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6 Activities for Your Teens’ Writing Club

One of my favorite extracurricular homeschool activities was leading a monthly homeschool writers’ club. We called ourselves “Writing Nerds” because that’s what we were—a group who loved reading and were interested in writing. Our group was made up of junior high and high school homeschoolers. We met for an hour and a half each month. If you like reading and know the basics of fiction writing, consider starting a group with your own homeschoolers.

Here are some activities to get your teens’ writing club started!

5 Minute Story:

Give each student each three slips of paper. On the first, they write a character. On the second, they write a setting. On the third, they write a conflict. I had a basket for each (characters, setting, conflict), and they tossed them all in. They drew one slip of paper out of each basket, then they had five minutes to write a story about their character, conflict, and setting. The requirements for the story were:

1. Open with dialogue in paragraph #1
2. Describe the action in paragraph #2
3. Then they could describe the setting in paragraph #3.

After that they could continue with the story as they saw fit. They then read the stories out loud, and they were HILARIOUS! I still remember one was about a nun who had to bail from a plane that was crashing in Paris.

Teaching Dialogue:

To teach dialogue, I used plays, such as mixed-up fairy tales (here are some free ones!). We assigned parts and read sections of them out loud. Then I had them write the dialogue of the same characters in a different situation. For example, what if Baby Bear in the three bears showed up at the first day of school and his seat mate was Goldilocks?

Color Coding:

I photocopied the first pages of a novel—such as Kingdom’s Dawn by Chuck Black—and gave everyone a copy and crayons:

• Red for action.
• Green for dialogue.
• Yellow for internal thoughts.
• Orange for description.
• Pink for emotion.

This really helped them see how novels are not just narrative (this happened, then that happened, etc.). Sometimes I had them write their own story following the same “color pattern.” The results were impressive. Sometimes we colored the openings to two different novels and then compared the authors’ writing style.

Snowflake Method:

We used Randy Ingermanson’s Snowflake Method and “plotted” a novel. You can learn more about The Snowflake Method here.

3 Likes + 1 Dislike:

We assigned people to bring short stories or parts of their book to class every week. They had a limit of 1,000 words and they had to make enough photocopies for everyone in class. We passed around the story and gave eight to ten minutes for everyone to read the story. Then everyone went around and shared three things they liked and one thing they didn’t like.

I was the last to comment after everyone was done, and I did the same (but I usually gave two or three suggestions about ways they could improve their story). I was amazed how insightful the students were. The majority of the time they discovered all the “issues” by the time it got to me.

Sensory Exercise:

I had a collection of objects—steel wool, sponge, a plant, coins, etc.—that they could handle, and they had to write descriptions of them. Then they had to use that same description and describe something else—for example, the description for steel wool became the description for a knight’s armor.

Those are a few ideas to get you started. A writing club is so much fun—and educational, too!

Here is a FREE printable to use for your writing club!

More Resources:

Homeschooling for the Rest of Us by Sonya Haskins

Homeschooling 101 by Erica Ardnt

Hope and Refreshment for Homeschooling Parents

Need more ideas and advice on homeschooling? Pick up a copy of Homeschool Basics. Receive tried-and-true homeschool advice from veteran homeschooling moms Tricia Goyer and Kristi Clover. We dish out practical help on getting started and staying the course. Homeschool Basics will remind you that the best homeschooling starts with the heart. Packed with ideas to help you push aside your fears and raise kids who will grow to be life-long learners. Kristi and I believe that homeschooling can transform your life, your home, and your family. Mostly, we believe homeschooling can truly prepare your children for the life God’s called them to live. Don’t let doubts hold you back any longer. Get Homeschool Basics on Amazon Now!

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