She is the award-winning author of dark, gritty fiction for young adults. Her debut novel, ACID, won the North East Teenage Book Award and was picked by YALSA as a Top Ten Amazing Audiobook for 2015. Both ACID and her second novel, The Fearless, were nominated for the Carnegie Medal. The Fearless won the Concorde Book Award in 2016. Her novels have been published in the UK, US and Spain.
This online creative writing course for teenagers is a perfect starting point for young people who want to learn the fundamentals of creative writing.
Next course starts on July 25th, 2023 – 2 places remaining
Price: €170
Duration: six weeks
Course is limited to 10 participants.
You don’t have to be based in Ireland to take this course. We accept students from around the world.
- Each course also has its own online tutor, who will provide individual feedback on your work. Our tutors are experienced writers with expert knowledge of the industry.
- Every week we’ll release a new learning module in the form of text lessons.
- It’s super flexible, as you can choose the time and place that best suits your schedule. A weekly written assignment, which will be assessed by your tutor, will help you stay on track and monitor your progress along the way.
How does the online course work?
Once you enrol:
- You’ll receive a link to access your online course
- Your course will contains weekly modules, each with various writing tasks and a core assignment
- Every week, you can submit your assignment for written personalised feedback from your tutor
- There are no set class times – complete each module when it suits you during the week
- We recommend spending 2-3 hours per week on each module and assignment
- You’ll be able to enjoy access to the course for a full year, so you can revisit your lessons and refresh your knowledge whenever you need.
This is a creative writing course for teenagers. If you are younger than this, you can check out our course for 7-12 years here.
When you have processed the payment, please email us at info@creativewriting.ie with the student’s name and age.
Module One: Ideas and Inspiration
Where do ideas come from? How do writers get ideas? Believe it or not, this is actually one of the hardest things about writing. Using headlines, images and mind maps, we’ll explore ways to spark your imagination and get those ideas flowing.
Module Two: Bringing Your Characters to Life
Creating believable characters is one of the most important parts of writing stories. In this module, you’ll find out how to build characters using pictures and questions which will help bring them to life.
Module Three: Voice, Viewpoint and Dialogue
It’s time to think about voice, point of view and dialogue. But what do these words mean? This week, you’ll find out by looking at what ‘voice’ actually is, how the point of view you choose affects the story you’re trying to tell, and how to write dialogue.
Module Four: Settings
Fully-realised settings are important too, whether your story is set in another world or in the corner shop! This week you’ll look at description, and how to use the five senses to bring your settings alive.
Module Five: Worldbuilding
Another important part of creative writing, especially now you’ve looked at creating realistic settings! This module looks at the elements you need to consider when writing stories set in other worlds, and you’ll be practicing your artistic skills with some map-drawing, too.
Module Six: Pin Your Plot Down
We’ve all heard the saying “every story should have a beginning, middle and end”, but what does that actually mean? In this final module, we’ll look at the basics of story structure and how you can apply it to your own work. Finally, we’ll look at tips for redrafting and editing your work.