Where best-selling authors teach writing.

A Writer's Journey Panel

Marissa Meyer, Kendare Blake, and Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Recommended Grade: All Grades

This class is for anyone who is a fan of either Marissa Meyer, Kendare Blake or Jennifer Lynn Barnes. If you've ever had questions about their favorite books, why they wrote their books, what is hard and what is rewarding for them as authors, this class is for you.

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motivation, publishing, Marissa Meyer, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Kendare Blake, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3A

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But I Want To Be Published NOW

Shelly Brown

Recommended Grades: 6-12

In this class you will learn all about the publishing world. Shelley Brown teaches you what you should focus on now as well as what you should do in the future if you want to be published. It includes writing a query letter, self-publishing and different places you can publish as well as how to know when you are ready to publish.

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publishing, query letter, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.10, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.10

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Compelling Character Motivation from Story, to Scene, to Sentence

Heather Clark

Recommended Grades: 9-12

This class focuses on the mechanics of character desire to help you flesh out your characters and build a plot around the characters true motivations and needs. Heather Clark details different types of obstacles to create for your characters as well as how to raise the stakes with those obstacles for both your main character and secondary characters.

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character, motivation, Heather Clark, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3A, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3B, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3E

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Creating Villains We Love to Hate

Jennifer Nielsen

Recommended Grade: 6-12

This class focuses on creating amazing antagonists and/or villains. Jennifer Nielsen teaches you the differences between heroes and villains, common major and minor motives of villains, finding the core emotion for your villain, and the questions you need to ask yourself in order to create a well-rounded villain.

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villains, character, Jennifer Nielsen, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3B, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3A

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Day in the Life of a Writer

Kendare Blake

Recommended Grade: All Grades

Enjoy this keynote talk by Kendare Blake in which she walks you through her workspace, a day in her life when she's figuring out story ideas, and most importantly, how to deal with distraction.

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inspirational, writing habits, focus, Kendare Blake, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.10

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Drive Your Plot with Strong Characters (and your characters with a strong plot!)

Erin Stewart

Recommended Grades: 8-12

This class teaches you how to use your characters to help plot your story. Erin Stewart leads you through an entire character driven plot structure as well as showing you which parts of the story are crucial to character arc plotting.

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plot, character, story structure, Erin Stewart, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3A, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3E

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Great Writers Are Great Rewriters: What It Takes to Revise a Novel to Greatness

Kaela Rivera

Recommended Grades: 7-12

This class is deep dive into revision. An editor herself, Kaela Rivera covers a hierarchy of revision, methods for revision, how to know when your book is ready for submission, and how to take critique. Whether you are a newbie to revision or have been doing it for years, this class is for you.

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Editing, Rewrite, Revision, Kaela Rivera, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5

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How to Build and Maintain Tension in Your Story

Alexander Delacroix

Recommended Grades: 6-12

Join Alexander Delacroix as he teaches you all things fictional tension related. You will learn overarching ways to create tension in the general storyline, how to create it within your main character, and how to write a great cliffhanger at the ends of chapters or series.

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tension, story structure, plot, cliff hanger, pacing, Alexander Delacroix, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3C, "CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3B

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How to Improve Your Writing with Concepts Learned from Video Games

Emma Nelson

Recommended Grades: 6-12

In this class Emma Nelson uses the basics of video games to teach important concepts of story writing. She relates this to creating great characters, building amazing worlds, and leaving the right questions in the reader’s mind. Grades: 6-12

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character building, world building, video games, Emma Nelson, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3

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How to Liposuction Your Prose

Jo Schaffer-Layton

Recommended Grades: 9-12

A more advanced class, Jo Schaffer-Layton leads you through narrowing down your writing to the best words. The focus is on technical writing, but applies to all aspects of writing. Includes how to find the extraneous words, common wordiness mistakes, and how to cut unnecessary words.

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technical writing, editing, prose, Jo Schaffer-Layton, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2D, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3D, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5

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How to Lose a Reader in 10 Lines

Tiffany Rosenhan

Recommended Grades: 6-9

In this class Tiffany Rosenhan gives advice for keeping readers engaged in your story. She covers why it is harder to engage now than it was in the past, common mistakes writers make in the opening pages, and what to do in those opening pages to ensure your readers keep reading.

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common mistakes, hook reader, writing advice, Tiffany Rosenhan, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3A

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Jumpstart to Story Structure & Plotting

Nova McBee

Recommended Grades: 8-12

Suspense and tension and driving forces for reading. In this class Nova McBee teaches you twelve different ways to create mystery in your story.

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story structure, plotting, tension, suspense, Nova McBee, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3B, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5

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10 Things Writers Should Know- Keynote Address

Brandon Sanderson

Recommended Grades: All

Learn Brandon Sanderson's Top Ten things he wish he knew when he was a teen author. This fun and inspiring keynote is a must for anyone who has ever even thought about writing.

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inspiration, keynote, writing habits, Brandon Sanderson, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3

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Writer’s Block

Hafsah Faizal

Recommended Grades: 6th-12th

This Q & A session talks about with how to deal with the hard parts of writing, the publishing process, handling romance, dealing with the messy middle of the story, and lots of great tips for creating characters.

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writers block, publishing, Hafsah Faizal, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.10

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Authors at Play

Christopher Paolini, Tyler Whitesides, and Frank Cole

Recommended Grades: All

Join these well-known authors as they craft a story together using some of the same tenets as Dungeons and Dragons. This class can help students come up with story ideas. Activity: This class would pair well with an author study. Have students read a book written by one of the authors in the video, and then watch this video.

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dungeons and dragons, character development, improve, Christopher Paolini, Tyler Whitesides, and Frank Cole, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.10

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Be Your Character's Therapist

Jo Schaffer-Layton

Recommended Grades: 6th-12th

This class focuses on creating believable and well-rounded characters. It delves into the psychological aspects of character building from nature versus nurture to personality tests for characters. You'll also learn tips for understanding your characters in a deeper way.

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characters, psycology, therapist, , CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3A, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3B

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Character Development, Growth, and Change

Julie Berry

Recommended Grades: 9th-12th

In this class Julie Berry leads you through character creation with an interactive worksheet. She also covers how to create good antagonists and allies and how to push these characters together to create great conflict.

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CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3A, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3E, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5

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Creating Conflict With Your Heroes and Villains D&D

J. Scott Savage

Recommended Grades: 7th-12th

This class will teach you the different types of heroes and villains you can create in your stories, the difference between a villain and an an antogonist, types of conflict, and how to mash up all of these ideas to create the strongest conflict possible.

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CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5

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Using Vivid Description

Jennifer Jenkins, Jo Schaffer, Tahsha Wilson, Margie Jordan

Recommended Grades: 6th-10th

Join some of the founders of Teen Author Boot Camp to learn how to take your writing to the next level with better description. This class gives you tips, tricks, and ideas for making your reader feel like they are fully immersed in your story.

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CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3B, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3D

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Dialogue that Speaks

Jennifer Jenkins

Recommended Grades: 6th-9th

Jennifer Jenkins focuses on all things related to dialogue. From recognizing dialogue in text to knowing your characters to how to tag your dialogue in the correct ways. Gives great advice on mixing your dialogue with action to create a more cohesive story.

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Finding Your Voice

J. Scott Savage

Recommended Grades: 6th-12th

Having your own voice is crucial. We hear about it all the time, but how do you achieve it? Author J. Scott Savage teaches you what voice is, how you find your voice, and more importantly how you find your characters' voices. Also includes the difference between first and third person and writing with your audience in mind.

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CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.10

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Getting To The Heart Of Your Characters

Robyn Schneider

Recommended Grades: 6th-12th

Follow along with Robyn Sneider as she teaches you how to create the most believable characters. From your main characters to the side characters and beyond, you will get amazing tips and tricks for helping your characters jump right off the page.

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Hacking Your Way Through Your Novel

Frank Cole

Recommended Grades: 6th-12th

This class should be the first class you watch from this website. Frank Cole covers defining your characters and conflict, what to include in your first chapter, and tons advice from published authors. Most importantly he gives you tips for how to clear your space for writing and how to get words on the page every single day.

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How to Publish Your Poetry

Leigh Statham

Recommended Grades: 6th-12th

This class is for anyone who has an interest in getting their poetry out into the world. It covers poetry revision, tips for making your poems submission ready, and places you can go to publish your own work.

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