1. Details (Golden), Character (Immortal), And Setting (Rural India)
In this three-part lesson, students learn to draw details from real life to create unforgettable characters and compelling stories
2. Literary Facebooks
Curious what Elizabeth Bennet's, Harry Potter's, Bella Swan's, or Percy Jackson's Facebook profile would look like? In this workshop, students create a mock Facebook profi le based on their favorite literary character
3. Suburban Epics
The author of Little Children and Election shares his tips for finding inspiration in your own neighborhood
4. Busted
Writing about the time you didn't get away with it
5. How To Write Science Fiction
The Nebula Award-nominated author shares his tips for crafting fascinating science fiction
6. Writing From Experience
Students learn to transform their own life events into compelling fiction from an author who's mastered the art
7. Too Much Money! An Ethical Writing Experience In 10 Easy Steps
This lesson introduces students to the benefi ts of journaling, using an ethical conundrum to keep them invested and involved
8. The Talk Show Circuit
The Office actor shows how to use the talk show format to practice the elements of good storytelling
9. The First Draf T Is My Enemy: Revisions
You spend hours grading papers. You give great feedback. You offer tons of suggestions to improve the piece-and then you never see it again. A favorite essayist shows you how to put all that work to good use
10. See You Again Yesterday: Playing With T Ime
The author of The Time Traveler's Wife shares her tips for working with tricky time lines
11. Look Smart Fast: College Application Essay Boot Camp
A college admissions reader outlines the dos and don'ts of great application essays
12. Writing About Painful Things
The author of Diary of a Teenage Girl: An Account in Words and Pictures walks students through the diffi cult but redemptive process of writing about pain
13. Mutant Shakespeare
Reading Shakespeare is hard. Lucky for us, we won't be reading Shakespeare. We will take him apart and put him back together the wrong way. We will lose some of his pieces. This class assumes that one good way to understand something is to see how it could be different
14. How To Write A One-Person Show About A Historical Figure
The Daily Show correspondent and actor shows us how to research and write a great play about a real person
15. Writing For Gamers
The author of Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter leads a lesson on narrativity and video games
16. Humor Writing: An Exercise In Alchemy
This is the lesson plan to engage the bored, disinterested students rolling their eyes in the back row. A humor author shares writing prompts that are pretty much guaranteed to provoke great material
17. On Pining: Write A Verse To Make Them Stay
An indie musician leads a workshop on writing the words that make those you miss come back
18. Adding Insult To Poetry
Anyone can say, "Same to you, buddy!" In this class students learn why it's not wise to cross a poet
19. Bad Writing
This inventive lesson by a noted writer and satirist shows you how to do it right by trying to do it wrong
20. Where Stories Come From
The thought of writing a short story from scratch can be so daunting. An author shares her secret: don't start from scratch. Find inspiration in art, news, and real-life events
21. Word Karaoke
In this highly engaging lesson, a slam poet and author invites students to do "cover" versions of other writers' work-like hip-hop sampling-to create fresh new poems
22. Tall Tales And Short Stories
The assignment to write fi ction can feel like an overwhelming mandate. This exercise turns that mandate into play. Students are asked to tell the best lie they can. Suddenly, it's a short story
23. Welcome To The Funhouse: Writing Funny Scenes
The Tony-winning author of Hairspray shares 12 weeks of funny scenewriting ideas
24. Voicemails From My Future Self
In this workshop students creatively expand and explore their sense of who they are by thinking about their futures. The workshop culminates with an audio-recorded "voicemail" from each student's future self
25. How Short Is Short?
This is storytelling distilled down to its purest essence. An author shows students how to write a story in 20 minutes or less
26. Comic Composition Challenge!
Two professional cartoonists challenge students in a fast-paced, highly entertaining comic-strip-writing game
27. My Boring Life
Everyone thinks his or her life is boring. Th is class proves that it's actually full of great stories
28. Colonel Mustard In The Library With A Candlestick: How To Write A Mystery
Mystery writing solved! A mystery author shares her secrets
29. Creating Characters
A novelist shares his techniques for creating memorable, well-rounded characters and off ers exercises to help students hone their skills
30. High School Confidential: How To Write A Youngadult Novel
A young-adult author helps students write modern comedies of manners
31. Get Your Haiku On
This very modern take on the ancient classic invites students to borrow from hip-hop and pop culture to create one-of-a-kind haiku
32. The Essay
Essays don't have to be boring. They can be as exciting as fiction, as moving as poetry. Here, an acclaimed essayist shares her essay-writing tips
33. The Story Of Me: Writing About Your Life And Your Family
You don't have to be old or famous to write your life story. Th is class invites you to trace how your family and experiences have shaped who you are today
34. Meet Your Protagonist!
An author teaches students to create well-rounded characters that readers really care about
35. All Witnesses Eventually Die: Embarrassing Stories
In comic panel form, an author and graphic novelist shares her tips for turning your mortifying experiences into good reading
36. Wicked Style And How To Get It
Students always tell us they want to develop a unique voice, a literary style all their own. This class helps them find it
37. President Takes Martian Bride: Writing Tabloid Fiction
Tabloids might not be high literature, but they're awfully fun to read-and even more fun to write. In this off beat lesson, an author encourages wild storytelling and out-there stories that, we promise, will be really, really fun to grade
38. Lying For Fun And Profit
Good lies are a lot like good literature. This class helps students turn falsehoods into fiction
39. This Class Sucks
Students learn the basics of criticism by reviewing everything from CDs to cookies
40. Screenwriting
A professional screenwriter shares his secrets, and invites the class to go Hollywood by practicing their story-pitching skills
41. How To Write A Ghost Story
Two professional ghost story writers share their scariest tips
42. 826 Unplugged: Songwriting
The whole class collaborates to pen a guaranteed hit. No musical experience necessary
43. Sportswriting: The Life
Two professional sportswriters share their expertise
44. How To Write A Fan Letter Without Getting A Restraining Order
A young-adult author and self-confessed superfan shares her letterwriting tips
45. Exquisite Story Lines
This lesson adapts the Exquisite Corpse poetry technique for short fiction
46. Soul Prowlers: The Art Of Writing Newspaper Profiles
Ordinary-seeming people can have extraordinary, heroic stories-it just takes curiosity and the will to excavate them. In this class, students learn how to identify good subjects, conduct interviews, fi nd inspiration in the details of a life, and write compelling stories about both regular and famous people
47. Homestyle: Writing About The Place Where You Live
This lesson teaches students to see home in a fresh way, to walk through doors and open windows they never noticed, and to fi nd the stories that home holds
48. Agitate! Propagandize!
Sometimes a clear, convincing argument isn't enough. You need to stir things up just a bit so that people pay attention and you can get your message across, whatever that is. In this workshop, students craft propaganda-speeches, pamphlets, and posters-all of it hard-hitting
49. Tasty Medicine For Writer's Block: Mindful Writing Exercises
From the editors of Essays for a New Generation, an anthology of essays for young readers, come these techniques for writing mindfully
50. High School Ink: Getting Published
An author of young - adult fiction shares her tips on getting your work out there