What Jane Austen's Terrible Spelling Taught Me About Teaching Children to Write
Oct 23, 2024
This year at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, I attended a talk that changed how I think about teaching children to write.
"Cut. Rewrite. Cut" was a session led by curators from the Bodleian Library's exhibition exploring the messy first drafts and creative processes of some of the world's most celebrated authors.
What I learned in that room wasn't just literary history. It was liberation.
Even the greatest writers needed help. Even they made mistakes. Even their first drafts were messy.
Jane Austen Couldn't Spell
Let me repeat that: Jane Austen couldn't spell.
She relied heavily on her editor to correct grammar and punctuation. Her manuscripts are filled with inconsistencies and errors.
And yet she wrote Pride and Prejudice. Emma. Sense and Sensibility.
Some of the most beloved novels in English literature were written by someone who struggled with spelling.
If we'd judged her by her first drafts, we'd have missed genius.
Tolkien Drew His Stories First
J.R.R. Tolkien didn't just write about mountains—he illustrated them as he wrote. Visual imagination came first, then words.
Some poets and authors expressed ideas through drawing before putting them into words at all.
There's no single "right" way to tell a story.
The Red Pen Can Wait
Here's what struck me most powerfully: storytelling and editing are two entirely different brain functions.
Expressing a story uses one set of skills. Shaping, refining, and polishing it uses another.
Most of us were never taught this distinction in school. I certainly wasn't.
I remember the dreaded red pen appearing on my work, criticizing before I'd even finished creating. Is it any wonder so many children develop writing anxiety?
What if we taught them differently?
What if we said: "First, get your story out. Make it messy. Draw it if you want. Tell it aloud. Just express it. We'll worry about spelling and punctuation later—that's a completely different job."
Why This Matters for Children
During StoryQuest sessions in Bradford and Gloucestershire schools, we've seen something remarkable happen when children are freed from the editing pressure:
Children who "can't write" suddenly can.
How? We let them tell stories aloud first. A partner writes it down. The child isn't wrestling with spelling and handwriting while trying to hold a creative idea in their head.
Later—much later—we can work on editing. But not during creation.
Separate the jobs. Protect the creative flow.
What Teachers Are Noticing
"Even the kids who don't like writing didn't want to leave. They wanted more."
— Tom Hirst, Head of English, Dixon's Manningham Primary
When we remove the pressure to be perfect during creation, something magical happens:
- Reluctant writers become enthusiastic storytellers
- Children with spelling anxiety create elaborate narratives
- Students who feared the blank page fill pages with imagination
- "I can't write" transforms into "I want to be an author"
Writing Is Collaborative
Here's another revelation from that Cheltenham talk: no great book is written alone.
Editors. Illustrators. Mentors. Readers. Publishers. All play a role.
Even the most celebrated authors relied on collaboration to bring their stories to life.
Yet we often ask children to write in isolation—and judge them on their first attempt.
What if we modeled collaboration instead?
In StoryQuest, children work in pairs: one storyteller, one scribe. They swap roles. They help each other. They discover that writing is a team sport, not a solo performance.
And suddenly, it's not scary anymore. It's fun.
Messy First Drafts Are Not Failures
If Jane Austen's first drafts were messy, yours can be too.
If Tolkien needed to draw before he could write, your students can too.
If professional authors rely on editors, your children can ask for help too.
Messy first drafts aren't flaws. They're foundations.
The magic doesn't happen in perfection. It happens in the freedom to explore, express, and be gloriously, beautifully messy.
What We Owe Young Writers
Our job as parents and teachers isn't to fix stories too soon.
It's to create spaces where children feel safe enough to share them in the first place.
To celebrate the dragon story and the spaceship adventure and the tale about the talking cat—even if the spelling is wonky and the grammar is creative.
To say: "Tell me your story. I want to hear it. We can polish it later."
Give the red pen a rest—at least until the second draft.
The StoryQuest Approach
This is exactly what StoryQuest methodology embodies:
- Tell stories aloud first (expression without barriers)
- Partners write for each other (collaboration, not isolation)
- All stories are valid (no "right" way to tell a story)
- Celebrate creation (before worrying about correction)
- Edit later (when the creative flow is protected)
Across 465 children in 9 schools, this approach has achieved 100% positive engagement—including children who previously refused to write.
Because when you remove the fear of getting it wrong, children discover they have stories worth telling.
So Thank You, Cheltenham
For reminding us that even beloved authors made mistakes.
That writing is a journey, not a performance.
That our job is not to fix stories too soon—but to help children feel safe enough to share them.
And maybe, just maybe, to give the red pen a well-deserved break.
Want This for Your School?
If you're a teacher or school leader who believes:
- Children need space to create before they edit
- Messy first drafts are part of the process
- Collaboration makes writing less scary
- Every child has stories worth hearing
StoryQuest might be exactly what your school needs.
Learn about implementation: my-storyquest.com
Because every story starts with permission to be messy—and every child deserves that freedom.
