Full semester Beginner Creative Writing class for high school ages.
This is a foundational, skill-building course for high school writers who are new to creative writing — or who love stories and want to learn how to actually craft one. No prior experience needed. Just curiosity and a willingness to try.
Over 12 weeks, students work through pre-recorded video lessons on the core elements of fiction: character development, plot structure, dialogue, point of view, conflict, theme, subtext, and revision. Each week builds on the last, giving students real tools they can use immediately — not just definitions to memorize, but techniques to put into practice in their own writing.
Every week includes a video lesson, a hands-on creative activity, a writing prompt, and personalized written or audio feedback from the instructor. The feedback is encouraging and specific — designed to help each student grow while keeping the writing process enjoyable.
The course is intentionally low-pressure. Students are encouraged to experiment, take creative risks, and write in whatever genre they love — fantasy, horror, romance, sci-fi, realistic fiction, fanfiction, or anything else. Assignments are flexible enough to meet each writer where they are.
By the end of the 12 weeks, students will have a portfolio of original work, a polished final short story, and a much stronger understanding of how stories are built.
Week 1 — What Makes a Story Work?
Students explore the essential elements of fiction — character, plot, setting, conflict, and theme — and learn what holds a story together from the first line to the last.
Week 2 — Writing Believable Characters
Focus on crafting characters with depth, flaws, and motivation — then writing introductions that reveal who someone is through action and detail, not description alone.
Week 3 — Plot Structure and Arcs
Students study the classic five-part story arc, map stories they already know, and write their own scenes that follow a clear rising structure.
Week 4 — Dialogue vs. Description
The balance between what’s said and what’s shown — how dialogue reveals relationships and description builds mood. Students experiment with both and learn to combine them.
Week 5 — Deep Dive into Point of View
First person, third person limited, omniscient — how each one changes what the reader sees and how close they feel to the character.
Week 6 — Story Beginnings That Hook
Students analyze powerful opening lines and practice different strategies for grabbing attention, raising questions, or setting tone right from the first sentence.
Week 7 — Conflict, Stakes, and Tension
Different types of conflict and how they drive story momentum — then a scene where a character faces something that actually matters.
Week 8 — Theme and Subtext
The deeper “why” behind a story. Students write with purpose, using action and tone to suggest meaning without stating it outright.
Week 9 — Strong Endings
How to write a conclusion that feels earned — satisfying, surprising, or emotionally resonant — rather than one that just stops.
Week 10 — Drafting a Full Short Story
Students outline and write the first draft of a complete original story, pulling together everything they’ve learned so far.
Week 11 — Self-Revision Tools
Revising with intention — strengthening character, pacing, and voice using a structured checklist. Not just fixing, but actually improving.
Week 12 — Final Story Submission
Writers polish and submit their final short story (800–1,000 words) along with a short reflection on what they’ve learned and how they’ve grown.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9–12.3 — Narrative Writing
Students write original stories and scenes each week, developing characters, conflict, plot structure, and point of view — building toward a complete, polished short story that demonstrates foundational narrative technique.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9–12.4 — Production and Distribution of Writing
Students produce clear, coherent writing appropriate to task, purpose, and audience — experimenting with dialogue-heavy scenes, description-driven passages, and complete short story drafts across the 12 weeks.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9–12.5 — Strengthening Writing Through Revision
A dedicated revision week teaches students to revise with intention — strengthening character, pacing, and voice rather than simply editing for errors — with ongoing personalized instructor feedback throughout the course.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9–12.10 — Range of Writing
Students write consistently across 12 weeks in a variety of forms and approaches, building stamina and confidence as writers over an extended time frame.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9–12.3 — Knowledge of Language
Students make deliberate choices about language and style — exploring the difference between dialogue and description, experimenting with point of view, and developing an understanding of how word-level decisions shape a reader's experience.
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