Creative Writing for Upper School Students

“The world does not need more Christian literature. What it needs is more Christians writing good literature.”–C.S. Lewis. 

Following the advice of C.S. Lewis, students will learn this year how to harness the beauty of the English language to tell powerful stories that engage, entertain, edify, and above all, point to the Truth about mankind. Creative writing not only teaches the valuable skills of writing and communication, but it also helps students understand themselves, the world around them, and human nature. Exercises in creating believable characters who are both virtuous and flawed help to teach students empathy, how to understand others around them, and visualize humanity’s desperate need for a holy God. Writing stories can be used as a creative outlet, yet they can be used as a powerful force for good.

To do this, students will learn to harness their imagination, communicate powerful stories, evaluate message and form, and learn from writers of both the past and the present. Throughout the course, they will gradually work on writing a novel project of their choosing (and approved by the instructor) as they learn a variety of writing techniques. They will weekly submit excerpts of this novel through Quarters 1-3 while working on other short, creative assignments. In Quarter 4, students will solely focus on writing their novel to submit a final project culminating to at least 20,000 words.

History proves that stories – even fictional ones – are powerful. This is why Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin “started the Civil War” and Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol sparked a boom in supporting charities in England. Today, millions of people go to the movies, read books, and watch television for the same reason as those before us: they want to be transported and moved by stories. By honing their skills as writers, students will learn to create such compelling stories that seek to move the audience and point them towards Christ.

The target audience for this class is upper school students in grades 10 through 12 who either want to work more on their novel skills, enjoy creative writing and now want to learn about novel writing, or simply wish to give creative writing a try. The course will be held over the course of the year.

Quarter 1

1. From Idea to Paper
2. Learn the Broad Techniques of any novel: characters, internal conflict, setting, theme, and plot
3. Read and annotate chosen novel for first quarter 
4. Writing Assignments: Plan and begin submitting excerpts of chosen novel idea, participate in group discussions, write small homework assignments to practice techniques, etc. 

Quarter 2

1. From Paper to Plan 
2. Learn the Specific Techniques: dialogue, point of view, description, story structure, conquering writer’s block, and how to make writing part of their everyday routine 
3. Read and annotate chosen novel for second quarter 
4. Writing Assignments: Continue to submit excerpts of chosen novel idea, participate in group discussions, write small homework assignments to practice techniques, etc. 

Quarter 3

1. From Plan to Progress 
2. Honing our craft: Study of story structure continued
3. Read and annotate chosen novel for third quarter 
4. Writing Assignments: Beginning to submit excerpts of chosen novel in chronological order, participate in group discussions, write small homework assignments to practice techniques, etc.

Quarter 4

1. From Progress to Reality 
2. Fine-tuning our craft: difference between revising and editing, how to revise and edit, how to write beautiful prose, exploration of tropes and genres 
3. Bringing together everything they have learned over the course of the year, students will solely work on their novel projects by writing one chapter a week, reading and responding to their peers’ work, and submitting a final project of at least 20,000 words. 
4. Read and annotate the final chosen novel for the fourth quarter. 

• Computer: You will need a stable, reliable computer, running with a processor with a speed of 1 GHz or better on one of the following operating systems: Mac OS X with Mac OS 10.7 or later; Windows 8, 7, Vista (with SP1 or later), or XP (with SP3 or later). We do not recommend using an iPad or other tablet for joining classes. An inexpensive laptop or netbook would be much better solutions, as they enable you to plug an Ethernet cable directly into your computer. Please note that Chromebooks are allowed but not preferred, as they do not support certain features of the Zoom video conference software such as breakout sessions and annotation, which may be used by our teachers for class activities.
• High-Speed Internet Connection: You will also need access to high-speed Internet, preferably accessible via Ethernet cable right into your computer. Using Wi-Fi may work, but will not guarantee you the optimal use of your bandwidth. The faster your Internet, the better. We recommend using a connection with a download/upload speed of 5/1 Mbps or better. You can test your Internet connection here.
• Webcam: You may use an external webcam or one that is built in to the computer. Webcam Recommendations: Good (PC only) | Best (Mac and PC)
• Headset: We recommend using a headset rather than a built-in microphone and speakers. Using a headset reduces the level of background noise heard by the entire class. Headset Recommendations: USB | 3.5mm
• Zoom: We use a web conferencing software called Zoom for our classes, which enables students and teachers to gather from around the globe face to face in real time. Zoom is free to download and easy to use. To download Zoom:
  1. Visit zoom.us/download.
  2. Click to download the first option listed, Zoom Client for Meetings.
  3. Open and run the installer on your computer.
  4. In August, students will be provided with instructions and a link for joining their particular class.
• Scanner: In this class, students frequently submit homework assignments by scanning pages from their workbooks. Students and/or their parents should have easy access to a scanner and the ability to use it.