Children’s Writing

The author of such books as “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and “The Chronicles of Narnia,” C.S. Lewis wrote his first fantasy novel when he was 8 years old. Writing is a fun way to express your opinions and create new worlds. Discover ways to improve your writing and enjoy the works of other young authors through the direct links on the Times Launch Point Web site: http://pyxis.nohib.com./launchpoint.

Level 1

Young Writer’s Clubhouse: Whether it’s a 13-year-old Stephen King selling horror stories to his friends at school for a quarter or 12-year-old Gretchen Anderson getting her school project, “The Louisa May Alcott Cookbook” published, many young writers are successful. Improve your writing through reading tips, participate in a critique group or enter some fun writing contests.

https://www.realkids.com/club.shtml

Kids on the Net: Do dogs rule and cats drool? Find out what kids from all around the world think in this site where you can state your opinions and share your knowledge about sports, books and computers. Be sure to send in your favorite poems and stories.

https://trace.ntu.ac.uk/kotn/gokids.htm

ToonaCat’s Writing Place: Learn about different kinds of poetry, find out how story maps can help you write stories and nominate a monster for the Monster Hall of Shame.

https://www.toonacat.com/kids/writing/writfram.html

Level 2

Kid News: Kid Writings From Practically Everywhere: Read any good books or seen any wonderful movies? Find out what other kids think is cool through this online collection of reviews, news, and creative writing.

https://www.kidnews.com/

The Case.com Writing Contest: Interested in being the next Agatha Christie? Try your hand at writing mysteries through a monthly writing contest. Develop your sleuthing abilities by solving mini-mysteries such as “The Case of the Party Pooper.”

https://www.TheCase.com/kids/writing/

MidLink Magazine Readers: This electronic magazine features stories, poetry, artwork and class projects from middle schoolers from all over the world.

https://longwood.cs.ucf.edu/~MidLink/

Level 3

For Young Writers: According to author Marilyn Meredith, the “most important thing for any writer to do is write. The second most important is to read.” Get advice from writers and editors and learn about different kinds of writing.

https://www.inkspot.com/joe/young/

The Young Writers Club: Serious about writing? Improve your skills through the word of the week, try some fun writing exercises, or take part in an interactive story or research project.

https://www.cs.bilkent.edu.tr/~david/derya/ywc.html

Electric Soup: This excellent high school literary cybermagazine is a great place to submit poetry, short stories, and essays and even participate in collaborative writing. The site includes artwork, interviews and even an “International Creations” section devoted to writings in languages other than English.

https://www.hcrhs.hunterdon.k12.nj.us/esoup/welcome.html

EXPLORER’S QUEST: What three items does a complete story idea, or “premise,” contain?

CLUE: See ToonaCat’s Writing Place

Find What You Need to Know: Have a project on California history? Need help doing a math problem? Launch Point now covers more than 50 topics for getting your schoolwork done. Go to http://pyxis.nohib.com./launchpoint/ for the full list of subjects and direct links to the best Internet sites.

Answer to last week’s Quest: “Waltzing Matilda” means to search for work with all one’s belongings wrapped up in a blanket upon one’s back.

Launch Point is produced by the UC Irvine department of education, which reviews each site for appropriateness and quality. Even so, parents should supervise their children’s use of the Internet. This column was designed by Suy-Mouy Lay, Jill Onouye, San Su and Anna Manring.