"Plots come to me at such odd moments, when I am walking along the street, or examining a hat shop...suddenly a splendid idea comes into my head." Agatha Christie

What’s your favourite type of story? Adventure? Mystery? Comedy? Do you like to be swept into a historical tale with curious characters and perilous possibilities? Or perhaps you prefer books which make your laugh so much your stomach hurts?

In this fast-paced boot camp, you will have the opportunity to consider what makes a good story, and gain practical skills about crafting your own. 

I have a Masters from the University of Oxford and I’ve been teaching for over 15 years. I love reading and writing stories. I’m going to share my skills and experience with you in this short course to give you the skills and confidence you need to write your own brilliant stories.  

The camp runs as follows: 

Lesson 1 - What is a story? We examine many genres of story – historical, comedy, mystery, adventure – and consider their different characteristics. We look at extracts from famous children’s stories – why are they successful? What makes them funny/sad/scary/interesting? And how can we generate ideas – and plot?

Homework – Read a story (provided!) and critique it

Lesson 2 – Who are our characters? We consider some of our own favourite characters in stories. What do we like or dislike about them? We particularly focus on how important it is for a character to have a goal – and for the writer to do everything in their power to stop the character from achieving that goal!

Homework – Using our super template, plan out a character (template provided)

Lesson 3 – What is an inciting incident? Stories have a dramatic inciting incident which changes the course of the main character’s life for ever. So what are examples of inciting incidents and how can we use them in our stories?

Homework – Play around with your main character – give them three different inciting incidents to deal with (some ideas provided). What happens to them – and to their story?

Lesson 4 – When should the story end? Do you like happy endings, sad endings, cliffhangers or something in between? We look at different types of story endings. What will work best for your type of story? And then …   let’s write! We have 10 minutes of dedicated writing time!  

Homework – Write more of your story! And then you may send it to me for feedback (if you would like to!)

This is a fast-paced Boot Camp for students who want to learn how to craft brilliant stories. Please get in touch if you have any questions or if you’d like to check if it might be suitable for your learner.  

*I also run this course for 9-11 year olds *