Creative Writing: Become a Fairytale Journalist

Journalism is a true skill. From writing ledes to ordering the information of who-what-when-where-why-and-how, journalists have to show strong writing skills AND creativity to make their reports engaging. 

This one-time class focuses on using journalistic techniques in a creative format. Topics covered include the inverted pyramid, ledes, and tricks and tips for asking questions to elicit engaging answers. 

During class, we'll check out examples of news articles about famous incidents, such as the moon landing and the Titanic sinking, to evaluate whether the writers used proper journalistic format and strong ledes. 

Then, students will create their own first paragraphs based on amusing images. 

Finally, students will have time in class to retell a fairytale or other book/story using journalistic principles. For example, the story of Show White might begin with "The castle celebrated today upon the sudden discovery that the princess was not dead, as had long been feared, and was instead living with seven dwarfs."

Students are welcome to work on their writing outside class and submit after the class concludes for feedback.