What are pre-writing skills? The essential skills children need before they are able to write. An important aspect to pre-writing skills are being able to copy and imitate pre-writing shapes. Pre-writing shapes are comprised of particular strokes that many letters and numbers contain. Pre-writing skills consist of a child's ability to cross midline, hold a writing utensil appropriately, manipulate objects, perform hand-eye coordination and visual perceptual tasks. It is also