Expand Your Imagination: Creative-Writing in a Post-Apocalyptic World!

Imagine a world where life as we know it has come to a complete halt-- supermarkets ransacked, vehicles stranded in the street.  Electricity and fresh water is considered a luxury. Danger lurks around every corner.  The sun doesn't seem to shine as bright as it used to.  It's every human for themselves.  

In this one time class, learners ages 9-14 will be able to learn different creative writing skills to take their dystopian stories and characters to the next level.   

We will begin class by introducing ourselves and telling the class what why we are interested in writing.  Then we will discuss some examples of famous mythical media and what made them successful. We will discuss how to make our characters more realistic, the plot more interesting and how to avoid common mistakes when writing about this genre.  There will be engaging slideshows to demonstrate each literary device.  

Learners are encouraged to take notes so that they can reference them when they are writing in their free time.  I will engage the learners by asking their opinions, ideas and preferences throughout.  I enjoy having a conversational flow to class and hope to invite that atmosphere into this session.

We will motivate each other to think about the "who", "what", "why", "how" and "when" in our storylines in order to create a more realistic world.

Students will be given 15-20 minutes in our class together to put their newly learned skills to the test.  Students can bring an existing story or character that they want to improve (must be appropriate for the theme of the class) or start a completely new tale.  I will provide engaging writing prompts for learners to work from or the learners can come up with their own prompt.

After we finish our writing, I will encourage the class to share some of their work.  Sharing is not required but highly encouraged.  We will then offer positive feedback about what we liked in the story, as well as aspects that could use more fine tuning.  I will also give the students an opportunity to workshop my characters and stories.

This will be a very comfortable and low-pressure environment where young writers can feel safe sharing their ideas and interests.  It will help them improve and make time for their hobby of writing.  This is NOT a class focused on grammar; all the best writers start with a rough draft and edit later!  This class is meant to help your learners find their imagination again and enjoy a fun environment with peers.  All skill levels are welcomed in this class, but basic writing ability and general knowledge of literary terms like "plot", "climax", "characters", etc. will be beneficial.

After class, students may submit their work to me via Outschool messenger.  This is completely optional, but will allow your learner to be provided with individual and private feedback outside of the class.  I will provide encouragement and fresh ideas.  Original work and fan-fiction is also allowed in this class.


All your student needs is a pencil, paper (or the ability to type on their computer) and a little bit of creativity!


IMPORTANT EXTRAS FOR PARENTS:

Class Refund requests:  You may refer to Outschool's refund policy here.
https://support.outschool.com/en/articles/16379-outschool-s-happiness-guarantee-and-refunds 

If a learner is consistently causing distractions or being disrespectful, I must use the mute button on that particular child.  If they are being extreme and severely offensive/disrespectful to their classmates or teachers, I may remove the learner from the classroom.  This is to protect the integrity and experience of our peers in class.  I will reach out to the learner's parents after class to discuss the incident.