At Club 11 Plus, many parents tell us the same thing:
“My child has great ideas, but their stories just don’t quite work.”
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone.
The hidden challenge with creative writing
At home, creative writing often turns into one of two things:
• Children rush to get words down without planning, or
• Parents get stuck trying to “help”, without quite knowing what to say.
That’s because good creative writing isn’t just about vocabulary and imagination. It’s about structure, control, and choice - skills that aren’t always obvious unless, like the wise old boffins at Club 11 Plus, you’ve marked hundreds of scripts.
Why “just practise writing more” doesn’t always help
Practising is important, but without guidance it can reinforce the same bad habits:
• long, unfocused openings
• characters described only by appearance
• dialogue that sounds unnatural
• endings that feel rushed or unfinished
Children often don’t know why something isn’t working - and parents understandably don’t want to criticise or knock confidence.
What actually makes the biggest difference
From our experience as 11 Plus tutors, the biggest improvements come when children:
1. Understand where story ideas come from
Not just “making something up”, but using memory, imagination and small twists on reality.
2. Learn to plan simply and effectively
Clear openings, believable middles, gripping climaxes and satisfying endings don’t happen by accident.
3. Focus on showing, not telling
Especially when it comes to character and emotion.
4. Get specific, constructive feedback
Not just “good work”, but clear guidance on what’s working and what to improve next time. That feedback loop is where real progress happens.
Why creative writing is hard to support without expert feedback
Creative writing is deeply personal. Children can feel exposed when someone reads their work - which is why feedback needs to be:
• kind
• specific
• encouraging
• focused on improvement, not judgement
This is also why creative writing is so difficult to support properly through books alone, or through generic practice tasks.
A more structured approach
This is exactly why we created Creative Writing: Kickstarter - a focused video masterclass designed to guide children through the key building blocks of story writing.
Across three fully-automated online lessons, children are shown how to:
• turn small ideas into strong openings
• create believable characters and natural dialogue
• plan and write a complete story with a clear beginning, middle, climax and ending
Each lesson includes a creative writing task which is individually marked by one of our experienced 11 Plus tutors, with personalised feedback returned directly to the child’s Club 11 Plus account - and yes, we always use real tutors - not AI!
Because this course involves individual tutor marking and feedback, the Creative Writing: Kickstarter is not included in the Club 11 Plus subscription, but is available to purchase separately - both for families who already subscribe to Club 11 Plus and for those who don’t.
Supporting confidence, not pressure
Our aim has never been to rush children or overwhelm them with rules. Instead, we focus on helping them feel more confident and in control of their writing, so that when they sit down to write a story, they know where to start and how to shape it.
For some children, that small shift makes a huge difference.
Find out more
You can find out more about the Creative Writing: Kickstarter course by watching the video or clicking on the link below:
If you have any questions, or you’re unsure whether the Creative Writing: Kickstarter course is right for your child, you’re welcome to get in touch - we’re always happy to help.