Who doesn’t love a good mystery?  In this 10-week course, students will learn the fundamentals of writing a good mystery/thriller.  Your students will be engaged and enthralled in the fascinating world of creative writing.  As an author myself, I’ve written over 25 mysteries and know the “ins” and “outs” of creating a good mystery.  This class meets once a week for 45 minutes.
The goals of this class will be
♦Develop or strengthen pre-writing skills
♦Understand the fundamentals of writing
♦Develop a plot using details and descriptive writing
♦Writing with a beginning, middle, and end
♦Identify the rising action, falling action, and climax
♦Revise writing to make improvements  

Below is an outline of the 10-week course:
♦Week 1 
          -Introductions
           -What is mystery/theory writing?
           -Writing basics
♦Week 2
           -Character development
♦Week 3
           -Setting
♦Week 4 
           -Creating a plot
♦Week 5
            -Pre-writing
♦Week 6
            -Start with a bang!  How to create a story your reader can’t put down.
♦Week 7
            -Descriptive writing and why it’s so important
♦Week 8
           -Adding contrast
♦Week 9 
            -Rising Action
♦Week 10
           -Publishing
Who done it?!

Students should have the weekly assignment completed before that week’s class.  A weekly learning plan will be sent after students are enrolled.  The weekly learning plan will give more detailed information on each week’s class, as well as include handouts and weekly assignments.

Organization of the week should be:
1. Watch Flex video in "Mystery Writing Class - Write Your Own Mystery Thriller!" 
2. Submit practice exercises to Ms. Peters in "Mystery Writing Class - Write Your Own Mystery Thriller!"
3. Submit your writing to Ms.Peters in "Mystery Writing Class - Write Your Own Mystery Thriller!" for feedback on the objective that week
4. Make changes as needed.
5. Submit the revisions in "Mystery Writing Class - Write Your Own Mystery Thriller!" to Ms.Peters for Peer and Teacher Feedback

Each week students will also be given pieces of a clue to a mystery that will be used to encourage discussion.  By the end of week 10, students will have enough clues to solve the mystery.  This is a great way to boost student engagement! Students will also participate in a game of "I have, who has," to help them get to know one another and build relationships.  This is a great way to practice skills while interacting with one another.

ALL formal writing assignments will be completed in Google Docs.

*Grades for assignments, discussions, etc. are available upon request.