Fiction Lab

This class meets on Thursdays from 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM Central Time

Creative Writing for the Story-Struck Teen
(Or: How to Let the Stories Out Without Exploding)

Does your young writer mutter plot twists while doing the dishes? Have they ever cried over a character they invented themselves? Is their idea of a good time sitting alone with a notebook, a pen, and a universe of people no one else can see? Excellent. They may be one of them. The Story-Struck.

This two-semester course is for teens (14+, though promising younger scribes will be considered) who don’t just like writing—they need to write, the way some people need chocolate or oxygen or long dramatic stares out a rainy window.

We’ll explore the tools of the trade—dialogue, pacing, tension, tone, character arcs, metaphor, and more—all by telling stories. Not “writing exercises” disguised as stories, but actual, working fiction: bold, messy, glorious tales where the stakes are high and the commas are correctly placed.

By the end of the year, students will walk away with either:

• a completed short story that holds together like a good cup of tea, or

• a portfolio of polished flash fiction pieces that punch above their word count.

If they’ve got a story to tell—and more waiting in the wings—we’ll help them bring it to life, page by page, plot twist by plot twist. And we’ll make sure they have a few good writerly spells in their back pocket before the year is done.

To get a sense of the kind of writing we’ll be diving into, feel free to check out a few of my stories on my Substack: The Duel of the Quill | The Kitten Gambit. These tales will give you a glimpse of the bold, messy, and sometimes magical narratives we’ll explore together in class.

Note: This is not a class for the “writing-is-a-school-subject” crowd. This is for those who treat writing like a secret identity. Entry is by submission—send us a sample story (finished or not) so we can see if they’ve been properly bitten by the storytelling bug. Send your samples to lightspeedcubes@gmail.com: Attention Quill Master.