‘Come with me. A superhero soon you’ll be’! Choose a costume: shield or cape? Boots to make a quick escape? What’s your power? Strength or speed? These are things all heroes need.
How to Be a Superhero by @SueFliess
Getting your superhero just right takes a few goes.
Kids can spend hours drawing. Getting what they see in their heads down on paper. Iteration is core business.
Writing seems to be approached differently. Perhaps because dabbling is more difficult for younger kids or, in a school context, there’s a draft or two, but that’s it. Hand it in. Onto the next thing.
Editing prose – drafting and redrafting, getting to heart of the matter – isn’t fashionable, but it’s incredibly valuable in business. Consider how written material contributes to compelling brand identifies and value propositions. When consumers are time poor and platforms are crowded, getting to the point is critical.
Also, experts who can also write well, have a real competitive advantage. Equipped with great knowledge and the capacity to translate complex ideas into words that speak to people? Now that’s a real super power.
Yet editing is a skill rarely overtly taught in schools.
Try this at home kids!
Here’s an activity for older kids, taken from Jason Fried’s blog post The writing class I’d like to teach. It can help encourage kids to bring the approach they often bring to drawing, to writing.
Pick a topic, any topic, and write a three page version, a one page version, a three paragraph version, a one paragraph version, and a one sentence version.
Each step requires asking ‘What’s really important?’ That’s the most important question you can ask yourself about anything….Whittling it all down until all that’s left is the point.
Jason Fried, co-founder and CEO of Basecamp in episode #329 of The Tim Ferriss Show and in a Signal v. Noise.
Thanks for the inspiration @jasonfried and @tferriss.
try this at home kids 