Class

Building a Novel (for Ages 15 to 18)

Welcome back to Summer Youth at the Loft! We'll spend the week writing, reading, and building community.

Writing a novel can seem daunting, but “Building a Novel” breaks it down into manageable steps!

You writing your novel throughout class, first by generating a plot summary and then a story arc with tension and conflict. Next, you’ll imagine complex characters with flaws and virtues and consider point of view strategies. Finally, you’ll write specific scenes and deepen them with dialogue, description, tension and conflict. These scene-building steps can be followed over and over to create complete chapters and ultimately a finished novel.

We will also talk about how to develop writing as a daily practice that keeps you generating paragraphs and pages. Class time will include brief lectures introducing the major ideas. We will discuss short excerpts from writings by a diverse group of published authors that reveal how they build captivating scenes and complex characters.

In addition, you will share your writings, receive feedback, and engage in free-writing exercises that jump-start and deepen your thinking.

For the first class, plan on bringing a plot summary and descriptions of major characters.

Aspiring writers, grab your notebooks and pens, and let’s write at the Loft!