Writing for Young Readers: Opening the Treasure Chest (Coursera)

During this course you will identify stories that matter to you, explore cultural significance and boundaries, and shape your identity as a writer; become familiar with standard elements of narrative (character, setting, plot, theme, language, dialogue, point of view); reflect on your own work and practice essential self-editing skills; see the different ways in which words and art interact, and the possibilities of longer narrative forms; come away with practical insights into publishing options; and create a plan for pursuing your enthusiasm for writing. By the end of the course, you will have ten to twelve extracts of writing that you can develop into a portfolio.

Join a dynamic community of many voices from around the world. Find inspiration in your own voice, heart, and place so that you can tell the stories for young readers you’ve always wanted to tell.

Syllabus

WEEK 1

Your Writing Identity

Good children’s writing commonly has a strong sense of identity. This module will give you a chance to think about and practice putting yourself into your writing. We will start by looking at how you can establish effective writing habits and how you can use your own experiences and culture to enrich your writing. We will also discuss ways that you can add depth to your writing by drawing on myths and legends, and by experimenting with different viewpoints.

WEEK 2

Genre, Form, and Audience

In this module we will give you an overview of genres and forms that are popular for young readers. We will then move on to a discussion of audience – who your readers are and how you can make your work appealing to your chosen audience. By the end of the module you will have a good sense of the wide range of genres and forms available to you and some techniques that you can use to make the most of the genre or form you are working in.

WEEK 3

Structure

We’ve covered qualities of writing that make it appeal to an audience – its form, its genre, and its strong personal voice. Now we’ll move on to some structural elements that are key to holding your writing together. We’ll start by looking at character and setting, then move on to plot and theme. Finally, we will focus on language. Language can really bring your writing to life by adding a layer to your characters and setting and by giving your plot a good pace. This is the last module where we look at creating new writing. In the next two modules we’ll focus on editing your work and getting it published.

WEEK 4

Editing and Proofreading

In this module you will learn how to transform your draft work into something that flows well, is free of errors, and is ready to be published. We’ll start by looking at structural editing, where you look at your work’s plot, structure, and themes. Then we’ll move on to the copyediting and proofreading stage, where you focus on perfecting grammar and spelling. We have provided resources and checklists that will help you to practice applying our editing tips to your own work.

WEEK 5

Publishing

In this final module you’ll learn about different ways that you can get your work published and into the hands of young readers. We have included information about a range of different publishing methods available to you, from traditional print publishing to digital publishing. You can also listen to our guest writers talking about how they publish their own work. This MOOC is just a starting point for your writing life. You will soon be ready to join a global network of writers.