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12 - 17 yrs
Thu, Feb 27, 2025 - Apr 17, 2025
10:00am - 10:50am EST
Class Experience
In this class, students will conceive, write, and develop their own book, novel, or short story! This is an eight week long course.
Using the myriad of tips and tricks I've learned from over a decade of writing professionally, speaking in schools, and teaching camps/classes, I encourage students to treat writing as play-- but to also hold themselves accountable and respect their talent! Students are encouraged to explore and develop their own voices, and can write in any genre or style they choose. They will be asked to set a goal for themselves based on their writing experience, the time they can devote to their writing, and their writing ambitions. Holding students accountable for their writing work keeps them from starting then abandoning stories-- which I think can be detrimental to creative development (think of it like training to run a marathon by only running a mile each day!). That said, this is still an encouraging, supportive class, and is built such that it's the class I wish I'd had as a teenage writer.
𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻:
⭐Week One: We'll discuss the structure of a story, the value of outlining (even if you hate it), and how to pace your writing.
⭐Week Two: We'll discuss how to create an interesting, "real" character.
⭐Week Three: We'll discuss "showing vs. telling", and how to fill in a scene wisely.
⭐Week Four: We'll discuss dialogue, and how to use it to both advance the plot and characters.
⭐Week Five: The "hack your writing process" class! We'll discuss writer's block and how to manage it from both a craft perspective (you're stuck because you don't know what comes next) as well as a process perspective (you're stuck because you can't find the time or aren't motivated).
⭐Week Six: This is an open week, where individual student questions and concerns about their writing can be addressed.
⭐Week Seven: We'll discuss revising and editing your story beyond spell check, focusing on how to identify problems and address them without becoming discouraged.
⭐Week Eight: Our final week! We'll go through each individual writer's work and discuss their strengths, as well as the areas where they could continue to grow.
Class time: 50 minutes per session/8 sessions total
What you'll learn
- Students will work on a single long-form writing piece over the course of eight weeks.
- Students will learn advanced creative writing skills, including structure, character creation, dialogue, and effective scenes.
- Students will receive personalized feedback each week from the teacher, who is a published author.
Sample Class Format
- 5 minutes: Introductions, hellos
- 20 minutes: I'll go to each student whose story was updated and ask them what was easy for them as a writer, and what they had a hard time with. I'll them give short, quick feedback. I only provide verbal feedback for this class, as I think it's important that students think of feedback as a conversation rather than a teacher marking errors! Students may not remember everything I say, and that's fine-- the goal isn't for them to modify their story to exactly fit what I suggest, but rather to consider it as they continue writing.
- 25 minutes: Weekly lesson. I'll go over the specific lesson of the week in an engaging, interactive way, asking for student input and suggestions as we go.
Other Things To Know
Students are asked to turn in their writing progress each week, at least twenty-four hours before the following class. If work isn't turned in by the deadline, I won't be able to provide feedback! Students, please keep this in mind and set as many alarms/reminders as necessary so that you can get the most out of our class together.
How To Participate
You will receive an email 30 minutes before class starts with a link to the class and access instructions.
