Imagine a world surrounded by mysteries and magical creatures.  There are surprises around every corner!  Will you mix a new potion today?  How about go explore the castle grounds and head into the deep forest?  You're a witch or a wizard!

In this class, learners ages 9-14 will be able to learn different creative writing skills to take their magical stories and characters to the next level.  I will provide students important tips to create strong characters and narratives to engage their audience and peers.  One of the most difficult tasks of being a writer is gathering the inspiration to do so: working amongst like-minded peers is one of the best ways I have found to stimulate your creative mind! We will begin class by introducing ourselves and telling the class what we are most interested in writing about or what we'd like to improve the most.  

During the first portion of our class meetings, I will provide information about how to make our characters more realistic, the plot more interesting and how to avoid common mistakes when writing fantasy. We will briefly discuss the background of the genre and discuss why it is unique. There will be engaging slideshows to demonstrate each literary device.  Students are encouraged to take notes so that they can reference them when they are writing in their free time.

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 (they must be on theme to each week's class), or start a completely new tale.  I will provide unique writing prompts for those who are writing a new story of their own. 

After we finish our writing, I will encourage the class to share 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 if they are interested!

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.  All skill levels are welcomed in this class!  Basic knowledge of literary terms such as "plot", "climax" and "characters" is encouraged.

After class, writers can post their stories in our class discussion to share with their peers.  They are also welcome to send me their story for private feedback after class.  I will give specific private feedback.

Original character stories OR fan-fiction stories are welcomed here. 

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