Teen Creative Writing Camp

📚 Taught by a published author! Come deep dive with us as we break down different elements of creative writing, from dialogue to plot structure. 📚

In this week long camp, we'll tackle five elements of creative writing. Students will have the opportunity to complete optional homework assignments for feedback from the teacher!

✏️ Day one: Narrative structure and plot

We'll recap the basics of story structure, then delve beyond "beginning/middle/end" to discuss the concept of story structure as a whole and the value of being aware of it while writing. There's optional homework for this evening is outlining the structure of your story to receive feedback from the teacher on the overall structure, as well as point out areas that might get a little tricky once you begin writing-- like those infamous "then they travel from point A to point B!" sections!

✏️ Day two: Effective writing

We'll discuss effective writing-- writing that makes the reader FEEL something. We'll go over how to use word choice, sentence/paragraph structure, and camera angle to make this happen! The optional homework for this evening is to submit a sample scene from your writing, so you and the teacher can discuss where the piece shines and where it could perhaps be more effective!

✏️Day three: Writing dialogue

We'll discuss writing dialogue that feels realistic and organic, rather than puppet-y. The optional homework for this evening is to submit a sample of your writing that contains dialogue for written feedback from the teacher.

✏️ Day four: Hack your writing process

We'll discuss our writing process and dealing with writer's block without becoming frustrated. This is a crucial skill for young creatives! The optional homework for this evening is to write down what is working in your writing process, and what isn't working (if anything isn't working, that is)-- and to come up with a strategy to overcome it! Again, the teacher will provide feedback, support, and suggestions.

✏️Day five: Publishing and next steps

We'll do a brief overview of publishing-- the differences between self-publishing and traditional publishing, and how to know which is the best option for you! The optional homework is to submit up to twenty double-spaced typed pages of your writing to receive written feedback from the teacher.

Please note that students will not write during this class-- we only have so much in-class time, and we want to make sure there's plenty of instruction and discussion time!

The homework in this class is, again, entirely optional, but we highly recommend utilizing this opportunity to get feedback from a professional author. All homework is due within one week of class ending, though can be turned in at any time throughout the class. The teacher will provide written feedback on each assignment within one week of receiving it, though typically will provide this feedback much sooner.