Writing Interventions: How I Got My Most Reluctant Writers to Finally Lean In

Some kids walk into your class already calling themselves “bad writers.”

Before you’ve even passed out a notebook, they’re throwing up the walls.

They tell you writing is boring.
Or hard.
Or pointless.
Or “not their thing.”

And let’s be honest... sometimes they’re not wrong.

If all they’ve ever known is five-paragraph essays, worksheets, and their writing being picked apart in red pen, of course they don’t want to write.

But here’s the part we don’t talk about enough:

Reluctant writers aren’t just lacking skills. They’re often lacking trust.

When Students Say “I Hate Writing,” What They Usually Mean Is...

• “I’ve failed at this before.”

• “No one’s ever told me what I did well.”

• “I’m afraid of getting it wrong again.”

• “My ideas don’t seem to count.”

It’s easy to think we just need to get them “back to basics.”

You know... diagram some sentences. Label the parts of speech. Learn how to write a complete thought.

But I’m here to tell you: starting with grammar won’t fix it.

It might even make it worse.

✋ Okay, Sidebar... But an Important One

I wasn’t planning to go deep here—but it’s too important to skip.

Here’s what I’ve learned, both as a teacher and a children’s book author:

When someone shares their writing with you, and the first thing you point out is what’s wrong? That’s the only thing they’ll remember.

I still struggle with this—even now.

My son is in college, and he’s a great writer. He’ll show me a paragraph and my brain lights up with all the things I love... but my mouth wants to say, “This word doesn’t fit here.”

It takes everything in me to not say it first.

Because once you lead with criticism, it doesn’t matter what praise comes after. The moment’s already changed.

And for reluctant writers, that moment reinforces every negative belief they’ve been carrying.

So before we ever touch grammar, I focus on one thing:

Making emotional deposits.

Genuine encouragement. Curiosity. Trust.

Because if I’m going to ask them to do something vulnerable (like write), I need enough deposits in their “trust bank” to make a withdrawal.

How I Turn Writing Time Into Something Worth Trusting

Here’s what I’ve found works for turning a reluctant writer into a student who might actually enjoy writing:

🧠 1. A Mindset Shift—For Us

We’re not dealing with AI.
We’re dealing with humans.

Writing is connected to identity. To confidence.
That means we have to lead with relationship, not correction.

So instead of treating writing like a cold academic task, I treat it like it really is:
A creative, slightly scary, beautifully human act of expression.

🛠 2. Redefine What a Workshop Is

One of the first things I do with my students is show them a photo of a literal garage workshop. 

There are tools on the walls. Stuff everywhere. It's controlled chaos.

Then I ask, “What’s going on in here?”

They describe what they see: tinkering, fixing, building, exploring.

And I say, “That’s our workshop. But for writing.”

That one picture reframes everything.

Now, writing isn’t a worksheet. It’s something you tinker with. It’s something you get better at by trying, playing, exploring.

And guess what!?
When I tell them, “You’re not going to write an essay in this workshop,” they lean in.

They’re curious.
They’re open.
And that’s the crack in the wall we need.

(But how do I teach essays if NOT during workshop?? It's coming...) 

🎯 3. Give Them Back the Power

I don’t just hand them topics and expect engagement.
I give them actual, meaningful choice—in what they write, how they approach it, and even how they measure their own progress.

They start each session by setting personal goals.

They draw a line on their paper to show how far they want to write.
They lead parts of the workshop and keep track of the time.

They own it.
And when they own it, they show up differently.

💬 4. Teach Voice First

Before we touch structure or grammar or “academic” writing, we talk about voice.

Why? Because voice is what makes them feel like a writer.
It’s what makes their words feel like theirs.

And when students feel like writers...
...they write.

(This is the first lesson in my full training, and teachers inside our Facebook group have shared story after story about how much shifts after this one activity.)

🛎 5. Daily Sentence Work (That Feels Like a Game)

Every day, we build sentences.
Not worksheets. Not drills. Actual sentence construction tasks that feel fun, fast, and low-stakes.

By the time we transition into full essays, they’re already flexing those writing muscles—and they’re doing it with confidence.

Essays are taught in 10-day blocks and those days are treated differently. I even change the arrangement of the desks so they feel a shift in expectation. Since I've deposited so much into their writing bank accounts, they go along with this without complaint. And for being a middle school teacher, NOT having to deal with complaints is such a win. ;)

But none of this works without first dismantling the idea that writing is about “getting it right.”

First, we help them feel something different.

Then, we help them write something better.

Want to See the Full Intervention Series?

This post is just Part 1. Over the next few weeks, I’ll walk you through how I teach:

• ✍️ Sentence writing

• 🧱 Paragraph building

• 🧠 Grammar in context

• 🧩 Scaffolded essay writing

You can follow along in the full 5-part video series on YouTube, or check back here each week for the blog versions. I’ll give you the breakdowns, the mindset shifts, and the exact tools I use to move even the most reluctant writers forward.

👉 Next up: Sentence Writing That Actually Works

Happy writing!

Robin