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6 Tips and Practices I Use to Develop Independent Writers (Even in First Grade!)

Offer structure, feedback, and an audience!

Imagine having a classroom of independent writers. That might sound like a daunting task or even an unattainable dream, but it’s been a focus of mine for several years now, even as a first grade teacher! I’ve worked hard to establish an environment that nurtures early writers and developed six practices to help foster independent writing. No matter what grade you teach, these strategies can benefit your writers.

1. Teach strategies that generate writing ideas.

Early writers are still learning how to generate ideas for their writing. When my students are writing procedural texts, like How-To Books, one of my go-to strategies starts with asking them questions about things they do at home. They may set the dinner table, pick up their toys, or help sort laundry. One of my students shared that she helps her mom peel onions. All of these ideas make great How-To books! Once students share a few ideas with me, I have them create their book covers. They now have a few covers for possible How-To books they plan to write.

There are a number of helpful strategies to teach your writers, but the best one is being responsive to the needs of the writers that are before you at that given time.

2. Create anchor charts with your students.

The purpose of an anchor chart is to “anchor” the learning that students are doing. Students should be able to independently refer to these anchor charts during writing time, and you can create them on a variety of subjects— everything from point of view to creating characters to writing checklists . Eventually, your students will use them, without prompting, when they need support with their spelling.

Tip: Create mini-anchor charts for students to keep in their writing folders for easy reference and access.

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3. Give access to tools.

In my classroom, I have a writing center that consists of a small table with a tray of different types of writing paper to accommodate the abilities of my writers. I have paper with 4 lines, paper with 6 lines, and paper with 8 lines so each student can select the type of paper that works best for them as a writer.

In addition to writing paper, there are scissors, staplers, staple removers, pens, pencils, erasers, and Post-It notes in the writing center. Instead of writers interrupting me as I’m conferring with another student, they walk over to the writing center to grab whatever they need. This has been a game changer for me. My students demonstrate independence by collecting what they need, when they need it, and I am able to confer with more writers without interruptions.

4. Implement dedicated writing time.

What independent writers need the most is dedicated time for writing each day. Find a block of time in your day for writing to demonstrate that writing time is valued and important.

In my classroom, writing takes place first thing in the morning and lasts for an hour. During writing time, I teach a short mini-lesson, which is followed by independent writing time and time for writing partners to meet. I’m always surprised when a student expresses disappointment that we are not able to have our writing time because of an unavoidable conflict in our schedule. However, I protect my writing time at all costs, so it’s a rare occasion when writing isn’t happening in my classroom.

5. Provide feedback to your writers.

During independent writing time, the teacher often confers with individual writers. This is the perfect time to check in, share writing tips, and encourage them to keep writing.

Writing partnerships is another way for writers to share feedback with their peers. Here are some ways to give effective feedback on student writing.

I sometimes incorporate the two and conduct table conferences. I walk over to a group of writers and ask them to listen in as I confer with one of the writers in the group. The other students benefit from the tips that I give the writer that I’m focusing on, and sometimes writers will chime in to share what they’re doing as writers or to ask a question that will benefit the entire group.

6. Offer an audience.

Writers are often inspired to write when they know that a peer, another group of students, the principal, and others will read their writing. A writing celebration is a great way to inspire your writers. Watch your independent writers write up a storm in order to have their writing pieces ready for the writing celebration.

Tip: Tools like Flipgrid are a great alternative to an in person writing celebration. Students could record themselves reading their writing piece via a Flipgrid video. You could share the Flipgrid link with your writers to view on their own time or show the Flipgrid video during class time, in small episodes, throughout the week. Consider trying some of these Flipgrid ideas for every kind of classroom.

Develop your students’ independence by creating an environment where students are thriving all year long!

For more, check out these 6 questions to ask yourself about your writing curriculum .

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Grammar / Vocabulary

Creating independent writers.

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As an educational blogger, sometimes there are ideas that rest in your mind and set up camp, refusing to evacuate.  This blog post originated from a few weeks ago while doing a coaching session with one of our new language arts teachers and getting on the topic of how to make students more confident in themselves as writers.  She was noticing that after a writing minilesson, the same students every day would form a line to get help from her before attempting the writing independently.  This was starting to hinder her time with the students in literature study groups she started after the minilesson.  Upon further reflection, I noticed the same pattern in my classroom.  My students had no trouble reading independently after a reading minilesson, but the reality after a writing minilesson was quite different.  Through conversation with my new colleague, the teachers in the writing course I’m currently teaching, and trial and error with my students, I began to create a list of how to take my students from dependent on me to independent, confident writers.  The following is a list of all of the tips and tricks I’ve compiled to create writers who are self-starters, problem-solvers, and even ENJOY writing.

1.  Get students to own their writing.

By taking time for idea development, students are more likely to find a topic that will hook them in and that they’ll be excited to write about.  Never short change this crucial first step of the writing process.  As with any part of the writing process, the idea development stage should be explicitly modeled to students.  One of my favorite beginning of the year writing activities is to have students do a “rambling autobiography” with an “I love” and “I hate” theme.  Students alternate by writing down what they love and what they hate.  As you can see from my list below, when you model this concept to students, it’s important to show that great ideas come from descriptive and creative things that they love and hate.  What I do with this activity is ask students to go through and identify how items on this list could feed into multiple genres of writing.  For instance, if we’re writing a persuasive essay, what items on this list would make for a great persuasive essay?  Once you find a topic students are truly passionate about and you give them the freedom to write about that topic, you have already broke down the hardest barrier between writing and your most reluctant writers.

If you’re looking for more pre-writing activities that will help students develop ideas for writing pieces, I’m a huge fan of this applicable book by Linda Reid called 100 Quickwrites .

2.  Keep consistent Writing Workshop routines.

I’m such a broken record with this idea of routines across the workshop models.  That’s because I’ve been in classrooms with clear routines and expectations and classrooms that do something different every day.  I’ve had years in my own teaching where I do a great job of setting up expectations and years where I drop the ball.  The difference is so incredibly evident.  Do your students and yourself for that matter a favor and decide how Writing Workshop “works” in your classroom.  Explicitly teach and model this at the beginning of the school year and stay consistent with those routines and expectations throughout.  Below are some questions to consider and think through when developing the routines and expectations for Writing Workshop in your classroom.

-Where are students taking notes during the minilesson?  What are students expected to write down? -Where can students sit and move during independent writing time?  How is movement organized?  Does the movement allow students to have a more productive writing atmosphere? -What is the voice volume expectation during independent writing time? -When do students have a chance to collaborative about their writing with other students? -How are students supposed to ask you a question about their writing if they have one? -How do writing conferences work?  Do you call the students over for them?  Can they sign up for writing conferences as needed? -How does guided writing work in your classroom? -What does sharing of writing look like in your classroom? -What are students supposed to do when they get “stuck” while writing?

*If you’re interested in my “Starting Writing Workshop in Middle School” product that will help you develop these routines and expectations, click  here.

3.  Model what you’re asking students to do as writers.

Make what goes on in your brain as a writer transparent to students.  Whatever you’re asking them to do as writers, you should be trying this out, too.  For example, this year I read the book, Killing Mr. Griffin , as an interactive read aloud to my 7th grade students.  After we finished the book, I asked them to take a part in the story that wasn’t told and write a “deleted scene.”  I wrote a deleted scene of my own, shared my brainstorming of ideas for deleted scenes, and completed the revision and editing process right alongside them as writers.  When you try out the writing you’re asking students to do, you’re able to anticipate struggles and stopping points and share those with students during the modeling portion of the minilesson.  Also, I’ve found students are much more willing to give writing a shot when they have a model to look at and see that their teacher has given it a try as well.  When you’re discussing your writing with students, it’s important to share what helped and what you struggled with.  It makes writing real and shows students that in order to achieve something, there will be bumps and struggles.  We have to teach students that the first time writing becomes difficult, there are ways to problem solve instead of putting down the pencil and stopping all-together.  The best way to do this is to share how we, as their teacher, overcame the same struggles they will face while writing in the same genre.  Students will be so much more willing to struggle through writing if they know that’s what writers do.  Chapter Two of Jeff Anderson’s book 10 Things Every Writer Needs to Know  is titled “Modeling” and gives so many great ideas for how to model writing for students.  I highly recommend this book!

We all have one or two students in our class who you are already thinking about and you’re saying, “Kasey, these are great tips and all, but you don’t even understand, I have this one student who _________.”  Would you believe that I get it?  In my class this year, I have one student who it is a constant struggle to get him to engage in anything.  I used trial and error this year, and by trial and error, I mean I ended up in constant error.  I was beginning to give up hope until one day I was working with this student one-on-one, going around and around with getting him to initiate a writing piece. At this point, I would have been happy with a paragraph, a sentence, to be honest, ANYTHING.  I was desperate.  That’s when an idea hit me, and I told him to go grab me a laptop.  For writing, I sometimes use Google Classroom and have my students turn in their drafts through that platform so that I can give them quick comments and look over what they’ve been working on at anytime.  I hopped on Google Classroom right to his draft, and I started typing to him on a Google Doc to prompt him to start writing.  He loved that I was prompting him right on his draft, and he began to type.  Then I would type another little prompt for him, and he would type some more.  This went on and on for over a half and hour and a through a full page of typing.  My heart was absolutely overjoyed, and I had legitimate tears in my eyes.  The best part of the whole thing though?  He was so proud of what HE had accomplished as a writer.  After struggling through weeks at the beginning of the school year with getting him to write, he now will try any writing assignment if I hop on a Google Doc with him and give him one or two little writing prompt nudges.  What’s funny is it seems like each writing assignment he relies on me less and less.  Below is a screen shot of his first “breakthrough” piece with my prompts in pink.  My point of this story is to NEVER GIVE UP on your most reluctant writers and just keep trying until something works.

5.  Build in intentional writing collaboration between students during the have-a-go and share.

Writing is a collaborative process.  Students who are able to voice their ideas and get excited about them will take more ownership in their writing.  Additionally, being able to orally talk about ideas and how those ideas will translate into writing will help writers with what to say so that the actual act of writing down those ideas is easier.  During different portions of the minilesson students need to know what is expected of them.  If they know there will be time to voice ideas and collaborate with their peers, it will be easier for them to remain silent in the parts of the minilesson where silence is needed as much as the collaboration is needed during other parts.

Minilesson Statement/Author’s Talk: Silence while the teacher explains today’s objective.

Modeling: Silence while the teaching is modeling the concept and participation when asked for by the teacher.

Have-a-go: Student collaboration as they are asked to complete a task that will scaffold the minilesson prior to students taking on the concept independently.

Application: SILENCE.  Writers need a quiet space to concentrate and write.  The teacher may be holding writing conferences or a guided reading group in part of the classroom, but this is the only talking that is happening.

Share:  This is the chance for students to share and ask questions about the work they’ve done as writers today.

6.  Have students collect and categorize “writing gems.”

Connect the reading and writing processes by having students read through the lens of writers.  If students view the authors of their independent reading books as writing mentors, they can view the authors as models to strive for in their own writing.  Have students pretend they are on a scavenger hunt while reading, and if they happen to come across something the writer does that strikes them, don’t just read over it and forget its beauty, take the time to jot down that idea to reference later when coming up with ideas for their own writing.  Students can keep writing gem lists in their Writer’s Notebooks on topics such as: dialogue tags, ways to describe characters’ appearances, ways to describe setting, transitions, figurative language, etc.  The writing gem lists can be on any topic, and they come in handy when students get “stuck” in their writing or can’t think of how to make their writing better during the revision process.  I got the idea of having my students keep lists of writing gems in Chapter Three of Jeff Anderson’s book, Mechanically Inclined .  This idea, along with so many others contained in this book, has been instrumental in helping me form Writing Workshop in my middle school classroom.

Every writer in your classroom has places he or she can improve and places he or she did well in each piece of writing.  As teachers, it’s our job to lift and progress our students as writers.  When I give feedback to my students, I try to write at least one specific thing the student did well as a writer and one specific thing the student could do to make his/her writing better.  Students need both and should feel confident in their identity as writers while also knowing that there are always places writers can grow.

8.  Don’t fix everything in writing conferences.  (Have students pick one line of thinking)

If students know that they can come to you for a writing conference at any time and you will “fix” all of their errors and tell them what to improve, why would they ever engage in revision on their own?  When a student comes to me for a writing conference, I ask that he/she comes to the conference with a clear focus of what he/she would like feedback on.  As I’m reading over a student’s writing, I may also see something I want to bring up to the student.  However, I may also see ten things I want to bring up with the student.  It’s times like these where I need to ask myself how I’m going to make the biggest difference.  Hypothetically speaking, do I want to teach the student how to fish or give him/her fish to eat?  Yes, I could easily fix everything to make that one piece of writing perfect, but am I doing this student any favors when he/she goes to write the next piece of writing?  I would rather my students learn something as writers that they will transfer into the current piece of writing and future pieces of writing.  The next time around, we’ll focus our line of thinking on something else.  The best book I’ve ever read on writing conferences is Carl Anderson’s How’s It Going?, a must read for any teacher who wants to make writing conferences count.

Think back to college when you were in the library and everyone around you was intently studying and typing essays.  Even though it was silent, you were still able to feed off of the energy of others because them working hard inspired you to work hard.  I try to re-create this same effect in my classroom.  If everyone is working hard as writers during independent writing time, it’s a domino effect of contagious energy without anyone uttering a word.

10.  Accept that students’ writing will look different from one another.

The advanced students in your class shouldn’t have limits placed on their writing.  If you are expecting everyone to turn in a similar piece of writing, you are putting a ceiling on writing that might have included something you didn’t even consider.  On the flip side, the only way you’re going to get the writing of students who struggle significantly to look the same as the perfect picture in your mind is if you “revise” their writing for them until it looks the way YOU want it to look.  Writing is a continuum of learning, and your students are going to fall in different places on that continuum.  I would rather see where students are at independently so that I know what to do to challenge and support them next.

11.  Teach students to use mentor texts as resources to mimic.

If you’re having students write in a specific genre, it’s helpful to have a “staple” mentor text that you’re using throughout the writing process.  The students will get to know this mentor text, and you won’t have to waste time reading different mentor texts each day.  I find many of the questions I get from students during independent writing time can be answered through the mentor text.  For example, if a student asked, “How should I start my fiction story?” my response could be, “It looks like the author of this fiction story began with dialogue between two of the characters.  What do you think about that idea?”  Students love when they can see a mentor text that gives them tangible ideas of things they could try in their own writing.  For me in my classroom, most of my mentor texts are samples of my own writing.  Below is an example of my “deleted scene” from the book Killing Mr. Griffin  that I used as a mentor text while my students were writing their deleted scenes.

12.  Have a way students can ask you questions when you’re busy with other students.

Students must learn quickly in Writing Workshop that I am not available at the drop of a hat.  When I’m in a writing conference or a guided writing group, the only time I would expect to be interrupted by another student is in the case of an emergency.  I do acknowledge though that a student may have a burning question.  A new technique I’ve implemented this school year is having students write their questions down on a sticky note and leaving them silently with me at the small group table.  I can then decide if it’s a question I should address quickly in between writing conferences or something I can answer at the end of the class period.  Having students write their questions on a Post-it note also encourages students to question whether or not the question is worth asking at all.  We all know a few students who need a little practice at that. 🙂

13.  Work intentionally to build students’ confidence, stamina, and self-initiation for writing.

These three areas are the keys to creating independent writers in your classroom.  One of my favorite ways to do this is an idea from Jeff Anderson’s book, 10 Things Every Writer Should Know  called “Power Writing.”  This is a great routine to start at the beginning of the year where you would write two different words on the board and give students a short time frame (start with one minute) to write as much as they can about whatever comes to mind because of one of the words.  Have students count up how many words they’ve written and work to improve their word count as the year goes on.

14.  Watch your language. 

Pay close attention to what you say to your students when it’s time for them to begin independent writing.  My favorite “send-off” line is “do your best writing today.”  I’m not telling them that their writing has to look identical to mine or it’s unacceptable, but I’m also not telling them to just freely write whatever they want and forget about all those things they know how to do as writers.  I’m simply asking them to do their best, which holds high expectations without over intimidating our student writers.

15.  Focus on conventions without letting conventions be the only focus.  (Express Lane Edits)

Remember the SIX Traits of Writing?  Ideas, Sentence Fluency, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, and Conventions.  There are six traits because each trait is pivotal to having effective writing.  I truly think some people believe proper grammar will automatically equal phenomenal writing.  The effect is sometimes our students gets so freaked out that their not “doing it right” that they completely lose control over the other five traits while focusing only on conventions.  I would rather my students get a lot of ideas down and get creative with their word choice and infuse voice that have everything perfect.

 Please hear me here.  I do value conventions.  Horrible conventions can erase a strong voice or a great idea because the reader is so focused on the disastrous spelling or the run-on sentences.  One way that I love to combat this is through the use of Express Lane Edits, another hack from Jeff Anderson.  At the end of a writing period, I ask students to look through their current draft using one lens.  For instance, I may ask them to read over their draft and evaluate their use of commas.  Each day, I can incorporate an informal Express Lane Edit while students are drafting and revising.  This is the perfect way to keep the focus a focus on conventions while keeping the other traits alive, too.

16.  Get students to please themselves as writers, not you.

This tip is crystal clear, and when you ask yourself who your students are trying to please and notice their behaviors during independent writing, you will know the answer right away.  The more we can shift away from our students writing to please us to our students writing to please themselves, the more independent our writers will become.

17.  Make sure the minilessons you use have a clear focus.

If during a class period you’re finding many of your students are unclear about how they’re supposed to apply the minilesson to their independent writing, ask yourself how clear the minilesson was.  Maybe it was way too broad of a minilesson and you’re asking students to do ten things at once to their writing, or maybe your modeling was confusing.  Whatever the case may be, sometimes we have to take responsibility for students not being independent in their writing because we’re not being clear in our teaching.

18.  Support writing instruction through other contexts. 

Why not study how writers use dialogue conventions through Sentence Stalking when your class is writing fiction stories and you know they’ll be incorporating a ton of dialogue?

If your having students write a memoir, why not read a memoir during Interactive Read Aloud?

If we’re using a true Balanced Literacy framework, all aspects of literacy should connect together.  We can make our student writers more independent by strategically embedding content that will help them as writers through other contexts.

19.  Take time for self-reflection of writing behaviors. 

Ask students to answer writing self-reflection questions independently, respond in writing, talk them over with a partner or a small group, discuss them as a class, hold up their fingers on a scale of 1-5, etc. to self-evaluate their writing behaviors for the day, etc.  Asking students questions such as the ones listed below on a consistent basis will help students take responsibility for their writing through the behaviors their exhibiting in class.

-Was I a self-initiator of my writing today within the first two minutes of independent writing time? -Did I help to make quiet, contagious, positive writing energy in the classroom today? -Did I get stationed right away and focus on my own writing without interrupting the writing of others? -Did I write the entire time, only taking breaks to think of new ideas?

20.  Have different writing contexts throughout the year.  

Writing should not always be done in the same way.  Think of your life and the different contexts you are expected to perform in as a writer across a week’s time period.  We should mimic this same effect for our students to teach them that writing is done for a variety of purposes.

-Different genres -Variety of time contexts (day, two-day, week, 3-4 weeks) -Writing Process Variation (emphasis should be placed on different pieces of the writing process for different pieces of writing) -Choice vs. No Choice (sometimes writing is done for a prompt, sometimes writing is completely a free choice, sometimes there is choice within a genres, etc.) -Different audiences -Different levels of formality -Different technologies

Well, there you have it!  Twenty ways to get your students to become the writers you have always dreamed they would become through finding their independence and seeing themselves as a real writer with authentic ideas and important things to say.

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• 11 Plus Creative Writing – Example Topics and Tasks

11 Plus Creative Writing – Example Topics and Tasks

Schools can of course ask anything so these example tasks shouldn’t be used as stock answers.

Pupils will however find that developing a full description bank of characters, emotions, action, the natural world and the built environment etc will help them to deliver effective and creative descriptions on the day.

Using those description banks within these sample stories will help them to develop their work further and enable them to embed their thoughts so they can deliver properly on the day.

Remember if you are going to tackle any of these sample writing topics and tasks you should always plan to revisit your work a few days after you have done it. As part of the process children who often re-write their work to improve it find they make better progress.

Good resources to help with creative writing are rare. If you need help then we do recommend this creative writing preparation course . Since we started recommending it we have had very good feedback from our users, whether they have used it to prepare for an 11 Plus exam or an Independent entry test.

11 Plus creative writing example topics list

The following topics and tasks have come up in either in grammar school or independent school 11 plus writing tests:

Core themes for creative writing topics and tasks:

Many stories have core themes or emotions or feelings within them. When developing your descriptions banks these are useful areas to think about:

Animals – Typically describe your pet or your favourite animal or an animal you are frightened of. Be prepared to be use literary devices like personification or exaggeration or even simple similes to bring your description to life.

Emotions and feelings – Stories often include a requirement to describe emotion like fear, or joy or what it feels like to be lost or alone. They could easily ask you to describe enjoyment through a title like My brilliant day. Sometimes the titles may overtly lead you in a very clear direction. Lost ! and Alone! Are two previous examples that have come up.

Activities you enjoy doing – This is chance to describe the activity itself ( whatever you like from mountaineering to gardening and everything in between) plus how it makes you feel. Again your development of description banks should have helped you.

The natural world – Could be hills or mountains, rivers or streams or lightning or the rain or the feeling of sunshine or how a meadow looks or a field of wheat. Children who cover the natural world in their descriptions development work always find it useful.

The built environment – Think houses or offices blocks or cottages or castles.  Roads and bridges, churches and sheds.  Developing some thoughts about how to describe the built environment is always useful.

Story Titles:

Story titles can be long or short.  Here are some examples of story titles which have come up in both Grammar School and Independent School tests.

• The Day Trip
• The Broken Window
• The Abandoned House
• The Voice in the Darkness
• Write a story with Alone as the title, where you suddenly realise that you are on your own.  It may be a true or entirely made up, but it should include your thoughts and feelings as well as what happened.
• Write a story (true or made up) about a visit you make to some relations of your own.
• Write a letter to a cousin inviting him to stay with you. You should try and interest him in some of the varied and unusual activities he can take part in.
• Describe a situation which you have experienced which might also be called A Magical Moment, showing what your thoughts and feelings are.
• Write a clear description of an animal you know well.  Make sure you describe what it does and how it behaves as well as what it looks like.
• I prefer Winter to Spring.
• The door and what was behind it.
• The Prince of Darkness is a Gentleman.
• Ash on an old man’s sleeve.
• Write a story that begins with the words – I had been waiting for such a long time for this to happen.
• Write a description of someone you admire.  (You may choose someone you actually know, or someone you have never met.  Describe them and explain why you admire them).

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Independent Schools Entrance Examinations Preparation

Creative writing advice.

Creative writing for the 11+ will require you to write an extended piece of writing in the form of prose, either from a picture stimulus or providing you with a title for the story.

Creative Writing Task

This article provides advice for students who will undertake the creative writing task in the  11 plus entrance examinations for independent schools .

Creative writing for the 11+ will require you to write an extended piece of writing in the form of prose, either from a picture stimulus or providing you with a title for the story. Both types of task will examine your ability to plan, create and then write in a structured manner.

You may be given just one title or picture to write from or you could be given a set of options from which you choose your preferred one. Some schools may present the creative writing task at the end of a comprehension exercise where you are asked to continue the part of the story in a similar style.

What is the examiner looking for?

Creative writing skills include the following components:

• Effective planning
• Creativity/imagination
• A fluent and interesting writing style
• Correct use of punctuation including the use of advanced punctuation
• Correct use of English grammar
• Correct spellings
• An extensive and interesting vocabulary
• A well-structured piece of writing

There will be a specified time given for the writing task. The length of this will vary between schools. Ensure that you know what this is and keep an eye on your progress in order to be able to finish in time and include a check of your work.

1. Planning

Never just start writing. Planning will help you to organise your thoughts and this will give your writing structure.

It really does not need to take long but is always five minutes well spent. This planning time may form part of the whole time given to write or it may be an extra 5 minutes provided at the start before the writing is timed.

Use a planning technique that works well for you e.g. flow-chart, mind map, spider diagram or story mountain. If you do run out of writing time you can ask the examiner to refer to your plan to see how you would have ended your work.

2. Using your creativity/imagination

Some people are naturally creative with words and plot lines and find this skill easy. However, your imagination can be greatly improved by reading a variety of books. Ask us for a recommended reading list which we will happily provide.

3. Fluent writing style

Your writing style is unique to you. It should demonstrate coherence and an ability to write in an entertaining manner that creates such an interest for the reader that they want to continue reading.

4. Punctuation

You will be expected to use all the correct punctuation marks in a piece of creative writing.

Apart from the standard simple forms of punctuation, you will already be familiar with, it is best to also demonstrate your knowledge and correct use of some of the less commonly used punctuation marks e.g. ellipses(…), brackets( ), colons(:), semi-colons(;), hyphens(–) and apostrophes(‘).

English Grammar follows rules and you will be expected to use them correctly in your writing. It is important that you do not write as you may speak or as you communicate in a text message.

All sentences should be complete and make entire sense on their own, using the correct tense consistently. Use a variety of sentence structures, in addition to simple sentences, including compound and complex sentences to showcase your abilities.

6. Spellings

The use of correct spelling is essential in any form of writing. Reading a lot will improve your spelling ability as well as playing some word games e.g. Scrabble .

Although a dictionary will not be allowed to be used in a test, make looking up spellings in a dictionary part of your 11+ preparation.

7. Vocabulary

An extensive and interesting vocabulary takes years to develop.

It is very useful to keep a vocabulary list to extend a child’s vocabulary and the best method is to read numerous books and look out for new words that you can use in your writing.

Keeping a word list of new words is useful and this can be added to when reading books or during lessons either here or at school. When you are practising your writing skills, use a thesaurus to improve and extend your vocabulary and make an effort to include lots of interesting adjectives and adverbs.

8. Structure

It is important to demonstrate that your writing has a structure in the form of clearly demarcated paragraphs that are organised by characters, topic and time.

Ensure that you have a good opening paragraph to draw the reader in and then a suitable closing paragraph to conclude your writing.

Checking your work

Always leave enough time at the end of your writing to check your use of spelling, punctuation, grammar, use of tenses and sentence construction.

Read through carefully with a critical eye and carefully, neatly correct any errors or omissions.

Although your handwriting is not usually included in the creative writing grade it will certainly influence decisions made about your work.

Following this creative writing advice and you’ll soon see your writing improve.

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Home » School » Pre-Prep » Academic » How to Engage your Child in Creative Writing

How to Engage your Child in Creative Writing

By Independent School Parent | Thu 22nd Feb 2018

https://www.independentschoolparent.com/school/creative-writing/

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Above, allow children to approach creative writing in their own unique way

Giulia Rhodes meets the schools celebrating the cathartic power and experimental joy of creative writing

A h ighlight of the busy school week for Jo Akrill, English teacher at Dulwich College , is the creative writing group, Wordsmiths. Students aged 11 to 16 gather in a small group to think, talk, listen to each other and, of course, to write.

Beyond the restrictions of the classroom curriculum and outside the usual friendship circles, form sets and year groups, “something really special happens”, says Akrill. Creative writing, she argues, is an opportunity for pupils who enjoy words to explore ideas and find a voice.

Crucially, activities are usually very open-ended. “We are not saying, ‘this is what I want you to do’. They can just engage with the writing however they want to.”

Wordsmiths is one of several initiatives at Dulwich College to promote creative writing. Others include a Sixth Form group in conjunction with another local school, outings, off-timetable days, author visits and competitions.

The rewards, Akrill says, are obvious. “There are hard skills for studies and the world of work beyond.” Last year, a pupil was short-listed for the Orwell Youth Prize, a national writing competition, after which he met established writers and took part in debates. “He gained journalism and presentation skills, and is now writing for the school magazine.”

A sense of their uniqueness

However, the benefits of creative writing extend far beyond the directly academic. “It provides an opportunity to link the academic and the well-being. Students can develop their sense of self,” Akrill adds. Not only can young writers present their own thoughts, but they also have an opportunity to take on different roles.

The chance to be themselves, or someone else as they choose can be very appealing. She explains, “We can allow students to ditch concerns about projecting certain characteristics. I see pupils who may not even think of themselves as academic or good at English really develop a sense of their own uniqueness.”

With alumnae including Raymond Chandler and P.G. Wodehouse, inspiration is not hard to find. At Portsmouth High School , there is also a rich literary heritage to exploit – Arthur Conan Doyle began his career as a writer while practising as a doctor close to the school, striking up a friendship with its then Headteacher.

After studying the author’s Hound of the Baskervilles and listening to a talk from a Portsmouth University forensic scientist, attended by all Key Stage Three pupils – “which was quite gory and they loved it,” says Head of English, Yvonne Williams – Year Nine students were challenged to write their own detective fiction.

Exploring different paths

“We value creative writing so highly, because we want to allow the girls to follow a creative path right across the curriculum and in society,” says Williams. “But also we see emotional benefits to asking ‘what if?’ questions. Students have the chance to take themselves along different emotional paths without having to face consequences.”

For many pupils, the enjoyment of experimenting with language and different types of writing is huge. “Creative writing is not just about putting words on a page,” she says. “Poetry, articles, scripts, blogs, radio pieces: the girls can write anything.”

Williams, who is disappointed by the government decision (in 2015) to discontinue A-Level Creative Writing, is determined to build on the culture of writing in the school. Flash fiction – meeting a predetermined short word count – is currently very popular, she says.

Lateral thinking, sense of structure, empathy, persuasion and expression are all honed by creative writing, but the process is different to other subjects. The results, Williams says, are very accomplished. Jo Akrill agrees. “Some of the writing is incredible, with a real sense of ease and flow. Young people can certainly give adult writers a real run for their money!”

How to encourage a young writer

• Allow your child to articulate ideas. Play word games, offer story starters and experiment with language and structure.

• Encourage enjoyment of different types of writing – from novels and poetry, to journalism and film.

• Writing needn’t be lengthy. Flash fiction (try 50 words) can be witty and precise, and appeals to those who don’t want to write reams.

• Creative writing can be about anything, but personal interests are a good starting point.

• Enjoy what your child has written. You are their first audience, but accept that not all writing is created to be shared!

• Encourage and inspire your child, but never insist.

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Home › Study Tips › Creative Writing Resources For Secondary School Students

Creative Writing Prompts For High School Students – 12 Categories

• Published January 3, 2023

Table of Contents

Are you a high school student struggling to find inspiration for your creative writing assignments? Do you feel like you’re stuck in a rut and can’t seem to come up with new and exciting ideas? If so, you’re not alone. 

Many students struggle with coming up with ideas for creative writing, especially when they feel pressure to produce something original and engaging. 

But the good news is that there are ways to break through the block and find inspiration for your writing. 

For instance, by attending our award-winning creative writing summer programme , you’ll learn how to conquer the fear of the blank page. How? By learning proven formulas for creating brilliant stories. 

Another way to have that creative spark is to use creative writing prompts. 

This article will provide creative high school students like yourself with a list of creative writing prompts. So you’ll get the inspiration you need to get into the flow and start writing!

What are Writing Prompts?

Writing prompts are ideas that help writers overcome writer’s block and get started with their writing. They can come in various forms, including a

• Or series of questions. 

Creative writing prompts get your creative juices flowing. When you encounter a writing prompt, it encourages you to start writing!

What types of writing, you ask? It can be anything from fiction writing to essay writing. Creative writing prompts are even used to get you started with freewriting in your daily journal.

So you see, many writers find writing prompts a quick and easy way to begin a new writing project. Or to overcome writer’s block when they are stuck.

How Do You Use Writing Prompts?

There are many different ways to use writing prompts. Here are a few ideas:

Use writing prompts to start a new writing project. 

Are you having trouble coming up with ideas for a new writing project? Try using a writing prompt to get started. You can use a writing prompt as the starting point for a 

• Short story
• Essay, or any other type of writing.

Use writing prompts to overcome writer’s block. 

Stuck on a particular piece of writing and can’t seem to move forward? Use writing prompts to brainstorm on how to proceed!

Use writing prompts to practice your writing skills. 

As the old adage says, practice makes perfect! You can use writing prompts to practice different writing techniques or styles. Or try out different writing genres!

Use writing prompts to challenge yourself. 

You can use writing prompts to push yourself out of your comfort zone and try writing about things you might not usually write about.

Say your comfort zone is writing fantasy stories. And you want to try something new. Why not use scary writing prompts as a starting point?

To use a writing prompt, choose a prompt that interests you and start writing. There are no hard and fast rules about how to use writing prompts – the important thing is to just start writing and see where the prompt takes you!

Creative Writing Prompts High School Students will Love

Write a story about a character who:

• discovers a mysterious, abandoned house in the woods  
• suddenly gains the power of time travel
• has to confront their greatest fear
• is given the opportunity to live in a different time period
• discovers a secret underground society
• is given a magical object that can grant wishes.

Or, check out the other prompts too:

• Write a poem about a summer day you will never forget.
• Imagine that you are stranded on a deserted island. Write a story about your experience.
• Write a letter to your future self ten years from now.
• Imagine that you are a detective trying to solve a mysterious crime. Write a story about your investigation.

Creative High School Poetry Writing Prompts

Write a poem about a/an:

• summer romance you will never forget
• memorable experience you had with a friend
• place that holds special meaning for you
• moment of clarity or realisation that you had
• person who has had a significant impact on your life
• object that holds special meaning for you
• dream that you had and can’t seem to forget
• time when you felt completely lost
• time when you felt completely free
• moment of beauty that you witnessed

Writing Prompts with an Element of Suspense

• is being stalked by an unknown assailant
• wakes up with no memory of the past 24 hours
• receives a series of mysterious, threatening letters
• discovers a hidden room in their house filled with grotesque objects
• is trapped in a strange, unfamiliar place
• is being pursued by a dangerous, unknown entity
• is being watched by an unknown pair of eyes
• is being followed by a shadowy figure
• hears strange noises in the middle of the night
• finds a mysterious, unmarked package on their doorstep

Writing Prompts for Stories That Start with Dialogue

Start your story with a conversation between two characters who are:

• meeting for the first time
• meeting each other for the first time in ten years after graduation
• trying to solve a problem
• discussing a secret
• trying to keep a secret from someone else
• discussing their future plans
• trying to make amends after a misunderstanding
• reminiscing about the past
• trying to persuade each other of something

Writing Prompts That Ask “What if?”

What if you:

• woke up one morning with the ability to fly? How would you use this ability?
• could time travel? Where would you go and why?
• woke up one day to find that everyone in the world had switched bodies? How would you cope with this?
• could read minds? How would you use this ability?
• suddenly had access to unlimited wealth? How would you use this wealth?
• could talk to animals? How would this change your life?
• were the only person on Earth who knew how to speak a certain language? How would you use this knowledge?
• could turn invisible at will? How would you use this power?
• developed the ability to communicate with the spirits of the dead? How would this change your life?
• could teleport anywhere in the world instantly? How would you use this ability?

Funny Writing Prompts for High School

• wakes up to find that they’ve turned into a giant chicken
• has a magic lamp that grants them absurd wishes
• becomes the world’s worst superhero
• accidentally becomes the president of the United States
• is chased by a giant hamster
• discovers that their reflection is actually an alternate dimension
• becomes a world-famous rapper after a misunderstanding at a karaoke bar
• becomes the world’s worst detective
• is constantly followed by a cloud of bees
• becomes the world’s worst secret agent

Do you have a brother or sister in middle school? Our middle school writing prompts are a great way for them to get into the flow of creative writing effectively.

Journal Prompts for High School Creative Writing

• Write about a time when:
• you felt particularly proud of yourself
• you had to confront your greatest fear
• you had a moment of clarity or realisation
• you felt that life was wonderful
• Write about a place that holds special meaning for you.
• Write about a person who has significantly impacted your life.
• Write about a moment of beauty that you witnessed.
• Write about a dream you had and can’t forget.
• Write about a memorable experience you had with a friend.

Non-Fiction Writing Prompts

Write an essay about a/an:

• significant event in your life and how it has impacted you
• person who has inspired you and why
• current issue that is important to you and why
• time when you had to overcome a challenge and how you did it
• place that you have visited and why it was meaningful to you
• hobby or activity that you are passionate about and why
• book, movie, or TV show that has had a significant impact on you and why
• social issue that you feel strongly about and what you are doing to make a difference
• goal that you have set for yourself and how you plan to achieve it
• person who has made a positive impact on your community and how they did it

Adventurous Short Story Prompts

Write a story about a character who goes on a:

• solo hike in the wilderness and becomes lost
• treasure hunt and faces unexpected challenges along the way
• safari and encounters a rare and dangerous animal
• white water rafting trip and gets stranded in the wilderness
• mountain climbing expedition and faces unexpected challenges
• scuba diving trip and discovers a hidden underwater world
• hot air balloon ride and gets carried away by the wind
• skydiving trip and has to make an emergency landing
• parasailing trip and gets caught in a storm
• snowboarding trip and gets caught in an avalanche

Science Fiction Short Story Prompts

• Write a story about a character who is:
•  given a device that can predict the future
•  the only survivor of an alien invasion
• recruited by a secret organization to fight against an alien threat
• the only one who can communicate with newly-discovered alien species
• the only one who can stop a group of rebels from taking over the world
• the only one who can save the world from an asteroid heading towards Earth
• the only human on a distant planet
• Write a story about a character who travels through time and encounters their future self.
• Write a story about a character discovering a portal to an alternate dimension.
• Write a story about a character who is given a device that allows them to control time.

Scary Short Story Prompts

• Write a story about a character who is 
• being stalked by a demon
• trapped in a haunted house
• haunted by the ghost of a loved one
• terrorized by a clown
• Write a story about a character who
• discovers a cursed object and starts having strange, terrifying experiences
• starts seeing strange, supernatural creatures in their dreams
• hears a lady cry every night, but no one is there
• notices a strange doll appear in their house, not knowing where it came from
• listens to neighbours report they’ve been seeing a toddler running around the house, but your character lives alone

Fantasy Short Story Prompts

• Write a story about a character who 
• discovers that they are a witch or wizard with magical powers
• finds out they are the chosen one, destined to save the world from an ancient evil
• realises they are a fairy or other mythical creature
• is given a magical object that can grant wishes
• discovers a magic book with secrets to the universe
• receives a magical potion that transforms them into a different creature
• accidentally stumbles into a world where everything is the opposite of what they know
• gains a legendary staff that gives them the power to control the elements
• enters a magical, mythical land ruled by an evil king
• discovers that they are the reincarnation of a mythical hero

Need more Creative Writing prompts? Check out this article entitled “ 308 Creative Writing Prompts To Unlock Your Writing Skills .”

How Else Can I Improve My Creative Writing Skills?

1. read widely.

Reading improves your writing skills by exposing you to different 

• And Techniques you can incorporate into your own writing.

Did you know reading widens your vocabulary? It does! And vocabulary is an essential aspect of effective writing. The more words you know, the more effectively you can communicate your ideas.

Also, reading helps improve your comprehension and critical thinking skills. Both of these are valuable for analysing and synthesising information. So you’ll learn how to present ideas clearly in your writing.

2. Write Regularly…and Don’t Stop!

Think of writing as a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it becomes! Writing regularly makes you feel more comfortable and confident. 

What’s more, it helps you develop your own voice and style. Once you hone the aspects that make you unique , you’ll stand out more! 

Writing regularly also gives you a better sense of what works and what doesn’t. And you’ll be able to refine your writing accordingly. 

The more you write, the better you will become at it. So maximise our creative writing prompts and make time to write every day. Even if it’s just for a few minutes!

3. Experiment with Different Writing Styles

Do you know that experimenting with different writing styles and techniques expands your writing skills? Why? Because doing so makes you a versatile writer. Able to adapt your style to different situations and audiences. 

For example, writing poems even when you’re not used to poetry-writing forces you to think . To imagine and create! As a result? You get out of your comfort zone and explore. And you’re better able to reimagine your craft. 

What are the common writing styles?

• Descriptive – often uses similes and metaphors to help the reader experience the writing (e.g. songs, poems)
• Narrative – flashbacks and foreshadowing are common elements of a narrative style with a clear, fleshed-out plot (e.g. novels)
• Or Persuasive writing – convinces the reader to believe what the writer believes (e.g. essays, sales copy)

4. Join a Writing Community!

What better way to keep you motivated than by joining a writing community? A writing community provides support and encouragement. Being surrounded by like-minded folks passionate about writing can be a great source of inspiration!

Plus, you’ll be exposed to different writing styles and techniques. Which can help you expand your horizon and help you become a more versatile writer.

Joining a writing community can also be a great way to get feedback on your writing. Helping you identify areas for improvement. 

Finally, do you know a writing community can be a great source of information and resources? Members often share valuable writing tips and strategies.

5. Enrol In A Creative Writing Course

What is one of the most effective methods in fast-tracking you to massive improvement in your writing skills? Taking a creative writing course!

Why does taking a creative writing course help you improve your writing skills? Because you’ll learn from experienced writers. While having the opportunity to practice writing under the watchful eye of expert tutors. 

Creative writing prompts are useful for high school students looking for inspiration for new and original ideas. You can overcome writer’s block by tapping into your creativity in a new and exciting way.

These prompts will challenge and inspire you. So give them a try and see what amazing stories and ideas you can come up with!

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2023’s Best Creative Writing Prompts for Middle School Students

26 Dec, 2023 | Blog Articles , English Language Articles , Get the Edge , Writing Articles

The Best Middle School Creative Writing Prompts of 2023

Imaginary worlds.

1. A boy wakes up one day and all modern technology has disappeared – nobody but him remembers it ever existing.

2. A woman meets an assortment of people who appear to be characters straight from her novel.

3. While on a school trip, a group of friends get lost and discover a bridge that leads to another world.

4. A girl wakes up one day and is transported to a world where children are leaders and adults are forced to go to school.

5. A crazy scientist discovers that magic is real and sets about proving it.

Mystery and suspense

1. Students in a school class are disappearing. One student realises they’re disappearing in the order their names are read out in the register. He has to work out what’s happening before his name is next.

2. A couple go missing the night before their wedding, leaving behind a trail of clues. It’s up to the best-man and the bridesmaid to solve the mystery before the big day.

3. A man wakes up in a strange room with no memory. The only clue he has about his former life is a diary written in code.

4. A girl buys a necklace from a flea market and quickly realises it used to belong to a murder victim. She believes the necklace holds the clues to catching the killer.

5. A boy’s vivid dreams begin to come true in real life.

Magical adventures

1. A girl is tasked with finding the last living giant in a world that doesn’t believe they ever existed.

2. A young King Arthur wakes up in the body of a schoolboy in 2023.

3. A medieval knight discovers a smartphone that has been left behind by a time traveller and uses it to outwit his enemies.

4. A modern woman discovers she’s a witch and begins to curse people who wrong her.

5. A girl discovers she’s the direct descendent of a group of evil sorcerers.

Historical journeys

1. A girl’s family cat transports her to ancient Egypt.

2. The model who posed for Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa wakes up in the present day and has to deal with being the most recognisable figure in the world.

3. A boy finds himself on a 16th-century pirate ship and has to befriend his new shipmates.

4. A girl wakes up in Pompeii days before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and has to convince the townspeople to flee their homes.

5. A boy finds himself in Elizabethan England and must convince a young William Shakespeare not to give up on writing.

Outer space and sci-fi

1. When a boy’s parents are replaced by aliens, it’s up to him to uncover the truth.

2. A group of friends discover a portal that leads to a planet which looks identical to Earth, but isn’t what it seems.

3. A woman discovers that her boss has been colluding with an alien race in order to take over the world.

4. An evil billionaire creates an army of robots in order to take over the planet. A group of amateur hackers decide they can hack the system and prevent destruction.

5. A developer launches a virtual-reality game so realistic that people begin to worry that he has actually created an alternate universe.

Everyday adventures

1. When a town with a small population completely floods, it’s up to the handful of residents to protect themselves and each other.

2. A car chase between an ordinary truck driver and a gang of criminals spans the length of America.

3. A group of hikers become trapped in a cave and don’t have long before their supplies run out completely.

4. A man witnesses a murder while working as a delivery driver in the small hours of the morning.

5. A woman discovers a conspiracy within the company she works for and seeks to uncover it.

Family and relationships

1. A family is made to wrestle with a dark and shocking discovery about their ancestors.

2. An estranged mother and daughter are forced to reconnect when one of them is diagnosed with a rare, terminal illness.

3. A successful politician deals privately with the abrupt end of her marriage.

4. A woman meets the love of her life on her travels and has to decide whether to go back home or move to a new country.

5. A brother and a sister put their differences aside to help support their ageing mother.

Magical creatures

1. A boy finds a unicorn living at the bottom of his garden, but only he can see it.

2. Siblings discover that their mum is secretly a witch.

3. A girl discovers that all the pictures she draws of mythical creatures come alive.

4. A boy gets lost in the woods and is adopted by a family of giants.

5. A wicked witch turns a boy into a frog to punish him for bullying his schoolmates.

Humorous adventures

1. A boy who hates studying history gets sent back in time.

2. A man is mistaken for a celebrity and gets to live his dream.

3. An escaped convict accidentally finds themselves on a reality TV show.

4. A vampire who loves human blood but is otherwise a strict vegan.

5. A teenager who is addicted to social media wakes up in a time before technology.

Superhero scenarios

1. A superhero has to get an office job because they run out of money.

2. A girl with the power to predict the future has to decide whether to use her powers to get rich or to help others.

3. An elderly man discovers he has super strength.

4. A superhero with the ability to read minds tries to foil the evil plans of a popular presidential candidate.

5. A girl discovers she has superpowers but only for one day a week and she forgets she has powers for the rest of the week.

Dystopian worlds

1. The wealthiest people in the world stage a fake apocalypse so they can create a new society in which they’ll be powerful forever.

2. The government announces that due to overpopulation, having children will be made illegal. A woman discovers she is pregnant and must go on the run.

3. A new continent is discovered that’s been secretly running the rest of the world.

4. A war breaks out in which robots fight instead of soldiers, but one person discovers that the soldiers are, in fact, real people.

5. In the year 2090, technology has been banned and people live simpler but harder lives. The final generation of people who remember technology come up with a plan to bring it back.

Time travel tales

1. A boy goes back in time to save his parents who tragically died when he was a baby.

2. A girl wakes up in an ancient civilisation and is hailed as a mythical Goddess because of her strange, modern clothes and her phone.

3. A boy who is struggling with his maths homework goes back in time and is tutored by the ancient Greek mathematicians.

4. A brother and sister travel back to Victorian England and realise how differently they’re treated because of their gender.

5. A boy travels back to the 1960s and accidentally stops The Beatles from forming.

Survival stories

1. A group of friends must save their classmates when their teachers are killed by a mysterious force during a school trip.

2. Passengers on a train are held hostage and it’s up to one woman to save the day.

3. After retreating to an underground bunker during a nuclear disaster, three friends begin to run out of supplies and have to decide whether it’s safe to emerge.

4. While a group of friends are camping in the woods, they are attacked and imprisoned by a group of criminals and must escape.

5. When a group of influencers are stranded on a luxury desert island, they must battle the elements and each other to survive.

Monstrous adventures

1. A ghost begins terrorising a group of friends at a boarding school.

2. A group of hikers come face to face with a troll who is intent on feeding them to his family.

3. A girl wakes up in Transylvania and must outwit an evil vampire who is luring locals to his castle.

4. A friendly giant is appalled by the behaviour of his family and tries to save the local humans they trap.

5. A schoolteacher turns out to be a werewolf and is preying upon the pupils he dislikes most.

With the help of our creative writing prompts, you’re just a step away from beginning your own storytelling journey. 

Remember, all your favourite books started out as just a flash of inspiration!

Sam is a recent English graduate from the University of Bristol whose interests include twentieth-century fiction, film, and cultural criticism.

Hone your creative writing skills this summer!

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Extracurriculars.

Creative Writing Opportunities for High School Students

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With our free chancing engine, admissions timeline, and personalized recommendations, our free guidance platform gives you a clear idea of what you need to be doing right now and in the future.

If you’re a high school student interested in creative writing, you may or may not have a number of broad extracurricular options to pursue during the school year, depending on your school. You might be a part of your school’s literary magazine, or participate in creative writing workshops. Maybe you are lucky enough to attend a school with dedicated creative writing classes or poetry electives.

But what if your school doesn’t seem to offer much for students who want to pursue creative writing? Or what if you don’t even know where to begin looking? How can you keep your momentum headed towards your goal or otherwise use your time productively if you passionate about creative writing?

There are many activities available to high school students who enjoy creative writing. Some might be available through your school, but many are out there waiting for you to pursue them independently.

In this post, we’ll outline how you can take the initiative to pursue multiple creative writing opportunities both in and out of school. Keep reading to learn more about what opportunities are out there for high school-aged creative writers.

Why Pursue Creative Writing?

There are many reasons to pursue extracurriculars in general. They can serve to strengthen your academic profile, they allow you to pursue interests not otherwise available through traditional classwork, and they can provide valuable, real-world experience.

Creative writing is an extracurricular that is closely tied with your academic coursework in English and Language Arts and in fact is probably a partial requirement of at least some of your English classes. Pursuing it further exemplifies your commitment to the craft and gives you some insight into writing as a possible career path.

It might be easy to think of creative writing as nothing more than a hobby, but in reality many careers exist in which strong writing skills are coveted. By pursuing creative writing, you become well equipped for a career as not only an author or poet, but also in many other fields. We’ll discuss these more in depth at the end of this post.

Opportunities to Pursue Creative Writing

Literary magazine:.

This is the most obvious and most common way to study and produce creative writing in a formal setting at school. Many schools already have a literary magazine established and likely have regular meetings and a faculty adviser equipped to lend insight and advice.

You can usually join your school’s literary magazine at the beginning of a new school year, though you may also be able to join mid-year in some circumstances. Contact the editor or faculty advisor if you want to become involved. Over time you may even be able to take on a leadership role yourself. To learn more about the importance of this, check out CollegeVine’s Your Resume, Revamped: Securing Leadership Positions and Perfecting Your Extracurricular Profile . 

Another way to be involved with the literary magazine, even if you aren’t a part of its team, is to become a regular contributor. This isn’t always easy; some schools have highly competitive literary magazines or only produce one printed edition per year. If this is the case at your school, don’t get discouraged. Submit your best work, learn from feedback, and keep trying.

If your school does not have a literary magazine, you might consider starting one. Begin by talking to other students who have expressed interest in creative writing. Once you have a strong group of interested students, approach a member of your school’s faculty who would make a good adviser.

Your faculty adviser should be someone who has worked closely with you in the past and has some level of expertise in creative writing. Be clear what sort of commitment you are asking for from this person. You may need him or her to be present at every meeting, or you might simply need his or her signature and sporadic stamp of approval. Also remember that you will have some associated costs so having a faculty adviser who can help with fundraising could be important.

Literary magazines provide students interested in creative writing with some general insights into a formal writing publication, a glimpse at the process for submitting work and receiving feedback, and the opportunity to have their writing published for all to see.

Creative Writing Club:

If your school does not have a literary magazine or you are interested in pursuing creative writing in a less formal setting, a creative writing club might be a good bet for you.

These clubs generally operate as regular writing workshops during which students respond to prompts or practice free-writing, and then share their work and offer feedback to others. It is often similar to the submissions approval process at a literary magazine without the stress of possible rejection.

In addition, a creative writing club does not generally produce a publication, though some might print a collection of work at the end of the school year. Again, this differs from the traditional literary magazine because work is selected by the author rather than submitted for acceptance or rejection.

If your school does not have a creative writing club, it is easy to start one. Because there is no associated publication as in the case of a literary magazine, the process is generally less formal. You could meet before or after school and sometimes you don’t even need a faculty adviser; you just need a teacher who’s willing to share classroom space outside of school hours.

Alternatively, you could form a writing club that is completely independent of your school by meeting at the library or a friend’s house. Simply gather creative writing exercises from books or online searches and then gather on a regular basis to respond to them, share work, and offer constructive criticism.

A creative writing club can also be an important accountability tool for students who are working on independent creative writing projects. If you’re writing a longer piece or even a novel, or working on a collection of poetry, meeting regularly with like-minded writers can help to keep you on track and provide outside feedback that might otherwise be unavailable.

Creative Writing Tutor:

If creative writing is your passion and you want to share it with others, you might consider becoming a creative writing tutor for younger students.

Contact a local elementary school and ask if you might be able to volunteer. If so, arrive prepared to lead a small writer’s workshop. Bring any handouts you might need and practice your oral presentation ahead of time. If you need some inspiration for activities, check out the Creative Writing for Children page at PBS parents or the Story Starters page at Scholastic . These kid-friendly writing prompts are sure to inspire even the youngest authors.

If you can’t find a volunteer position at an elementary school, you could try reaching out to other local organizations. Girl or boy scout troops, community centers, or the local library are all possibilities.

Leading a creative writing group for younger students is a great way to hone your own thinking about creative writing, to practice your teaching and leadership skills, and to give back to your community.

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Writing Contests:

If you’re looking for more direction for your writing, and the idea of fame and fortune intrigues you, you should consider entering some writing contests. There are many to choose from, and most offer either cash prizes or scholarship money. Some are also quite prestigious.

For a list of some of the most respected writing contests open to high schoolers, check out The CollegeVine Ultimate Guide to High School Writing Contests .

Summer Programs:

As is now the case for most extracurriculars, there are many strong summer programs to choose from if you’d like to pursue creative writing during your school break. These programs can be competitive to get into and you will usually be required to submit a writing portfolio as a part of your application.

Programs such as these also strengthen your college application and reinforce your commitment to writing. A few of the strongest are:

• Interlochen
• Kenyon Review Young Writer’s Workshop
• California State Summer School for the Arts (Primarily for California residents, but a small number of non-residents are accepted each year.)

Many of these programs have scholarships available, so if finances are a concern, be sure to research a few options before ruling anything out.

In addition, many colleges offer summer programs in creative writing as well. These are usually similar in format to any of the aforementioned summer programs, with the added bonus of allowing you to build connections at colleges or universities that you might wish to attend. 

See if any schools on your list of potential colleges or universities offer summer programs and look into attending those. Otherwise, consider one of the following, which are known for their high quality instruction:

• Duke Young Writer’s Camp
• Carleton College Summer Writing Program
• Stanford Summer Institutes
• Lewis and Clark Fir Acres Workshop
• University of Iowa Young Writer’s Studio

Start a Blog

If you find that you are writing often but have nowhere to showcase your work or have trouble holding yourself accountable for producing work on a regular basis, starting your own blog might be a good fit. A blog is a great way to share your writing on a public platform, it can act as an informal portfolio of your work, and it helps to hold you accountable to a larger audience.

Many blogs are easily set up and hosted for free on websites such as WordPress , Blogger , LiveJournal , or Weebly . Share a link to your blog on your social media accounts or send out a group email to let friends and family know about it. As is the case any time you add to your online presence, be sure to discuss your plans with a parent or guardian ahead of time. 

Get Published Elsewhere

A blog isn’t the only platform for publishing your work. Many magazines and periodicals accept submissions from high school students. A long list of publications reviewing high school submissions can be found in the NewPages Young Authors’ Guide . 

You can also check with local publications like newspapers, smaller regional magazines, or even blogs you follow that might accept a guest post.

There are a myriad of ways to get your work to a bigger audience, and if that’s something you’re interested in doing, don’t be shy about asking or even sending unsolicited submissions. All it takes is one person to take a chance on you before you can call yourself a published author.

Career Aspirations for the Creative Writer

It’s easy to think of creative writing as the entry point to becoming a novelist or poet. You might even think that these are your only long-term career options should you choose to pursue creative writing seriously.

This is definitely not the case. Many, many career paths incorporate writing, and while you may not be writing fictional works the entire time, that does not mean that you won’t be incorporating your background in creative writing. All strong writing benefits from creativity.

Writers are especially valued in the fields of:

• Advertising
• American Literature
• Digital Media
• Educational and Instructional Technology
• Media Studies
• Public Relations
• Radio and Television
• Sports Communications
• Technical and Business Writing
• Webpage and Multimedia Design    

Remember, pursuing creative writing doesn’t necessarily mean you have to write a novel or publish a collection of poetry. Writers have valuable skills that can be applied broadly depending on their others skills and interests.

Want access to expert college guidance — for free? When you create your free CollegeVine account, you will find out your real admissions chances, build a best-fit school list, learn how to improve your profile, and get your questions answered by experts and peers—all for free. Sign up for your CollegeVine account today to get a boost on your college journey.

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The Best 15 Creative Writing MFA Programs in 2023

April 7, 2023

Whether you studied at a top creative writing university , or are a high school dropout who will one day become a bestselling author , you may be considering an MFA in Creative Writing. But is a writing MFA genuinely worth the time and potential costs? How do you know which program will best nurture your writing? This article walks you through the considerations for an MFA program, as well as the best Creative Writing MFA programs in the United States.

First of all, what is an MFA?

A Master of Fine Arts (MFA) is a graduate degree that usually takes from two to three years to complete. Applications require a sample portfolio for entry, usually of 10-20 pages of your best writing.

What actually goes on in a creative writing MFA beyond inspiring award-winning books and internet memes ? You enroll in workshops where you get feedback on your creative writing from your peers and a faculty member. You enroll in seminars where you get a foundation of theory and techniques. Then you finish the degree with a thesis project.

Reasons to Get an MFA in Creative Writing

You don’t need an MFA to be a writer. Just look at Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison or bestselling novelist Emily St. John Mandel.

Nonetheless, there are plenty of reasons you might still want to get a creative writing MFA. The first is, unfortunately, prestige. An MFA from a top program can help you stand out in a notoriously competitive industry to be published.

The second reason: time. Many MFA programs give you protected writing time, deadlines, and maybe even a (dainty) salary.

Third, an MFA in Creative Writing is a terminal degree. This means that this degree allows you to teach writing at the university level, especially after you publish a book.

But above all, the biggest reason to pursue an MFA is the community it brings you. You get to meet other writers, and share feedback, advice, and moral support, in relationships that can last for decades.

Types of Creative Writing MFA Programs

Here are the different types of programs to consider, depending on your needs:

Fully-Funded Full-Time Programs

These programs offer full-tuition scholarships and sweeten the deal by actually paying you to attend them.

• Pros: You’re paid to write (and teach).
• Cons: Uprooting your entire life to move somewhere possibly very cold.

Full-Time MFA Programs

These programs include attending in-person classes and paying tuition (though many offer need-based and merit scholarships).

• Pros: Lots of top-notch programs non-funded programs have more assets to attract world-class faculty and guests.
• Cons: It’s an investment that might not pay itself back.

Low-Residency MFA Programs

Low-residency programs usually meet biannually for short sessions. They also offer one-on-one support throughout the year. These MFAs are more independent, preparing you for what the writing life is actually like.

• Pros: No major life changes required. Cons: Less time dedicated to writing and less time to build relationships.

Online MFA Programs

Held 100% online. These programs have high acceptance rates and no residency requirement. That means zero travel or moving expenses.

• Pros: No major life changes required.
• Cons: These MFAs have less name-recognition

The Top 15 Creative Writing MFA Programs Ranked by Category

The following programs are selected for their balance of high funding, impressive return on investment, stellar faculty, major journal publications , and impressive alums.

Fully Funded MFA Programs

1) johns hopkins university, mfa in fiction/poetry (baltimore, md).

This is a two-year program, with $33,000 teaching fellowships per year. This MFA offers the most generous funding package. Not to mention, it offers that sweet, sweet health insurance, mind-boggling faculty, and a guaranteed lecture position after graduation (nice). No nonfiction MFA (boo).

• Incoming class size: 8 students
• Admissions rate: 11.1%
• Alumni: Chimamanda Adiche, Jeffrey Blitz, Wes Craven, Louise Erdrich, Porochista Khakpour, Phillis Levin, ZZ Packer, Tom Sleigh, Elizabeth Spires, Rosanna Warren

2) University of Texas, James Michener Center (Austin, TX)

A fully-funded 3-year program with a generous stipend of $29,500. The program offers fiction, poetry, playwriting and screenwriting. The Michener Center is also unique because you study a primary genre and a secondary genre, and also get $3,000 for the summer.

• Incoming class size : 12 students
• Acceptance rate: a bone-chilling less-than-1% in fiction; 2-3% in other genres
•   Alumni: Fiona McFarlane, Brian McGreevy, Karan Mahajan, Alix Ohlin, Kevin Powers, Lara Prescott, Roger Reeves, Maria Reva, Domenica Ruta, Sam Sax, Joseph Skibell, Dominic Smith

3) University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA)

The Iowa Writers’ Workshop is a 2-year program on a residency model for fiction and poetry. This means there are low requirements, and lots of time to write groundbreaking novels or play pool at the local bar. Most students are funded, with fellowships worth up to $21,000. The Translation MFA, co-founded by Gayatri Chakravorti Spivak, is also two years, but with more intensive coursework. The Nonfiction Writing Program is a prestigious three-year MFA program and is also intensive.

• Incoming class size: 25 each for poetry and fiction; 10-12 for nonfiction and translation.
• Acceptance rate: 3.7%
• Fantastic Alumni: Raymond Carver, Flannery O’Connor, Sandra Cisneros, Joy Harjo, Garth Greenwell, Kiley Reid, Brandon Taylor, Eula Biss, Yiyun Li, Jennifer Croft

4) University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI)

Anne Carson famously lives in Ann Arbor, as do the MFA students U-Michigan’s Helen Zell Writers’ Program. This is a big university town, which is less damaging to your social life. Plus, there’s lots to do when you have a $23,000 stipend, summer funding, and health care.

This is a 2-3-year program, with an impressive reputation. They also have a demonstrated commitment to “ push back against the darkness of intolerance and injustice ” and have outreach programs in the community.

• Incoming class size: 18
• Acceptance rate: 4% (which maybe seems high after less-than-1%)
• Alumni: Brit Bennett, Vievee Francis, Airea D. Matthews, Celeste Ng, Chigozie Obioma, Jia Tolentino, Jesmyn Ward

5) Brown University (Providence, RI)

Brown offers an edgy, well-funded program in a place that doesn’t dip into arctic temperatures. Students are all fully-funded for 2-3 years with $29,926 in 2021-22. Students also get summer funding and—you guessed it—that sweet, sweet health insurance.

In the Brown Literary Arts MFA, students take only one workshop and one elective per semester. It’s also the only program in the country to feature a Digital/Cross Disciplinary Track.

• Incoming class size: 12-13
• Acceptance rate: “highly selective”
• Alumni: Edwidge Danticat, Jaimy Gordon, Gayl Jones, Ben Lerner, Joanna Scott, Kevin Young, Ottessa Moshfegh

Best MFA Creative Writing Programs (Continued) 

6) university of arizona (tucson, az).

This 3-year program has many attractive qualities. It’s in “ the lushest desert in the world ”, and was recently ranked #4 in creative writing programs, and #2 in Nonfiction. You can take classes in multiple genres, and in fact, are encouraged to do so. Plus, Arizona dry heat is good for arthritis.

This notoriously supportive program pays $20,000 a year, and offers the potential to volunteer at multiple literary organizations. You can also do supported research at the US-Mexico Border.

• Incoming class size: 9
• Acceptance rate: 4.85% (a refreshingly specific number after Brown’s evasiveness)
• Alumni: Francisco Cantú, Jos Charles, Tony Hoagland, Nancy Mairs, Richard Russo, Richard Siken, Aisha Sabatini Sloan, David Foster Wallace

7) Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ):

Arizona State is also a three-year funded program in arthritis-friendly dry heat. It offers small class sizes, individual mentorships, and one of the most impressive faculty rosters in the game. Everyone gets a $19,000 stipend, with other opportunities for financial support.

• Incoming class size: 8-10
• Acceptance rate: 3% (sigh)
• Alumni: Tayari Jones, Venita Blackburn, Dorothy Chan, Adrienne Celt, Dana Diehl, Matthew Gavin Frank, Caitlin Horrocks, Allegra Hyde, Hugh Martin, Bonnie Nadzam

FULL-RESIDENCY MFAS (UNFUNDED)

8) new york university (new york, ny).

This two-year program is in New York City, meaning it comes with close access to literary opportunities and hot dogs. NYU is private, and has one of the most accomplished faculty lists anywhere. Students have large cohorts (more potential friends!) and have a penchant for winning top literary prizes.

• Incoming class size: 40-60
• Acceptance rate: 6%
• Alumni: Nick Flynn, Nell Freudenberger, Aracelis Girmay, Mitchell S. Jackson, Tyehimba Jess, John Keene, Raven Leilani, Robin Coste Lewis, Ada Limón, Ocean Vuong

9) Columbia University (New York, NY)

Another 2-3 year private MFA program with drool-worthy permanent and visiting faculty. Columbia offers courses in fiction, poetry, translation, and nonfiction. Beyond the Ivy League education, Columbia offers close access to agents, and its students have a high record of bestsellers.

• Incoming class size: 110
• Acceptance rate: 21%
• Alumni: Alexandra Kleeman, Rachel Kushner, Claudia Rankine, Rick Moody, Sigrid Nunez, Tracy K. Smith, Emma Cline, Adam Wilson, Marie Howe, Mary Jo Bang

10) Sarah Lawrence (Bronxville, NY)

Sarah Lawrence offers speculative fiction beyond the average fiction, poetry, and nonfiction course offerings. With intimate class sizes, this program is unique because it offers biweekly one-on-one conferences with its stunning faculty. It also has a notoriously supportive atmosphere.

• Incoming class size: 30-40
• Acceptance rate: N/A
• Alumni: Cynthia Cruz, Melissa Febos, T Kira Madden, Alex Dimitrov, Moncho Alvarado

LOW RESIDENCY

11 bennington college (bennington, vt).

This two-year program boasts truly stellar faculty, and meets twice a year for ten days in January and June. It’s like a biannual vacation in beautiful Vermont, plus mentorship by a famous writer, and then you get a degree. The tuition is $23,468 per year, with scholarships available.

• Acceptance rate: 53%
• Incoming class: 40
• Alumni: Larissa Pham, Andrew Reiner, Lisa Johnson Mitchell, and others

12)  Institute for American Indian Arts (Santa Fe, NM)

This two-year program emphasizes Native American and First Nations writing. With truly amazing faculty and visiting writers, they offer a wide range of genres offered, in screenwriting, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.

Students attend two eight-day residencies each year, in January and July, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. At $12,000 a year, it boasts being “ one of the most affordable MFA programs in the country .”

• Incoming class size : 22
• Acceptance rate: 100%
• Alumni: Tommy Orange, Dara Yen Elerath, Kathryn Wilder

13) Vermont College of Fine Arts

One of few MFAs where you can study the art of the picture book, middle grade and young adult literature, graphic literature, nonfiction, fiction, and poetry for young people. Students meet twice a year for nine days, in January and July, in Vermont. You can also do many travel residencies in exciting (and warm) places like Cozumel.

VCFA boasts amazing faculty and visiting writers, with individualized study options and plenty of one-on-one time. Tuition is $48,604.

• Incoming class size: 18-25
• Acceptance rate: 63%
• Alumnx: Lauren Markham, Mary-Kim Arnold, Cassie Beasley, Kate Beasley, Julie Berry, Bridget Birdsall, Gwenda Bond, Pablo Cartaya

ONLINE MFAS

14) university of texas at el paso (el paso, tx).

The world’s first bilingual and online MFA program in the world. UTEP is considered the best online MFA program, and features award-winning faculty from across the globe. Intensive workshops allow submitting in Spanish and English, and genres include poetry and fiction. This three-year program costs $14,766 a year, with rolling admissions.

• Alumni: Watch alumni testimonies here

15) Bay Path University (Long Meadow, MA)

This 2-year online program is dedicated entirely to nonfiction. A supportive, diverse community, Bay Path offers small class sizes, close mentorship, and a potential field trip in Ireland.

There are many tracks, including publishing, Narrative Medicine, and teaching. Core courses include memoir, narrative journalism, and the personal essay. The price is $785/credit, for 39 credits, with scholarships available.

• Incoming class size: 20
• Acceptance rate: an encouraging 78%
• Alumni: Read alumni testimonies here

Prepare for your MFA in advance:

• Best English Programs
• Best Creative Writing Schools
• Writing Summer Programs

Best MFA Creative Writing Programs – References:

• https://www.pw.org/mfa
• The Creative Writing MFA Handbook: A Guide for Prospective Graduate Students , by Tom Kealey (A&C Black 2005)
• Graduate School Admissions

Julia Conrad

With a Bachelor of Arts in English and Italian from Wesleyan University as well as MFAs in both Nonfiction Writing and Literary Translation from the University of Iowa, Julia is an experienced writer, editor, educator, and a former Fulbright Fellow. Julia’s work has been featured in  The Millions ,  Asymptote , and  The Massachusetts Review , among other publications. To read more of her work, visit  www.juliaconrad.net

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When the idea to start a weekly newsletter with writing inspiration first came to us, we decided that we wanted to do more than provide people with topics to write about. We wanted to try and help authors form a regular writing habit and also give them a place to proudly display their work. So we started the weekly Creative Writing Prompts newsletter. Since then, Prompts has grown to a community of more than 450,000 authors, complete with its own literary magazine, Prompted .  

Here's how our contest works: every Friday, we send out a newsletter containing five creative writing prompts. Each week, the story ideas center around a different theme. Authors then have one week — until the following Friday — to submit a short story based on one of our prompts. A winner is picked each week to win $250 and is highlighted on our Reedsy Prompts page.

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Why we love creative writing prompts

If you've ever sat in front of a computer or notebook and felt the urge to start creating worlds, characters, and storylines — all the while finding yourself unable to do so — then you've met the author's age-old foe: writer's block. There's nothing more frustrating than finding the time but not the words to be creative. Enter our directory! If you're ready to kick writer's block to the curb and finally get started on your short story or novel, these unique story ideas might just be your ticket.

This list of 1800+ creative writing prompts has been created by the Reedsy team to help you develop a rock-solid writing routine. As all aspiring authors know, this is the #1 challenge — and solution! — for reaching your literary goals. Feel free to filter through different genres, which include...

Dramatic — If you want to make people laugh and cry within the same story, this might be your genre.

Funny — Whether satire or slapstick, this is an opportunity to write with your funny bone.

Romance — One of the most popular commercial genres out there. Check out these story ideas out if you love writing about love.

Fantasy — The beauty of this genre is that the possibilities are as endless as your imagination.

Dystopian – Explore the shadowy side of human nature and contemporary technology in dark speculative fiction.

Mystery — From whodunnits to cozy mysteries, it's time to bring out your inner detective.

Thriller and Suspense — There's nothing like a page-turner that elicits a gasp of surprise at the end.

High School — Encourage teens to let their imaginations run free.

Want to submit your own story ideas to help inspire fellow writers? Send them to us here.

After you find the perfect story idea

Finding inspiration is just one piece of the puzzle. Next, you need to refine your craft skills — and then display them to the world. We've worked hard to create resources that help you do just that! Check them out:

• How to Write a Short Story That Gets Published — a free, ten-day course by Laura Mae Isaacman, a full-time editor who runs a book editing company in Brooklyn.
• Best Literary Magazines of 2023 — a directory of 100+ reputable magazines that accept unsolicited submissions.
• Writing Contests in 2023 — the finest contests of 2021 for fiction and non-fiction authors of short stories, poetry, essays, and more.

Beyond creative writing prompts: how to build a writing routine

While writing prompts are a great tactic to spark your creative sessions, a writer generally needs a couple more tools in their toolbelt when it comes to developing a rock-solid writing routine . To that end, here are a few more additional tips for incorporating your craft into your everyday life.

• NNWT. Or, as book coach Kevin Johns calls it , “Non-Negotiable Writing Time.” This time should be scheduled into your routine, whether that’s once a day or once a week. Treat it as a serious commitment, and don’t schedule anything else during your NNWT unless it’s absolutely necessary.
• Set word count goals. And make them realistic! Don’t start out with lofty goals you’re unlikely to achieve. Give some thought to how many words you think you can write a week, and start there. If you find you’re hitting your weekly or daily goals easily, keep upping the stakes as your craft time becomes more ingrained in your routine.
• Talk to friends and family about the project you’re working on. Doing so means that those close to you are likely to check in about the status of your piece — which in turn keeps you more accountable.

Arm yourself against writer’s block. Writer’s block will inevitably come, no matter how much story ideas initially inspire you. So it’s best to be prepared with tips and tricks you can use to keep yourself on track before the block hits. You can find 20 solid tips here — including how to establish a relationship with your inner critic and apps that can help you defeat procrastination or lack of motivation.

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11 Plus Courses The Creative Writing Course

Customer Comments

"Coming from a different culture as parents we really didn't know how to help our son with their story writing. We had previously used some books but they hadn't really helped. With the Learning Street course we suddenly saw what we needed to do. The course helped our son take the steps he needed to get better and broke down the skills he needed. He certainly was writing better stories by the end of this course." Beatrice- Kent

"There's a small element of writing in the Essex test and as we had the time we embarked on this course during the summer before the exam. Our daughter likes writing and was quite good at it, but by the end she herself said she thought she was much better. She said that the element that was most useful for her was the development and revision of the descriptions banks. She felt that given ten minutes she could write a good description of just about anything." Richard- Essex

6-12+ Weeks

10-12 Years

This course is designed to help children develop their creative writing skills. Creative writing is an important part of all Independent School exams and some 11 Plus Grammar School exams such as those in Kent and some schools in Essex. Our course is a solution which has proved to be very popular.   See the preview for a good idea of what’s included.

What our creative writing course delivers

Most families don’t know how to help their children in this area. Just writing story after story won’t help much, children need real guidance.  This course covers the ground fully and helps children to develop the skills necessary to attain the highest marks.

The course helps children understand:

• What elements of their work attracts the most marks (it isn’t the plot!).
• What exercises to do to develop their core skills so that they don’t drop marks needlessly.
• That simple stories with excellent descriptions, vocabulary and literary techniques is where their focus should be- we show them how to do this, step by step.
• We show them how to develop a descriptions bank so the bulk of their creativity is done before they enter the exam room.
• We help them plan stories and then write them.
• We encourage them to improve their stories through self-criticism and re-drafting.

The course covers the ground better than any book could hope to and has proven to be very effective in helping children improve.  Many children find their stories have gone through a very major step-change for the better having completed the course.

When should children do the course?

• If children are preparing for a Grammar School 11 Plus entry test, then starting at any point from Easter onwards and slotting it into the other work you are doing is what most people do.
• If children are preparing for an Independent School Exam then they normally start in the summer of year 5 or once school goes back in September. This gives enough time to complete the work before exams in January.
• If children are doing a SATs KS2 Test then we’d suggest it could be done at any time from the summer at the end of year 5 onwards.
• The course is probably too advanced for children in year 4 unless they are very bright.
• Children who use this course fully will see a significant improvement in their creative writing ability.

Course length

• The course has 12 parts. Each part should take a week but can be done more intensively if necessary.
• It could be completed in four weeks if work is very intensive but children must do the revision work we suggest to benefit fully from it.
• We would suggest that to get best value from the course that it is done in 12 or more weeks (it is often the case that children will be working on other exam elements as well as creative writing so we have taken this into account when developing the course).

How is the course delivered?

• Once purchased you will be able to download and print the first part of the course directly from the site.
• You will receive an email a week later letting you know that the second part of the course is available to download from the Learning Street website.
• Your next part of the course can be released more quickly to enable pupils to cover the ground in a shorter time than twelve weeks if necessary.
• We deliver all our courses to be printed out and completed on paper, they are not designed to be used on an electronic device of any sort. We do this because children learn best when using a paper and pen.
• Each part of the course includes its own bespoke answers section for every question.

People who bought this also bought:

• Maths Stretch and Revision (6-12+ weeks) :  This course is fully planned, children are taken logically through a structured course designed to improve their performance in the most challenging forms of 11 Plus and Independent School Maths tests.
• Vocabulary Boost (6-15 weeks) :  This is our shortest vocabulary course. It is very intensive and is fully planned with revision built in to ensure children see words with the frequency that allows learning to happen.

You can preview the course or you can purchase it below. The price below is the only fee that is payable, there are no monthly costs.

Trusted by families across the uk.

"My daughter's preparation for her 11 Plus exam couldn't have gone better. The advice we received about being committed ourselves was exactly right. We set a time to do the work and broadly managed to achieve it. The course was very intensive so we did need to work hard, but it was worth it in the end. Without this course I'm not sure I would have known where to start or what to do when"

- Mrs Hamilton

"We used a Private Tutor to prepare for the 11 Plus, and they recommended that we use the full 40 part vocabulary course as part of the process rather than vocabulary books. We really can't see how it's possible to boost a child's vocabulary without this sort of work, it had everything- real learning activities, tests, revision, pieces of texts from classic books and even vocabulary puzzles which stretched our son no end."

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11 Plus: Writing Prompts for Both Independent and Grammar School Exams

Bookmark this page? Pop your email into the box below to receive a link to this article so you can easily refer back to it later.

We’ve just released a new product:

11+ English: Writing Prompts

Who is this pack designed for?

The writing tasks in this pack will benefit students taking 11+ exams that include a writing assessment.

This covers most independent schools and a selection of grammar schools that assess writing in either their first or second stage tests.

If you are not sure whether this product will be relevant for your child, feel free to  get in touch and let us know which school/s you are applying to and we’ll be happy to confirm either way for you.

What does this pack contain?

The pack contains 28 specially created writing tasks, spread across the 7 main categories that we’ve identified:

1)  Creative writing based on a title 2)  Creative writing based on a beginning/end 3)  Diary entries 4)  Recounts and Reports 5)  Articles 6)  Letters 7)  Discursive writing

Detailed video tutorials are included for every writing prompt. You can view a sample prompt and video tutorial here .

How will this product benefit my child?

Writing assessments can take many different formats, so we’ve covered a broad range of topics and styles.

Each writing prompt is unique and especially designed to test your child’s ability to process and respond to information presented in a specific format.

This includes not only tricky text-based prompts but also visual media such as adverts, newspaper clippings, event notices, maps and photographs.

We’ve made sure to cover the most up to date styles of questioning used in actual 11+ exams. We’ve also included some marking guidelines.

Each prompt will require your child to think carefully and pay close attention to the details and instructions. This provides great preparation for their 11+ exam, where they will need to use the exact same skills to ensure that they respond to the prompt accurately.

To further ensure that students get used to being flexible in how they manage their time, we’ve covered a range of timings and layouts. Some prompts allow for planning time and others do not. The writing time allowed ranges from 25 minutes to 40 minutes.

The free, detailed video tutorials included in this pack will help your child understand exactly how to approach each type of prompt, so they are fully prepared for exam day.

We’re confident that your child will find this pack beneficial, challenging and stimulating.

Click  here to learn more and purchase.

We also have writing prompts available for other age levels:

7+ Writing Prompts

8+ Writing Prompts

9+ Writing Prompts

10+ Writing Prompts

As ever, don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions or queries. We are always happy to help and advise.

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From the Blog

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D.B in LONDON, purchased Wandsworth 11+ Full Practice Tests (1-10) Bundle About 7 minutes ago

• Board index 11 PLUS SUBJECTS ENGLISH

Creative writing for Independent schools

Moderators: Section Moderators , Forum Moderators

Post by beoptima » Wed Feb 01, 2017 4:24 pm

Re: Creative writing for Independent schools

Post by Bee » Thu Feb 02, 2017 9:14 am

Post by mum-of-two » Thu Feb 02, 2017 1:14 pm

Post by beoptima » Thu Feb 02, 2017 3:04 pm

Bee wrote: There are lots of info in this forum, you will probably need to look at Hertfordshire Or surrey Regions. Let me know if you can't find and I will have a look at it later

mum-of-two wrote: Not sure how helpful this is but I have just come across a website this morning called 'The Literacy Shed'. This looks like a great tool for developing creative writing.

Post by Bee » Thu Feb 02, 2017 5:21 pm

Post by grgygirl » Tue Feb 21, 2017 7:53 pm

Post by beoptima » Mon Jun 05, 2017 3:17 pm

grgygirl wrote: Our experience of applying to independents this year has been similar to the last post. Mostly continue the story or a descriptive piece. Similar to the grammar schools that include creative writing. I would aim for lots of practise building up the constituent parts of a story. The Key Stage 2 books on aiming for SATS level 6 writing were very useful to us (think one of the ones we had was published by Collins).

Post by beoptima » Mon Jun 05, 2017 3:19 pm

Bee wrote: Have a look at the below link, the creative writing for independent schools are not very different from Grammar https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum ... er#p565024 " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I've seen more fictional writing, describing the scenes, feelings etc. There's been few non fictional writing too The other thing you may want to try is extended writing, the child will be given a scenario and will be expected to continue with the story Hope this helps

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Middle, High School Students Invited to Participate in Summer Writing Camps Presented by UCM's Greater Kansas City Writing Project

By Janice Phelan, April 26, 2024

The Greater Kansas City Writing Project (GKCWP) and the University of Central Missouri (UCM) will present two four-day summer camps focusing on creative writing, sharing and friendship. Designed for students in middle and high school, the 2024 Young Writers Camps will be offered from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 9-12 at UCM’s Missouri Innovation Campus in Lee’s Summit and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 16-19 at the Anita Gorman Discovery Center in Kauffman Legacy Park in Kansas City. The unique camps, offered since 1983 by GKCWP and UCM, provide a creative and supportive environment for young people. Each session is developed and led by experienced teachers of writing. The camps are created for students who already love writing and want to enjoy writing more. At the end of each session, young writers will share their favorite pieces with friends and families at an open mic celebration. Summer Writing Camp participants include a diverse group of young people ranging from students working on their first novel to aspiring poets to writers seeking motivation and encouragement for a variety of projects. Students enrolling by May 1 will qualify for the $225 early-bird registration fee. Cost is $275 for registration after May 1. For more information and to register, visit this webpage . 

social-section

“Writing challenges students to think about print.” – International Reading Association & Association for Education of Young Children, 1998

STRUCTURED AND INDEPENDENT WRITING

What does writing look like at an early conventional level.

Writing is a complex task, involving ideas, language, words, spelling and transcribing or selecting letters. We need to teach all of these skills – and eventually students need to be able to do all of these, within the one task, to become writers.

A emergent writer is one who is learning to use written language to express communicative intent, and beginning writing is defined as starting with emergent writing (drawing, scribbling, and writing letters) and ending with conventional writing abilities, usually acquired by second or third grade for typically developing children (Strum, Cali, Nelson, & Staskowski, 2012).

Students with significant disabilities who are early conventional writers are beginning to attend to task, to understand how to use their pencil and that writing carries meaning.

Which students would benefit from structured and independent writng?

• are interested and engaged during shared reading interactions
• know most of the letters (name or sound) on most of the days
• understand that print has meaning
• are starting to select letters specifically when writing (e.g. ‘d’ for dad)
• are using invented spelling
• are writing individual words
• are writing with a pencil or alternative pencil and
• have a means of communication and use it to initiate exchanges and interact with others.

How can students benefit from writing?

• attend closely to letters and letter/sound relationships
• slow down the process of message construction and examine how ideas relate to each other
• learn to read through writing
• learn to speak by writing
• gain fluency in recording and revising their ideas
• gain confidence in communicating ideas to others
• develop skills to independently write a wide variety of texts for real purposes on topics of interest

How can we teach writing?

For students who are writing at an early conventional level, instruction includes three key components: 10 minute mini-lesson, 20 minutes of independent writing during which time the teacher would conference with individual students, and sharing time through Author’s Chair.

• need as much if not more time for writing as their peers without disabilities
• often compose at a slower rate
• need opportunities to apply what has been taught in the context of their own writing.

10-Minute Mini-Lesson

The purpose of the mini-lesson is to provide students with explicit instruction. Lessons could be repeated with variety to help build student skills and foster independent performance and generalization.

• provides instruction on a single a skill or aspect of the writing process (e.g., brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing, publishing, using the word wall, using capitals, using punctuation, thinking of ideas, thinking of your audience in planning writing, using different sorts of vocabulary) and teaches it in a variety of ways so that all students can learn it.
• uses one or more of the students’ writing tools to model during the mini-lesson and for the thinking process of composition.
• integrates the use of the Word Wall, spelling prediction software, communication symbols, adapted keyboards, and other environmental and technological supports for writing ideas and spelling assistance.

Independent Writing Time and Teacher Conferencing

After the mini-lesson, students spend the next 20 minutes working on their own writing. Writing time offers students an opportunity to write about a self-selected topic and create a writing topic that can be shared.

• As students are writing on topics of their own choosing they may require varying levels of teacher, educational assistant, or peer support depending on their abilities and the task at hand.
• using the prompt “tell me more about that” to get students to extend their writing
• use editing checklists as students start self-editing e.g. “do my sentences have capitals and punctuation, do all my sentences relate to the topic”
• learning a particular aspect of their pencil
• focusing on a single point of revision prior to sharing
• exploring possible writing topics and forms for future writings
• interest/attention to other modeling
• ease of topic selection
• desire to write
• length of time on task
• attending to print (visually/physically-Braille)
• desire to read writing and share with others

Do not worry about non-conventions that have not yet been taught! Instead, consider recording them for possible inclusion in future mini-lessons, or other instructional activities.

Author’s Chair

Use of an Author’s Chair can help to develop a community of writers in the classroom and to support students’ developing interests in writing as a form of communication and thinking. During Author’s Chair, students share drafts, parts of drafts, or completed writing with small peer groups or with the whole class and seek feedback from classmates as well as respond to their questions. Nonspeaking students will need to have their draft imported into a talking word processor or similar device so that the student can have their text read aloud.

Teach others (e.g., parents, classmates, other adults) to respond more to the content and less to the form of the student’s writing during Author’s Chair.

Students’ finished writing can be published and added to the classroom library in a wide variety of forms ranging from paper to PowerPoint to using a book creating app on an iPad to publishing using Tar Heel Reader.

Where can I learn more?

Adult-Student Emergent Writing Interaction Inventory Emergent literacy learning is grounded in the rich interactions that students have with others during meaningful literacy activities. Students’ success and engagement in emergent writing is highly dependent on the quality of this interaction. This inventory has the key elements that adults need to do in order for their students to learn how to write using an alternative pencil. The inventory can be used to train teachers, teaching assistants, parents, administrators, literacy coaches, OTRs, SLPs, PTs and after school caregivers. This inventory has been specifically designed for students with significant disabilities, including deaf-blindness.

“Literacy improves lives—and with the right instruction and supports,  all students  can learn to read and write. That’s the core belief behind this teacher-friendly handbook, your practical guide to providing comprehensive, high-quality literacy instruction to students with significant disabilities. Drawing on decades of classroom experience, the authors present their own innovative model for teaching students with a wide range of significant disabilities to read and write print in grades preK–12 and beyond. Foundational teaching principles blend with concrete strategies, step-by-step guidance, and specific activities, making this book a complete blueprint for helping students acquire critical literacy skills they’ll use inside and outside the classroom.” Preview here .

Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) – Writing: Getting Started with Narrative Writing This module describes narrative writing and explains how to support students in writing about familiar experiences. Participants will identify possible topics for students to write about, as well as examine narrative writing drafts by students with significant cognitive disabilities. Online Self-directed Module Facilitated Module Materials for Groups

Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) – Writing: Getting Started in Writing Arguments After completing this module, participants will be able to describe the difference between persuasion and arguments, identify ways to use familiar student experiences in instruction, and create mentor texts based on student preferences. Online Self-directed Module Facilitated Module Materials for Groups

Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) – Writing Information and Explanation Texts This module focuses on approaches that help students learn to select topics and write to share information or explain what they know about them. Online Self-directed Module Facilitated Module Materials for Groups

Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) – Writing: Production and Distribution This module address the need to provide students with significant cognitive disabilities with access to a means of writing as well as sound and well-balanced instruction in the cognitive acts that writing requires. Online Self-directed Module Facilitated Module Materials for Groups

Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) – Writing: Research and Range of Writing This module focuses on writing instruction designed to help students with significant cognitive disabilities ultimately develop the capacity to build knowledge on a subject through research and to respond through writing while keeping a focus on a range of purposes and audiences for writing. Online Self-directed Module Facilitated Module Materials for Groups

Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) – Writing: Text Types and Purposes This module provides a brief overview of writing in the DLM™ Essential Elements with an emphasis on teaching students with significant cognitive disabilities how to use print or braille to communicate to different people for different reasons. Online Self-directed Module Facilitated Module Materials for Group

Meaningful Writing Activities http://alternativepencils.weebly.com/meaningful-writing-activities.html

Independence High School Student Wins Creative Writing Award

• Updated: Apr. 27, 2024, 7:23 p.m. |
• Published: Apr. 27, 2024, 7:15 p.m.

Independence High School writer Callia Shumay Submitted by Independence Local Schools

• Mark T. Baxter, special to cleveland.com

Independence, Ohio – Exceptional writing skills have scooped Independence High School student Callia Shumay top awards in a writing competition.

She was awarded both silver and gold keys in the Scholastic Writing and Art event and now her work will feature in an exhibit at Cleveland Museum of Art.

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College of Law

Samantha Barbas, legal historian and award-winning author, to join Iowa Law School faculty

The University of Iowa College of Law is pleased to announce that Samantha Barbas will join the Iowa Law School faculty as the Aliber Family Chair in Law. Her appointment will begin in August 2024.

Barbas, who earned her law degree from Stanford University in 2010, also holds a PhD in history from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a prominent scholar and presenter of legal and media history—with a focus on journalism, privacy, defamation, and the First Amendment—and the award-winning author of seven full-length books. Barbas received the Public Scholar Award from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2020.  

Her most recent book, Actual Malice: Civil Rights and Freedom of the Press in New York Times v. Sullivan (University of California Press), made The New Yorker ’s list of the best books of 2023, among other critical accolades. Actual Malice brings fresh insights and analysis in examining New York Times v. Sullivan , a historic 1964 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that provided key protections for news organizations against libel lawsuits. Her previous book, Newsworthy: The Supreme Court Battle Over Privacy and Press Freedom (Stanford University Press, 2017), won a silver medal in the U.S. History category of the Independent Publisher Book Award.  

The University of Iowa is known nationwide as the “Writing University,” because of its storied history and continued production of world-class writers and communicators in all genres. Iowa Law—the “Writing Law School”—embraces that mission. Whereas many law schools assign legal writing courses to teaching assistants and adjunct instructors, Iowa Law employs six full-time professors as writing teachers and mentors.   

“As a writer and book author,” Barbas said, “I’m thrilled to be joining the writing law school and one of the world's premier universities for writing.”  

Barbas comes to Iowa Law from the University at Buffalo School of Law in Buffalo, New York, where she joined the faculty in 2011. Prior to joining Buffalo, she clerked for Judge Richard Clifton, United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.  

Two HFA Students Awarded Five College Prose and Poetry Prize for Creative Writing

UMass Amherst undergraduate students Andrea Peter ’25, a comparative literature major, and Livvy Krakower ’24, an English major, were among the 2024 Five College Prose and Poetry Prize recipients honored at a reading and reception April 18 in Hampshire College's Harold F. Johnson Library.

Celebrating creative writing of all genres, the Five College Prose and Poetry Prize, formerly PoetryFest, was reinstated in 2023 after a hiatus due to the pandemic. The contest received 150 total submissions from students representing UMass Amherst, Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith colleges, and The Care Center of Holyoke this year.

“For me the most amazing thing about the Five College Poetry and Prose competition is to meet fellow writers from other institutions,” says Krakower, a winner for prose who also won the prize in 2023. “Each college in the consortium is so unique and I am thankful that I have been able to hear pieces I would never hear if not for the competition.”

Peter won a poetry prize in the competition.

“Thanks to Five Colleges, Inc., and our English departments for supporting this work,” says Donna LeCourt, chair of the UMass Amherst English department. “Prizes to undergraduates are important and help to build their reputations in literary and professional communities. The opportunity for our graduate students to judge and manage literary awards provides exceptional professional development and helps distinguish them as creative leaders. I’m happy to see this prize come back to the Five College community.”

“I had a wonderful time judging the prose prize,” says 2024 prose judge and UMass Amherst MFA candidate Danielle Bradley, who was joined on the judging panel by fellow UMass Amherst MFA candidate and poet Ide Thompson ’24. “All of the submissions were impressive, and it was so special to hear many of the winners read their submissions at the reception.”

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Letovo Schoolcampus / atelier PRO

• Curated by Fernanda Castro
• Architects: atelier PRO
• Area Area of this architecture project Area:  39000 m²
• Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2018
• Photographs Photographs: NARODIZKIY , Dmitry Voinov , atelier PRO
• Interior Design : Atelier PRO , Thijs Klinkhamer
• Landscape Designer : Buro Sant en Co
• Client:  Letovo
• Project Architects:  Dorte Kristensen, Pascale Leistra, Karho Yeung
• Design Team:  Thijs Klinkhamer, Abel de Raadt, Alessia Topolnyk
• Russian Co Architect:  Atrium, Moscow
• City:  Moscow
• Country:  Russia
• Did you collaborate on this project?

Text description provided by the architects. The official grand opening of a special school, Letovo School , took place in Moscow last September. The assignment entailed a 20 hectare schoolcampus with educational facilities, student housing and school staff housing. The school campus offers extended outdoor sports facilities with a soccer stade, a running track, tennis courts and basketball courts. In addition there is a greenhouse, a treeyard and ample space for wandering and relaxation in the green.

While the architecture and interior of the school were designed by atelier PRO, the landscape design was developed by Buro Sant en Co landscape architecture. Russian firm Atrium Architectural Studio was responsible for the technical execution. In 2014 Atelier PRO had won the international design competition, the construction began mid-2016 and the campus was taken into use by mid-2018.

Letovo, a dream come true Letovo School is a special school for gifted and motivated children aged 12 to 17. The idea to create the school came from entrepreneur and philanthropist Vadim Moshkovich: ‘My dream was to offer talented children from all over the country access to high-quality education, regardless of their parents’ financial means. This school makes it possible for them to continue their studies at the 10 best universities in the country or at one of the top 50 universities in the world.’

Landscape-inspired design and shape Located in Novaya Moskva,southwest of Moscow ,the campus sits atop a beautiful plot of land that slopes down to a forest-lined river. Distinctive level variations were applied in and around the school to integrate the architecture into the landscape.

The shape of the large complex brings it down to a human scale for the children: the building appears to dance across the landscape due to its dynamic design. Due to the perspective effect one only ever sees part of the building's full size when walking around, which gives the impression of a refined scale. The building’s contours and flowing curves create surprising indoor and outdoor spaces as well.

The heart of the school: the central hub The central hub is the place where day-to-day life at the school unfolds. This flexible, transformable space will be used throughout the day as an informal meeting place. The dance studio on the ground floor can be transformed through a few simple adjustments into a theatre with a stage, a cosy living room or an auditorium that can accommodate 1,000 people for special events such as graduation ceremonies and large celebrations, as seen at the grand opening. This central hub connects the building’s three wings: the art wing, the south wing with science- and general-use rooms and the sports wing

Learning environment with a diversity in working spaces Letovo envisioned an innovative and modern take on existing education in Russia. In the spatial design, this perspective translates into space for theoretical education as well as special areas for group work and independent study in the tapered building wings. In the library wing there are silence spaces workshop spaces and a debating room. These are all supportive to the student’s personal development. 

Sports programme In addition to the extended sports outdoor facilities, the indoor supply of sports facilities is substantial. These cover fitness rooms, martial arts rooms, a swimming pool, a small and a large sports hall. Around the sports hall there’s an indoor running track which can be used throughout the year. It is available to school staff and external users as well.

The interior, also designed by atelier PRO, is tailored to the aims of the ambitious programme. The design of the interior also focuses extensively on the various spaces where students can go to chill and meet up with friends. The extreme cold in this area makes the school’s indoor atmosphere important for relaxation.

Ambitous learning environment The Russian client has established a private, non-profit school which aims to be the most prestigious school in the country and to offer the best educational programme through a Russion and an IB (International Baccalaureate) curriculum. Students’ personal development is paramount, with the school adopting a holistic approach. It is a true learning environment that provides scope for a range of disciplines, areas of interest and recreational opportunities to foster children’s development. This aim is supported by the campus facilities and functions.

Project gallery

Project location

Address: zimenkovskaya street, sosenskoye settlement, moscow, russia.

Materials and Tags

• Sustainability

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