Weekly Creative Writing (Horror): Create a New Scary Story Each Week!
What's included
1 live meeting
50 mins in-class hours per weekClass Experience
US Grade 9 - 12
Beginner - Advanced Level
𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿/𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗿𝘆/𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘆/𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘆/𝘁𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸! *𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴-- 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬-𝘵𝘰-𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬!* In this class students will receive a writing prompt that coordinates with a specific horror writing skill-- like tension, drama, world-building, and mystery. 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻: 👻 5 Minutes: Introductions, hellos, greetings 👻 15 Minutes: Lesson/topic discussion We'll discuss the prompt and goal for the week's writing, highlighting ways to really nail the voice, tone, and scare factor. 👻 20 Minutes: Writing time. Students will spend approximately twenty to thirty minutes creating their own short story or scene based on the prompt. Students may write their stories freehand or type them. 👻 10 Minutes: Sharing/Read Aloud At the end of class, students are invited-- but not required or pressured-- to share their favorite lines and/or post the full story in the Outschool classroom to share with their classmates. This class is a great opportunity "get the lead out" for students who are enthusiastic writers, and a place for reluctant writers to experiment in a low stakes, fun environment. Example topics: 😱 Psychological Thrillers: Dive into the human mind by writing stories that focus on psychological horror, exploring fear, paranoia, and the unknown. 😱Apocalyptic Visions: Write about dystopian futures and apocalyptic scenarios, focusing on survival, desolation, and the horror of a world gone awry. 😱 Haunted Spaces: Create stories centered around specific locations, like abandoned buildings or cursed lands, focusing on setting as a character. 😱 Creepy Creatures of the Night: Delve into traditional horror creatures like vampires, werewolves, and witches, giving them a fresh, modern twist. 😱 Cursed Objects: Create tales centered around objects with sinister histories or powers, weaving a narrative around their impact on characters. Please note that as this is a teen horror writing class, a certain amount of violence and drama is to be expected! We do ask that all students let peers know about the content of their story before they begin reading it aloud-- those who would prefer not to hear a given story are welcome to turn their volume down until it's complete. That said, we strictly do not allow students to share stories that involve hate crimes, sexual assault, or animal abuse.
Learning Goals
Students will learn the fundamentals of writing horror stories.
Students will write a new horror story each week.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
Please note that as this is a teen horror writing class, a certain amount of violence and drama is to be expected! We do ask that all students let peers know about the content of their story before they begin reading it aloud-- those who would prefer not to hear a given story are welcome to turn their volume down until it's complete. That said, we strictly do not allow students to share stories that involve hate crimes, sexual assault, or animal abuse.
Below are my general classroom rules and policies. These will also be explained to students when we begin class!
-For everyone's safety, and to ensure an engaging and social experience, students are required to have working microphones and video for the entirety of this class, positioned such that we can both hear and see them. Please be sure to prepare your student for this requirement before class begins!
-Students are asked not to use filters or virtual backgrounds-- though if there is an important reason to use a virtual background, please just let me know ahead of time that your student will be using one (no questions asked!).
-Students will be asked to introduce themselves by sharing their name, pronoun, and a favorite book.
-The Zoom text chat is set to "host only", meaning students can chat with me, but not to one another or the entire classroom.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
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
Saundra Mitchell has been a phone psychic, a car salesperson, a denture-deliverer and a layout waxer. She’s dodged trains, endured basic training, and hitchhiked from Montana to California. The author of nearly twenty books for tweens and teens, Mitchell’s work includes Edgar Award nominee SHADOWED SUMMER and Indiana Author Award Winner and Lambda Nominee ALL THE THINGS WE DO IN THE DARK. She is the editor of four anthologies for teens, DEFY THE DARK, ALL OUT, OUT NOW and OUT THERE. She always picks truth; dares are too easy.
Reviews
Live Group Class
$21
weekly1x per week
50 min
Completed by 10 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 13-17
3-8 learners per class