Creative Writing Workshop

Every great story starts somewhere — and this workshop is where yours begins. The Creative Writing Workshop is a hands-on course for high school students who want to write fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, scripts, and more with real skill and confidence. You'll build fully realized characters, map out plots that grip readers from the first page to the last, and develop a distinctive voice that's unmistakably yours. Along the way, you'll write, share, get feedback, and revise — because that's how writers actually grow. Whether you're a first-time storyteller or someone with notebooks full of ideas waiting to be shaped, this workshop gives you the tools, techniques, and community to make your writing come alive.

What separates a story that grabs you from one you abandon after two pages? It's not luck — it's craft. The Creative Writing Workshop teaches high school students the specific, learnable skills behind compelling storytelling, giving them a toolkit they can apply to any genre, any format, and any idea they want to bring to the page. This isn't a passive class where you listen and take notes. You'll write constantly, experiment freely, and get real feedback from your instructor and peers in a supportive workshop environment.

Finding Your Voice and Exploring Genres The course begins where all great writing starts: with you. Students explore how tone, perspective, and audience shape a piece of writing — and start experimenting across genres like fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and scriptwriting to discover where their natural strengths and interests lie. The goal isn't to sound like anyone else. It's to find and trust the voice that's distinctly yours, then learn how to adapt it for different formats and audiences.

Characters, Plot, and Story Structure The heart of the workshop is storytelling craft. Students dive deep into character creation — building profiles with rich backstories, internal contradictions, and motivations that make readers genuinely care. From there, the focus shifts to plot: mastering the six-part narrative arc, using conflict and tension strategically, and outlining with tools like mind mapping and narrative arcs. Students also study story structure from multiple angles, including classic frameworks and techniques like in media res — learning how to control pacing, build suspense, and stick the landing.

Setting, Imagery, and Descriptive Language Great writing doesn't just tell — it immerses. Students practice using sensory details to build settings that feel real and atmospheric, and learn to wield figurative language (metaphors, similes, personification) with precision rather than habit. A major focus is originality: recognizing clichés, breaking them, and crafting descriptions that are specific and surprising. Students also explore how setting can function as an active element of a story — not just backdrop, but mood, symbol, and force.

Dialogue, Scriptwriting, and Genre Expansion This workshop goes beyond prose fiction. Students learn to write dialogue that sounds authentic and does double duty — revealing character while advancing plot. The course also introduces scriptwriting fundamentals for TV, film, and theater, including formatting, scene construction, and how the constraints of the format shape storytelling. Additional genre exploration includes journalism and creative nonfiction, where students practice reporting facts accurately while maintaining a compelling narrative voice.

Revision, Feedback, and Building a Writing Practice The final piece of the puzzle is revision — and this course treats it as a skill in its own right, not an afterthought. Students learn self-editing techniques for grammar, style, structure, and pacing, and practice giving and receiving constructive peer feedback in a workshop format. By the end of the course, students walk away with a portfolio of original work, a set of practical writing habits they can sustain beyond the classroom, and the confidence to call themselves — without hesitation — a writer.