Writing often gets short shrift in these days of tweeting, chatting, gramming, and other varieties of less-language-based posting. Which can mean that your students are none too comfy with things like the basics of grammar and structure, or even things like spelling out stuff that they're used to seeing as "u," "2," and "wtf."

Actually, we're fine with the last one.

If you're lucky, you won't come across any of those in the classroom—unless it's on Shmoop. And if you're extra lucky—and a little bit crafty, too—you can get your students interested and even invested in their writing.

Before we get started, it's worth noting that there are three (or a million, but we're rounding down) main focuses you might see in a writing class. They are:

• Conventions of writing
• Essay writing
• Creative writing

Sure, you could have four different types of essay classes, or your creative writing could be divided up into nonfiction, short stories, fantasy, screenplays, and emoticon drama. Some of these tips will be better for one out of the bunch, and some will suit all three. But having a wide range of activities and ideas for teaching writing, whatever specific element of writing is your focus, can make a big difference for your students—and if you're really, totally, super lucky, maybe for you too.

And so, having broken the "don't have a super lengthy introduction" rule, we hand you over to our top, favorite, best, belovedest tips for teaching writing.

1. Start with a free write.

Sometimes students (not to mention, like, professional writers) build up a whole lot of fear about that first step of putting pencil to paper. So starting class with five minutes where the only requirement is doing just that—meaning that the pressure about what actually comes out is removed—can help get those creative juices flowing and get rid of some of the fear involved in taking that first plunge.

2. Use experiences, places, vocab words, or other things that are relevant and specific to your students' lives.

This is along the lines of the "write what you know" cliché everyone loves to knock (and then use). Especially for younger writers, starting a project by making it relate to their daily lives can create a level of engagement they may not feel with something more abstract or applied. This is the first (and fifth, and 24th, 26th, and probably a few others) of a list of 30 ideas for teaching writing from the National Writing Project.

3. Expose students to a range of genres.

Sure, maybe you're teaching a class titled "The 19th-century American Novella." But that doesn't mean you can't throw in the occasional excerpt of something longer, shorter story (we're looking at you, Edgar Allan), or article—scholarly or newspaperly—on the topic. And if you're teaching a class that's not so specific, all the better. The more variety you show your students in writing, the likelier it is they'll find a way to be inspired. And that they'll passively absorb all the correct grammar and new vocab words along the way.

4. And, in turn, encourage students to experiment with different genres.

Even if writing is part of your lit class and therefore is supposed to come from a critical angle, it doesn't hurt to shake things up from time to time. So, having them do a descriptive assignment one week, a persuasive essay the next, and another time experiment with tension and framing (numbers 15 and 25 on the NWP list) will help them gain versatility, and that will help out with analysis across the board.

5. Give them graphs, charts, and diagrams to demonstrate the writing process.

Some folks can just sit down and the writing flows. Others benefit from an outline, a spider web, a Venn diagram, a flurry of bullet points, or any other graphic representation of something that has to end up linear. This is especially useful if you're working with students of different learning styles. If you've got a visual learner, this is going to be super helpful in boosting her along the verbal route.

Want specifics? This list of tips from Grammar and More has a flowchart if you scroll down, and Pinterest gifts you this board full of writing process charts, and here are one, two, and three diagrams that can help graphophile students map out an essay.

Whew.

6. Build a creative assignment into your lit class, or a lit assignment into your creative class.

For example: you're reading Things Fall Apart, and you challenge your students to write their own alternative last chapter (or first chapter, or middle chapter—you get the idea). Or you have them write a dialogue between Achebe and the last writer you read: what would Joseph Conrad say to Chinua, after all?

And if you're in a creative writing class, drawing from existing literature can be inspiring, and show students how the sausage gets made. Of course, you'll want to watch out for anything that looks like plagiarism, but as long as the assignment stays in class and based on the students' work, this can be a great way to break up the routine—and that goes for any kind of class.

7. Incorporate the 21st century.

That's what they know, after all, and didn't we tell you we were going to use and reuse the "write what you know" thing? Maybe we didn't, but rest assured we meant it.

There are plenty of ways you can work in technology and digital forms of text—whether that's by having them read and post online or creating a class blog. If you go the blog route, that will also help your students feel invested in what they put out there by giving them an audience. Sure, it might just be other classmates and their parents, but an audience is an audience.

And honestly, having them Tweet ain't a bad idea. It can help them work on focus and conciseness, which are keys to being a good writer.

8. Turn grammar into a game.

We know. Proper grammar isn't something to be toyed with. That's when you end up with global catastrophes like "there" and "their," for crying out loud.

Still, whether you're teaching a grammar class or want to throw a different activity into your persuasive essay class or creative writing workshop, a task that demands focus on words and sentence structure can—believe it or not—feel like a fun diversion for students, and the learning objective will be absorbed whether they notice it or not.

For example: have students convey the same idea, but in sentences of varying length (#20 from NWP's list). Or create a game that involves changing as many passive sentences as possible into ones with active verbs (based on #22). Or go on a walk to practice prepositions (#19). There are lots of ways to incorporate conventions, and if you turn them into something dynamic, or even competitive and fun, you just might get that grin-inducing (or heart-attack-inducing) moment when you hear a student say "I just can't wait till grammar class."

9. Vary writing activities to make sure you're not just covering the big picture or the deets.

After all, the big pic won't make sense without the deets, and even the best set o' deets in the world won't add up to a big picture unless you know how to stitch them together.

That means analytical exercises, practice with close reading based on classical literature and serious sources, and other exercises that will help your students practice mechanical skills and technique in keeping with all the standards you have to keep in your head (as this article reminds you).

Does that mean it has to be dry and dull? Never. That's what the rest of these tips are for. And that's why "vary" is the first word of tip #9, too. After all, the best way to boost your students' writing abilities overall is to work on them bit by bit and angle by angle. And, we hope, to help them enjoy the process, too.

10. Shmoop is your (bestest) friend.

Don't be afraid to let your students have a little extra help. Especially when it comes to structure, which can be some kiddos' worst nightmare, a bit of built-in formatting can go a long way—without actually giving up anything. Our Essay Labs walk students from the brainstorm to the final proofread, no matter what type of writing they're doing. (Yep, we've even got one for mathematical proofs.)