Creative Writing Camp: Write a Daily Short Story
Taught exclusively by award-winning published authors! Students will learn about a specific creative writing skill each day, then receive a matching prompt. They’ll spend 20-30 minutes in class writing, and are then invited to share!
WordPlay Writing Co. | Jackson Pearce
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What's included
5 live meetings
4 hrs 35 mins in-class hours per weekAssignments
Students may select ONE of their stories from the week to get detailed written feedback from the teacher on! This is not required, but highly encouraged.Class Experience
⭐Join us to write a new short story every day! This class is taught exclusively by published authors, and is a great fit for enthusiastic writers and future novelists. ⭐ ⭐At a glance info:⭐ -Students will write a new short story each day. -All classes are taught by published authors. -No two days or two weeks of camp are the same-- we'll cover different topics each session! In this camp we deep dive into a different element, style, genre, or approach to creative writing every day! We may discuss writing convincing dialogue, writing science fiction, or creating an epistolary story. Each week is totally new! The teacher will spend about twenty to twenty-five minutes reviewing the subject of the week, providing examples and guiding student discussion. Students will them receive a prompt based on the lesson! They'll spend approximately twenty to twenty-five minutes creating their own short story or scene based on the prompt. Students may write their stories freehand or type them. At the end of class, students are invited (but not required) to share a short portion of their story aloud with the class. At the end of the week, students may select one of their stories to get full feedback on from the teacher. Each week has a general "theme" that lessons and prompts will follow, but these are loose and open to interpretation-- please don't feel restricted by the theme of a given week! Schedule: Week of May 19: Animal stories We'll cover writing anthropomorphized animals, "true" animals, nature descriptions, historical events through the eyes of animals, and animal/human relationships in stories. Week of May 26: Science fiction We'll cover the elements of a good sci fi story, steampunk, building a sci-fi world, and the distinction between sci fi and fantasy. Week of June 2: Fairytale Remix We'll cover flipping fairytales, rewriting fairytales, unexpected genre mashups, the fairytale "voice", and world-building. Week of June 9: Character Deep Dive We'll cover the basics of creating a well-developed character, introducing a character without dialogue, character revelation using their "space", emotion in scenes, and characters that are unlike the author. Week of June 16: Scary stories We'll cover writing creepy stories, ghost stories, the "voice" of a spooky story, flipping something mundane into something frightening, and flipping a monster story. Week of June 23: Writing tension We'll cover a ticking clock story, a character being pursued, bottle episodes, the "unexpected guest" scene, and using a list to build suspense. Week of June 30 (first week of July): Story structure experiments We'll cover epistolary stories, stories without dialogue, stories that only contain dialogue, writing from multiple perspectives, and stories told through text message. Week of July 7: Realistic fiction We'll cover "first day" stories, New Year's resolutions, twisting real life to make it fiction, advice column story building, and the "and then it all came crashing down" method of storytelling. Week of July 14: Romance and relationships We'll cover meet cute scenes, romantic comedies, flipping a monster story into a love story, the "friends to lovers" trope, and the "enemies to lovers" trope. All stories must be PG-13 or less! Week of July 21: Genre benders We'll cover writing outside your comfort zone, tragic flaws, using song lyrics as story seeds, writing comedy, and changing the genre of a popular story. Week of July 28: Superpowers and heroics We'll cover superhero origin stories, writing bad guys we root for, suspension of disbelief, unusual superpowers, and writing an arch-villain. Week of August 4: Fairytale Remix We'll cover flipping fairytales, rewriting fairytales, unexpected genre mashups, the fairytale "voice", and world-building. Week of August 11: Scary stories We'll cover writing creepy stories, ghost stories, the "voice" of a spooky story, flipping something mundane into something frightening, and flipping a monster story. Week of August 18: Character Deep Dive We'll cover the basics of creating a well-developed character, introducing a character without dialogue, character revelation using their "space", emotion in scenes, and characters that are unlike the author. Week of August 25: Science fiction We'll cover the elements of a good sci fi story, steampunk, building a sci-fi world, and the distinction between sci fi and fantasy.
Learning Goals
Students will learn with a real published author.Students will write a new short story each day.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
At WordPlay Writing Co., we prioritize creative freedom, age-appropriate challenge, and emotional safety. Our Five-Day Writing Camps encourage students to explore a wide variety of genres and storytelling styles. Because of this, some prompts may touch on themes such as:
-Monsters, ghosts, and suspenseful situations (spooky but not graphic horror)
-Fantasy conflict, including mild battle or chase scenes
-Villains or antagonists—students may explore writing from the perspective of "bad guys"
-Death or loss, especially in ghost stories, tragedy-focused pieces, or emotionally complex scenes
-Emotional intensity, including anger, jealousy, embarrassment, or sadness
-Light romantic content, such as meet-cute stories or relationship misunderstandings
-Social commentary, especially in satire, invented holidays, or advice columns
All prompts are intended to be developmentally appropriate for ages 10–17, and students are always encouraged to write within their comfort zone. We never require students to write about any topic they find uncomfortable, and alternative prompts are always available upon request.
Additionally, all teachers are trained to guide discussions respectfully, affirm all identities, and ensure a safe, inclusive space for every student.
If you have questions about content, accommodations, or your student’s specific needs, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
***Class Policies (for live classes):***
1) Students are required to have working cameras and microphones in class, positioned such that we can both see and hear them clearly for the entirety of class. Classes are a much more engaging, social, and safe experience this way. Please make sure your learners are prepared to have their camera on for our live sessions!
2) Classes with fewer than the minimum number of students required may be cancelled. I do my best to let parents know the day prior that this is a possibility! Because last minute signups are common, I try not to "officially" cancel until an hour before the class begins.
3) If no students have arrived in the classroom after ten minutes, I will exit the classroom. In some courses, rescheduling is possible, but in others I may need to offer a video or handout to catch students up on the class. Refunds are generally not offered for missed classes if a video is available.
4) I absolutely understand the need to wiggle, move, and get energy out-- but if that energy becomes disruptive, rude, or combative-- like spamming the chat, making threatening or rude gestures, holding things up to the camera repeatedly, etc-- students will generally be given a warning. If the behavior continues, they will be moved back to the waiting room. If the behavior still continues, they will be removed from class and will need to watch the video for the remainder of the information. All students deserve a supportive, focused, and pleasant learning environment!
5) Many of my classes involve writing homework that should be turned in 24 hours before the next class. If students do not turn in this homework, we will not be able to discuss their work during class, simply because no one will have had a chance to read it! Please help me encourage your students to post their work within the required time frame so they can get the most from our time together.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined November, 2018
4.9
1898reviews
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Teacher expertise and credentials
1 teacher has a teaching certificate
Georgia Teaching Certificate in Secondary Education
1 teacher has a Graduate degree
Master's Degree in Education from Lehigh University
4 teachers have a Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's Degree in English Language and Literature from Davidson College
Bachelor's Degree in English from The University of Georgia
Bachelor's Degree in English Language and Literature from Purdue University
Bachelor's Degree in English from Agnes Scott College
All teachers are published authors! Please check out our website or profile page for more information.Reviews
Live Group Class
$127
weekly ($26 per class)5x per week
55 min
Live video meetings
Ages: 13-18
2-6 learners per class
