Unbound: Teen Creative Writing

Unbound: Teen Creative Writing

Unbound: Teen Creative Writing happens in either a span of 4 weeks (NYC, Zoom), or 6 weeks (NYC, Zoom, Online). The course includes a mixture of lectures and exercises. It’s open to students age 13-17. Farther down, you can view a syllabus for this course.

Unleash your creativity as a writer, while learning the tricks of the trade. You have the freedom to write what you want (prose fiction or nonfiction), but you also gain the discipline of writing craft.

There are no grades, no exams, no wrong answers—just creative writing. Each class is taught by a teacher adept at helping young writers discover and develop their unique voices. The idea is to explore—see with a writer’s eyes, spark ideas to life, gain confidence, and experiment with both fiction and nonfiction.

Better writers produce stronger college applications, and an extracurricular writing class is an impressive addition to any profile. When you know how to express yourself well with words, you’ve got a special power.

About Unbound: Teen Creative Writing
Unbound: Teen Creative Writing

The laid-back attitude of the course made it easier to write and express myself.

Matthew Russell

student

Notes

For NYC and Zoom, this course is offered as a 6-week class (with 3-hour sessions), and also as a 4-week class in the summer (with two 2-hour sessions per week).

Upcoming Classes

If you test positive for Covid – Don’t come to class until you test negative. But let your teacher know and we’ll work to give you access to your missed classes via Zoom.

If you show Covid symptoms OR If you have been exposed to someone with Covid – Don’t come to class for at least 5 days after showing symptoms or exposure, and then take a test to confirm that you are negative. Let your teacher know and we’ll work to give you access to your missed classes via Zoom.

If you have any questions about this, you may call (212-974-8377) or email us ([email protected]).

Price

Registration fee $25, paid once per term

6-Week

Syllabus

 This course lets you explore fiction and types of creative nonfiction, and the techniques that go with them. Course components:
     Lectures
     Writing exercises

New York City/Zoom classes
The syllabus varies from teacher to teacher, term to term. Many topics will be similar to those covered in the Online classes.

Online classes 
Week 1
OIL: The importance of having fun with writing. Exploration of the cornerstones of creative writing—observation, imagination, language.

Week 2
Show and Tell: Understanding the difference between showing and telling. Techniques for showing—sensory, specificity, scenes.

Week 3
Individuality: The power of a journal. Writing what you know. Writing what you want to know. Finding your individual voice.

Week 4
Fiction: The types and forms of fiction. Where to find fiction ideas. The basics of creating a story—characters, plot, point of view.

Week 5
Nonfiction: Exploration of three types of creative nonfiction writing—memoir, personal essays, narrative nonfiction. Where to find nonfiction ideas.

Week 6
Getting Better: Good habits. Battling the blank page. Revision. Reading as a writer. Reasons to write.

Note: Content may vary among individual classes.

Teachers

Erica Magrin
Erica Magrin

Erica Magrin has published short stories and essays in Aphros, Our Town, and Teen Ink, among others. Her play Make Believe was produced and staged at the Bridge Theater and the American Theatre of Actors, and her play Conversion was produced Off-Broadway at Theatre 54. She is an editor at Lamplight Publishing, and has worked for Persea Books, Macmillan Publishers, Disney Publishing, and Simon & Schuster. She holds a BA and an MS in Publishing from Pace University.

Read more