Writing Assignments: Four Tips for Approaching Topics You Didn’t Choose

Welcome to Teach Write! This column draws on my 20 years’ experience teaching writing to kids, university students, and adult learners. It includes ideas and exercises that teachers and students can use in the classroom, and creative writers can use to level up their process.

School is starting soon (however strange and remote it may be), which means… writing assignments! Today on Teach Write, we are talking about coming up with ideas for writing on assigned topics.

True story: most of my children’s books are on topics I didn’t choose. A couple of them are on topics that I NEVER would have chosen, had I been left to my own devices. That’s because I started my career in educational publishing. Educational publishing produces kids’ books exclusively for the school and library market, so publishers design a series to meet curriculum standards and then hire writers to do the work. As one of those writers, I’d get an email that said, “Want to write a book about hybrid cars?” and I’d either have to say “No thanks, I don’t want to publish a book this year” or “Sure!” and figure out the difference between a carburetor and a catalytic converter later.

Similarly, a number of children’s magazines are designed around themes, meaning writers have to choose from a list of predetermined topics and develop ideas that fit that theme. All of which is to say that a huge portion of the children’s publishing market works on the same model as the school writing assignment: here’s a topic, show me what you’ve got.

First, some good news. Even if you’re not particularly interested in writing that essay about Pride and Prejudice, it’s WAY easier to come up with an idea when you’ve got a place to start than when someone says “write an essay on whatever you want.” The hardest exam question I’ve ever had to answer was “Tell me something you learned in this class that wasn’t already on this exam.” My brain, which had been merrily spitting up information in response to questions, went instantly blank.

 

Here’s My Best Advice for Approaching Writing Assignments:

 

If Given a Choice, Pick the Most Interesting Topic

In some cases, teachers will give you one question or topic you have to write about. Often, they will provide a couple of choices. This is mostly to give themselves, as readers, a little bit more variety… so that they don’t die of boredom when doing the marking.

If you’re given several options, pick the one that’s most INTERESTING to you, NOT the one that you think is going to be easiest. True story: it’s a lot easier to write about something that you’re interested in than something you couldn’t care less about. You don’t want to die of boredom while writing, either.

There is a reason I’ll never write another book about Programs and Apps. I gave it my best shot, but wow. This is just not a topic that I am into.