Five Anne of Green Gables-Inspired Ways to Nurture Your Child’s Writing Dreams

Oh, Anne! 107 years after Lucy Maud Montgomery’s novel was published, Anne Shirley–orphan, castaway, joyful heart–continues to invigorate and inspire us. One way the novel continues to inspire me is the luscious, exuberant way in which it was written by L.M.M., or “Maud” as she was called. Her fat, buttery words and her usage of the five senses models how to elevate my own writing.

A few summers ago, I founded a writing day camp for kids ages 10-14. I wanted to give back some of what I have learned over the years to kids whose eyes shone with the same writing dreams I used to have. I always draw some homeschooled kids to my camp, and they have the time and motivation to really go for it–to tell great stories and work on their writing craft. It’s gratifying for me to know these kids are going back to their homeschools and putting writing camp ideas into practice—probably more so than their traditionally schooled camp pals.

One of our Writer’s Camp Big Ideas is a concept evidenced over and over in “Anne of Green Gables”: Writing with the Five Senses. The best writers in the world are always mindful of colors, textures, smells, sounds, and tastes. It’s thrilling to me to teach this super easy technique to young writers, because they can use it now, when they are 12, and not even have to wait to grow up first!

Here are five succulent quotes from Maud’s literary daughter, Anne, with a short piece of advice on how to teach your young writers how to implement each sense into their stories:

1. Sight: “Look at that sea, girls–all silver and shadow and vision of things not seen.”
Just like an interior designer adds a pop of color to her rooms, writers should add little splashes and dashes of yellow, orange, blue, silver et al to brighten up their stories. (Check out Pantone.com –you know, the Color of the Year people–for endless color ideas.)

2. Touch: “Don’t you just love poetry that gives you a crinkly feeling up and down your back?”
The sense of touch can be painful or pleasurable. Make it pleasurable, like the feel of cool cotton sheets or the “crinkly feeling up and down your back,” and the reader will feel the softness, coolness, and crinkles, too!

3. Smell: “Anne always remembered the silvery, peaceful beauty and fragrant calm of that night.”
The best of the best writers use smell in their writing. Scientists tell us that the nose is an emotional time machine in that smells evoke memory far more than any other sense. A character can remember a loving grandma when she smells roast beef roasting, or a neglectful foster family when she smells curdled milk. (Check out this blog post I wrote a while back about Writing with the Sense of Smell.)

4. Taste: “I love bright red drinks, don’t you? They taste twice as good as any other color.”
Watch how Maud adds a pop of color and incorporates taste into her story! Like spices, just a dab will do you. Good writers are always on the lookout for ways to add some tang and flavor into our word choices.

5. Sound: “And then—thwack! Anne had brought her slate down on Gilbert’s head and cracked it—slate not head—clear across.”
Ouch. That hurt. The use of “thwack!” helps us really hear just how painful Anne’s attack on Gilbert really was. When writing, think about including a “soundtrack” for your readers. What are your characters hearing as you move them through the story?

For that matter, what colors is your character seeing? What textures is he touching? What smells is she smelling? What tastes are they tasting? Whether you are writing a news report, a speech, a story, or a novel, using this simple trick makes your writing zing—and our Anne Girl heartily approves of zing.

Note to moms and daughters: If you’d like your own copy of the “Anne of Green Gables,” My Daughter and Me Mother-Daughter Book Club Questions, you can download them here! (If you’d like to share the Book Club Questions with others, please give them the link to this post so they can download their own. We ask that you not share the direct link to the PDF. Thank you!)

Lorilee and Tyndale House Publishers are thrilled for this month’s release of “Anne of Green Gables,” My Daughter and Me. Anne lovers of all ages will enjoy this beautiful memoir that deftly braids three lost girls’ stories together, speaks straight to the heart of the orphan in us all, and shows us the way home at last.