Class
Worlds of Possibility: Worldbuilding & Interactive Writing for Ages 12 to 14

Price
Regular $546.00
Friend $491.40
Date
June 24, 2025 - June 27, 2025
Time
9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Genre
Fiction
Family
Youth
Level
Ages 12 to 14
Location
Open Book-Loft Classroom
Number of Sessions
4
Day of the Week
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
Duration
Week-Long (Youth or Intensive)
youth with star above white lettering and in circle

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

-Session 1: Writing Pick-a-Path Stories for Ages 12 to 14 with Kat Shephard

Interactive book series keep readers turning the pages because the story changes every time. Every decision the reader makes takes the plot through unexpected twists and turns that lead to a host of exciting new endings. And writing them is even more fun than reading them! This class offers the chance to plan and create pick-a-path stories of your own in a variety of genres, and you’ll walk away with your own pick-a-path book to share with family and friends. Whether you’re writing horror, adventure, or realistic fiction, you’ll learn the secrets behind creating a thrilling interactive multi-plot story that will keep readers coming back for more!

-Lunch & Enrichment: We'll break for lunch with more activities that will inspire us to express ourselves while having fun! We may explore Gold Medal Park to seek creativity outside the classroom! Please bring a packed lunch.

-Sesson 2: Utopian and Dystopian Worldbuilding for Ages 12 to 14 with Amy Sailer

In this workshop, the students will write a collaborative novella that takes place in a utopian/dystopian society. We will discuss examples of utopian and dystopian stories from diverse writers, including Ursula K. Le Guin, Octavia Butler, and Becky Chambers, in order to collaborate on a society that has somehow fundamentally shifted from our own. Students will then write their own 3 - 5 page stories that take place in the shared world. On the final day of class, we will read and workshop each other’s stories for craft and continuity, and the teacher will send out the final anthology at the end of the course. Along the way, we will experiment with worldbuilding techniques, including social relationships, setting, and figurative language, and discuss the relationship between utopian and dystopian literature. Taking a page out of the utopian stories we discuss, the class will endeavor to use creative writing to build stronger communities in and out of the classroom.

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