Writing Romance - online course. Woman sitting in deckchair writing.

Creative Writing for Teenagers

Do you know a teenager who loves writing and wants to do more? Help them explore their creativity and find their unique writing voice with our online summer school

This six-week online course for 13–17 year olds focuses on developing writing skills in a fun, safe online classroom. It’s a chance for young people to unleash their creativity, explore new worlds and experiment with ideas. They’ll make writerly friends and have fun playing with words outside the confines of school. And they will produce a complete short story or the start of a novel.

How does it work?

The course requires around 5 hours of engagement a week (more is fine!) in a group of fewer than 15 teens, under the guidance of a qualified teacher and YA writer.

You can study from anywhere in the world at any time – ideal for a teen who gets bored in the summer break. All you need is an internet connection and a few ideas. More about how our online courses work here.

During the course, students will:

  • Become inspired and let their imagination run wild
  • Get better at plot, characters, setting and dialogue
  • Be guided step by step through the process of writing a short story or opening of a novel
  • Read extracts, watch videos, complete quizzes and try out practical writing assignments
  • Join other young writers to share and discuss ideas, and find out what makes stories work
  • Understand the writing process: read, write, revise, edit
  • Start reading like a writer
  • Quiz a professional fiction writer about anything
  • Start to understand their strengths and weaknesses as a writer
  • Enjoy learning on the move, on laptop, phone or tablet

Students will work towards producing a short story or the opening pages of a novel, which they will submit for feedback from their tutor at the end of the course.

Please note, all students need a parent’s permission to join the course. 

NEXT COURSE

** TO BE ANNOUNCED **



TELL ME WHEN
Tom
Bromley
Course Director
Fiona
Egglestone
Tutor
Rupert
Wallis
Guest Tutor

A bit more detail

As you work through the sessions, you’ll develop your creative writing skills while working within a supportive community of fellow writers keen to share their experiences with you.

Week 1: Inspiration and ideas
Where stories come from. How to tap into creative inspiration, and take ideas from your head and onto the page. You’ll experiment with ways to start coming up with your own ideas.
Week 2: Creating characters
Where characters come from. How to use dialogue and movement; how to get started creating your own characters.
Week 3: Your story world
Where novels take place. The role of setting; setting as metaphor and atmosphere; how do you choose a place to set a story idea?
Week 4: Point of view
Whose story am I writing? How to choose viewpoint; ways to start thinking about who should tell your story.
Week 5: Shaping a story
How to plan out and shape a story. Beginnings, middles and ends; where to start a novel or short story idea.
Week 6: Thinking about your readers
Apply all the techniques you have learned through the course to write a final longer piece of up to 500 words. You might rework a favourite piece you produced in an earlier session or develop something new based on what you’ve learned.

 

You’ll learn in the Professional Writing Academy’s online classroom, which is open 24/7 so you can balance your learning around your life, family and friends. You’ll work in a small group of fellow teenage writers so you can discuss ideas, ask questions and share your writing as you progress through the sessions.

You’ll learn from:

  • Short audio and video files from your course tutors, writers or other industry experts
  • Tutor guidance
  • Online lecture notes and practical writing prompts and exercises
  • Directed reading and viewing lists
  • Online peer critiquing from other participants in the group
  • The assistance of a group moderator
  • The support of an online community and virtual classroom
  • A dedicated writing resources area, which is continually updated


You’ll need:

  • Around 7 hours per week to work through the course
  • A notebook and pen or pencil, if you like to make notes by hand
  • A laptop or computer* with:
    • A reliable broadband internet connection
    • Speakers or headphones
    • The latest version of Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Edge, or Safari
    • Microsoft Word. If you don’t have this you can download Open Office free
    • Adobe Reader, latest version. Download free
    • QuickTime Player, latest version. Download free
    • Adobe Flash Player 10 or higher

*You can access the course from a tablet or smartphone, but we recommend using a laptop or computer, as this makes it easier to share your work files with your writing group.

Join our alumni

After your course, you can join our online alumni where you’ll meet our growing network of past students. The alumni is a friendly group of writers who support each other as they continue to explore and develop their writing.
Within our online alumni area you can:

  • Rejoin your classmates on a private forum, and access an archived version of your course materials and forum posts
  • Join discussions about reading, writing and ideas
  • Retain access to our online resources area, which we constantly update with interesting and informative links
  • Chat with your group in our online alumni chatroom – we also host live chats with guest tutors and authors here

You are the next generation of writers. You’re taking on the canon of novels that has existed for centuries. Books are built upon books. So, keep writing, enjoy writing, be inspired. Look for stories anywhere in the world. Anything around you, people you see, places you go. But, above all, keep writing – try and do it as often as you can.

Rupert Wallis

What our students say...

It has, without a doubt, been hard work, but I feel I’ve learned so much and have really enjoyed writing. The content was brilliant, a really great course.

What our students say...

Thanks for the virtual company and the feedback. It was great to read all of the group’s interesting takes on the various assignments.

What our students say...

I’m quite proud of having written my first short story!

Related Articles

Write Advice – YA author Rupert Wallis' top tips for teenage writers
Joanna Cannon – from online writing course to publishing deal
Write Advice – author Ayisha Malik discusses editing and ghost writing
Write Advice – author Clare Fisher discusses getting short fiction published