Writing Skills for Creativity (11 - 14)
In this ongoing class, students will spend a little of their time on accurate writing and grammar skills, so that they can spend a lot of their time on creative writing.
Sean Foster Collins, BA, BEd.
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:(342)
What's included
1 live meeting
55 mins in-class hours per weekClass Experience
US Grade 6 - 8
Do you want to be a great creative writer? You need three things: technical skills, imagination, and practice. You bring your imagination, and in this class, we'll work on the skills and practice! I'm a big believer in the idea that an artist can have more freedom to break the rules once they've become a master of them first. I'm sure Jane Austen misplaced a couple commas or confused "then" and "than" once or twice before coming out with Pride and Prejudice! The only way to become a great writer is to really learn your craft, and then practice, practice, practice. In this ongoing class, we will devote the beginning of each class to learning and practicing a specific writing skill, or a key area of grammar. Next, we will use this skill (and others) in a creative writing task. Based on a writing prompt given in each class, learners will have approximately 15 minutes of writing time. Once we're done, I strongly encourage (but do not require) learners to share the work they've done for constructive feedback. When learners share their work, I'm looking for ways to improve creativity, but I'm also focused on the grammar and precision within the sentences that deliver that creativity. Often, the technical areas of grammar and sentence structure chosen for the beginning of lessons will be dictated by the needs I see in the learners writing, or by questions raised by the learners themselves. Other times, I will be following a schedule of weeks as follows: Week 1: Parts of Speech - Adjectives & Nouns / Writing about Setting Week 2: Commas / Character description Week 3: Quotation Marks / Dialogue Week 4: Pronouns & Antecedents / Point of View Week 5: Parts of Speech - Adverbs / Character description Week 6: Capitalization / World Building Week 7: Similes & Metaphors / Writing with Imagery Week 8: Active & Passive Voice / Dialogue Week 9: Sentence Fragments / Interrupting script Week 10: Run on Sentences / Guess the ending Week 11: Comma 4 Rules / Story starters Week 12: Sentence Types - Simple & Compound / Word challenge story Week 13: Sentence Types - Complex & Compound Complex / Perspective writing Week 14: Parallel Structure / Story starters Week 15: Verb Tenses - Present, Past & Future / Time Travel Week 16: Verb Tenses - Perfect Tense / Butterfly effect
Learning Goals
Students will learn the rules of proper grammar, writing and sentence structure so they can apply them effectively in their creative work. A huge benefit of a class like this is that writers will have the chance to practice their craft and then share their work with other fellow creatives.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
When developing our writing, we will be open to discussing and writing some dangerous, romantic, spooky, and/or mildly violent scenes. Make sure your student is okay with that.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined April, 2020
4.9
342reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
Non-US Teaching Certificate in English/Language Arts
2 Degrees
Bachelor's Degree in Education from University of Western Sydney (Australia)
Bachelor's Degree in English from Trent University (Peterborough, Ontario, Canada)
I have been a senior level English, ESL and Writer's Craft teacher for more than 20 years, but beyond that I am a writer myself. I've written a Young Adult novel, short stories and numerous screenplays.Reviews
Live Group Class
$15
weekly1x per week
55 min
Completed by 94 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 11-14
3-10 learners per class
