If your writers-in-training resist sitting for a fifteen-minute jounal entry or other writing exercise, you might have some success weaning them into writing “a sentence a day.” 

 This can be done on a computer, or handwritten in a notebook. I prefer the latter, since flipping to the story will maintain the quick and easy nature of the activity.

You can start the story for them: The old standbys, Once upon a time, there was a __________….and It was a dark and stormy night… are good sparks.  Or the kids can choose their own topics and decide how they want to begin.

At the same time each day, they should add a sentence to the story, developing it over an unlimited period of time (Setting a deadline goal will affect creativity  and story development as the writer attempts to finish in a certain time frame).  As the story unfolds and they decide how it will progress, you may find that they add more than a single sentence at a time.

When the story is finished, you might do some cleanup—helping the author fix spelling and typos. Encourage your writers to type up and/or illustrate their stories, and bind them in simple paper or plastic folders you can purchase at an office-supply store, or create your own covers and bind them with yarn or ribbon.

With a story in hand, your child will be more likely to feel like a writer, which is a confidence builder.

Variations: Make it a group/family activity. Everyone can add a sentence-a-day to a single story.