Writing for Young Readers

Writing for Kids and Middle Grade Readers

NEW

WRITING 745.3E

Animals as Souls and the Magic of Objects in Middle Grade and Young Adult Literature

Daemons are external manifestations of the soul in animal form, popularized in literature by Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials mythology. Talismans are inanimate objects suffused with power or magic. One might consider Dorothy’s ruby red slippers as talismans for all the trouble they get her into and out of! Or Frodo and that itty bitty ring that somehow contains the weight of the entire world. These elements elevate any story and add a psychological, emotional layer to our characters, usually bubbling up from the author’s subconscious. In this course, we will plumb the depths of animals as souls, shadowselves, and doppelgangers as well as inert objects that travel alongside our protagonists supplying them with a sense of purpose and probing. We will use lectures, workshops, and writing exercises to help birth daemons for ourselves and our characters, and explore meaningful objects in real life, as well as fiction, to carve out a layered bildungsroman that feels active, subterranean, and innovative.

Reg# 393914

Fee: $0

A Remote 1 mtg

Saturday, 10am-1pm, Oct. 28

Remote Classroom

Enrollment opens two weeks prior to the event. Enrollment limited. Visitors not permitted. 7

Tim Cummings MFA, author of the forthcoming upper-middle-grade novel Alice the Cat. Mr. Cummings’ work appears in F(r)iction, Scare Street, Lunch Ticket, Meow Meow Pow Pow, From Whispers to Roars, Drunk Monkeys and Critical Read/RAFT for which he won their “Origins” essay contest. He is a regular contributor at LA Review of Books (LARB).

WRITING X 444.1

Middle Grade Novel I

3.0 units

Middle grade novels have a demanding audience. Young readers want interesting stories that either transport them to a world unlike their own or that show them that they are not alone, that there are others who feel and experience the same things that they do. They want gut-wrenchingly true stories, even if they are fantasy or sci-fi. This course helps you shape your middle grade novel idea into a workable outline and gives you the tools to execute that plan. You read and study successful middle grade novels, practice and experiment with fiction-writing techniques, give and take feedback with your peers’ work through workshop, and learn revision techniques. By the end of the course, you have a synopsis or outline and a solid draft of two chapters.

Reg# 393911

Fee: $720

No refund after 25 Oct.

A Remote 10 mtgs

Wednesday, 6-9pm, Oct. 11-Dec. 13

Remote Classroom

Tuesday, 6-9pm, Nov. 21

Remote Classroom

No meeting Nov. 22; alternate meeting on Nov. 21.

Enrollment limited to 15 students; early enrollment advised. Visitors not permitted. 7 &

Tim Cummings MFA, author of the forthcoming upper-middle-grade novel Alice the Cat. Mr. Cummings’ work appears in F(r)iction, Scare Street, Lunch Ticket, Meow Meow Pow Pow, From Whispers to Roars, Drunk Monkeys and Critical Read/RAFT for which he won their “Origins” essay contest. He is a regular contributor at LA Review of Books (LARB).