text consists of the following:
a. Story orientation, in the form of an introduction to the story, characters, and setting; for example, a middle-aged woman sits alone in the park on a cold, windy day.
b. Conflict emergence, in this stage, the problems involving the characters in the story begin to be described.
c. Increased conflict, in this section, the problems are getting more complicated and occur more periodically.
d. Climax, the existing problem is escalated.
e. Ending,in this section, the issue is resolved, and the story ends with a mandate.
5. Perbaiki Kekeliruan (Fix Any Mistakes)
Unknowingly some mistakes are usually made by students, especially language rules, as follows.
a. Standard Writing. Students need read and correct each other’s formal writing. Firstly, because it it easier to see mistakes in other people’s writing than our own, and it also then helps students see their own mistakes. Reading other classmates’ stories is also a way for them to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of their own writing.
b. Word Match. If students are writing in a foreign language, they need to make sure that they use up to date words or phrases that have the same meaning as in their own language. For example, if an Indonesian student is writing in English, the word ‘selfie’ should be used for ‘swafoto’. For this reason, it is indispensable to accustom children to using the correct and up to date language when writing fiction.
c. Prepositions. Using prepositions correctly such as in, to, and from, is quite challenging in a foreign language. The purpose of prepositions is to show direction, time, place, location, spatial relationships, or to introduce an object. Knowing the correct preposition to use with certain nouns is very important. Additionally, prepositions can also be used as a part of phrasal verbs, for example, wake up, sit down, find out, each with their own specific meaning. It’s usually best to check a dictionary (printed or online) to make sure the correct prepositions are being used.
d. Capitalization. Capitalization is writing a word with the first letter in uppercase and the other letters in lowercase. Words beginning with capital letters are people’s names, religions, national names, tribes, languages, scripts, etc. The provisions for writing capital letters can be seen on the following link. https://ejaan.kemdikbud.go.id/eyd/penggunaan-huruf/huruf-kapital/
Find the video of a discussion about Tips for Teaching Kids to Write Fictional Stories with Mr. Wahyudi by clicking the YouTube link below:
