Class

Building a Novel–From Paragraphs to Pages for Ages 15 to 18

Welcome back to Summer Youth at Open Book! Join us for a week of writing and all day creativity!

Writing a novel can seem daunting, but “Building a Novel” breaks it down into manageable steps. From the opening class, you'll be writing your novel, 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. The latter is also known as scene building and the 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'll also read and discuss short excerpts written 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.