The Whole Story is a project-based course that provides a wonderful opportunity for keen young writers to spend consecutive days honing their writing skills – all under the expert eye of a creative writing mentor. Whether your child is a novelist in the making, or they have brilliant story and character ideas but can’t yet get much down on paper, this course has been designed to equip them with strategies to become more confident and inspired writers. We aim to spark their imaginations and enthuse them with a love for writing and reading: writing is, after all, fundamentally great fun!
On The Whole Story course, we teach children how to effectively structure a story based on a classic literary genre, such as mystery, adventure or fantasy fiction. Our writing resources, designed by our in-house professional writers, provide a narrative framework from which the children craft their stories. In a small group setting that allows children to focus and interact constructively, their writing tutor will provide guidance, advice and individual feedback to each child. At the end of the course, you will receive a detailed written feedback for your child highlighting their strengths, progress made and suggested areas for improvement.
Course content
In each session, children will learn and practice different elements of story plotting while building their story:
- The exposition (i): Set up the problem, develop a compelling character and start creating your main plot.
- The exposition (ii): World building – Develop a powerful setting.
- Rising Action & Climax (i): Create an effective midpoint – find the point of no return.
- Rising Action & Climax (ii): Raise the stakes.
- Falling Action & Resolution: Final conflict. Obligatory scene and denouement.
Children spend three hours each day working on their story, providing them the space and time to develop an understanding of how to weave more complex narratives into their work, and allowing them to become confident in structuring their stories clearly from start to end.
Children are encouraged to develop their critical thinking and peer-review skills throughout the course – developing not only their writing, but also their ability to articulate constructive feedback. Expressing yourself through writing is just one way of learning how to communicate effectively and with empathy. Each of our workshops contains elements of collaboration, discussion and debate in order to cultivate the broader life skills that will set our writers up as sophisticated and compassionate learners/thinkers.
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Holiday Club: 15–19 February 2021. The Whole Story. The Last Snows – A Climate Emergency – (8–12 Yrs) LIVE STREAM
When your environmentalist father disappears leaving you alone and taking his research papers with him, the scientific community believe he has absconded with his research and intends to sell his findings to foreign spies. But you know he would never abandon you, and he’d certainly never sell his precious work.
When no one will listen, you set out to find him, armed only with a mysterious notebook you found hidden under his mattress.
Eventually, your father’s notebook clues will lead you to the icy northern limits of the world. Here you adventure deep into snow-covered forests and out over ice fields on a terrifying adventure to discover the truth. But the truth comes with a stark warning – turn back before it’s too late.
When everything and everyone depends on your courage, can you keep going? What will you discover on the icy tundra which threatens to destroy our beautiful planet? What governmental espionage lies at its heart? And how does it involve your father?Pack your warmest clothes and join us on an environmental adventure to the northern limits of the world, where, if you’re brave enough, you’ll discover a chilling truth and save the planet from destruction…
Holiday Club: 15–19 February 2021. The Whole Story. The Last Snows – A Climate Emergency – (8–12 Yrs) LIVE STREAM
- Age Group: 8-12 Yrs
- Duration: 5 days. 15 hours.
- Start / End Dates: 15-19 February 2021
- Time: 10:00-13:00
- Venue: This programme will be streamed online., A link and instructions to enter the virtual classroom will be sent prior to the class.
- Terms and Conditions: By making a booking through our site you agree that you have read, understand, and accept our Terms & Conditions and you agree to be bound by these, Cancellations received less than 14 days before the start of the program are not refundable
- Notes: Copyright © 2021 by Chelsea Young Writers Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction or distribution in any form of all or part of the course materials is prohibited