Writing Workshops

3rd–5th & 6th–12th

Austin Bat Cave Fall D&D Club

Oct. 6th–Dec. 15th, Wednesdays from 6:30-8:30pm
Interface: Zoom

ABC is thrilled to offer a free bi-monthly, after-school Dungeons & Dragons Club! Students who are members of this club will play Dungeons & Dragons with a group of peers and an ABC teacher, build character-development and story-telling skills, and keep a writing journal documenting the adventures that take place during their D&D campaigns.  

5th–8th Grade

Ghost Story Workshop

Saturday, October 9th, 1pm–3pm
Interface: Zoom

Sometimes the location of a ghost story is as spooky as the ghost itself. Abandoned buildings, cemeteries, dark forests—they all have the ability to create goosebumps even without a monster jumping out. What places do you find creepy? When you picture those places, what do you see? What do you hear? What do you feel? This workshop with Carie Juettner, author of The Ghostly Tales of Austin, will explore the power of setting in ghost stories and how to use sensory details for maximum creepiness. Writers will get the chance to write their own ghost stories and share them with the instructor and one another…if they dare!

3rd–5th Grade

Scary Stories: Haunted Objects

Weekly on Tuesdays in October (10/12, 10/19, and 10/26) from 6:30-8:30pm
Interface: Zoom

Have you ever gone to a yard sale or museum and felt the call of a doll or an old book? Ever wondered what happens to the things that people lose or throw away, and what energy might be attached? Sometimes everyday objects have the creepiest stories. In this workshop, you will explore writing about haunted objects and the stories that they have to tell. You will work with our spooky instructors to write different types of stories and get feedback on your work just in time to creep out friends and family for Halloween!

7th–12th

Sports Writing

Mondays from 5:30pm–7:30pm, 10/11, 10/18, & 10/25; Match on 10/16 from 7:30pm–10pm
Interface: Zoom

Calling all writers & sports fans! Austin Bat Cave is excited to launch our first- ever sports writing program! This workshop will introduce you to many different types of sports writing, from journalism to creative pieces, to team chants, and more. Over the last two weeks, participants will attend the Austin FC vs. Minnesota match on October 16th and work on a piece about the game. These pieces will be published online and shared with Austin FC. Featuring lead instructor and writer Miguel Fernandez, The Striker’s Phil West, and other creative experts and soccer fanatics from Austin FC TBA!

7th–12th

Celebrating Fandom through Fanfiction

Thursdays from 6:30pm-8:30pm, 11/4, 11/11, 11/18, 12/2, and 12/9
Interface: Zoom

Do you have a fandom that you love but wish the story had ended differently? Want to explore your own story and play around in that universe? Then this workshop is for you! This workshop will explore how we can celebrate fandoms we love from books, movies, TV and video games by honing our writing and storytelling skills. Writers will learn how to adapt characters from your favorite fandom to a new and original fictional scene and reimagine what the story could look like. You will also learn about fanfiction communities and about DIY publishing through fanfiction.

3rd–5th Grade

Fairy Tales Workshop

Saturday, December 4th, 11am–1pm
Interface: Zoom

Have you ever wondered why we come back to our favorite folktales and fairy tales over and over again? How have these stories changed and been adapted over time? In this workshop, you will learn about a variety of different fairy tales and folk tales from around the world, how these kinds of stories are created, and how they become part of the cultural stories that people tell over time. Then, you will learn to write your own fairy tales as adaptations or your own original story which you will get feedback on and have the opportunity to share. Who knows, maybe your story will become a fairy tale that is told over and over again!

5th – 9th Grade

Austin Bat Cave D&D Club

Feb 2nd–May 4th, Tuesdays from 6:30-8:30pm
Interface: Zoom

ABC is thrilled to offer a free bi-monthly, after-school Dungeons & Dragons Club! Students who are members of this club will play Dungeons & Dragons with a group of peers and an ABC teacher, build character-development and story-telling skills, and keep a writing journal documenting the adventures that take place during their D&D campaigns.  

9th–12th Grade

For the Record: An Op-Ed Writing Workshop

March 15th–17th, 12pm–3pm each day
Interface: Zoom

Join us for a 3-day op-ed workshop taught by local journalists! Students will learn how to write and pitch timely and incisive op-eds, with a special focus on writing about social and political issues. The workshop will include a one-hour panel on pursuing a career in journalism featuring David Leffler (Senior Editor, Austin Monthly) and Emily Caldwell (Editor in Chief, The Daily Texan).

6th – 12th Grade

Fantasy Writing Workshop

Feb 15th-19th, 5-6:30pm
Interface: Zoom

This workshop is for writers who want to write fantastical fiction (Think The Hobbit, The Percy Jackson Series, or Children of Blood and Bone), including novels, short stories and more! Students will design and create their fantastical worlds, develop characters, and write stories that transport the reader. Over the course of the workshop, students will complete at least one short story or scene and showcase their work. 

3RD – 5TH GRADE

Beginning, Middle, End: Learning Plot Development

April 5th–9th, 5pm–6:30pm each day
Interface: Zoom

Younger writers have a head full of ideas but often find it difficult to organize them into a comprehensive story. In this workshop, students will take part in a number of fun activities, all while learning how to develop a plot and working towards completing a well-structured story of their own. 

Carol Mitchell is the author of eighteen books for children of all ages (three of those are forthcoming from HarperCollins UK). Over the last ten years she has taught many creative writing workshops for children from kindergarten through twelfth grade. She holds an MFA in fiction, a certificate in editing from UC Berkeley, and has taught literature and creative writing at George Mason University in Virginia, USA. She was short-listed for the Burt Award for Young Adult Caribbean Literature in 2016 and has twice been long-listed for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. 

3rd – 5th Grade

Comedy Writing Worksop

Saturday, April 10th, 1pm–3pm
Interface: Zoom

Humor writer Wendi Aarons will help kids find their funny bone to write jokes, parody commercials, memes, skits and more laugh-inducing material. Students will learn about all formats and elements of humor and do a lot of laughing! 

Wendi Aarons is an award-winning humor writer who has written and created for outlets such as US Weekly, Nickelodeon, Lifetime TV, and Esther’s Follies. She was named Funniest Parenting Blogger by Parents Magazine and is a frequent contributor to McSweeneys Internet Tendency. She has also written a middle-grade novel about Ginger, a girl comedian, that will be published in the near future.

6TH – 10TH GRADE

I Am Writer: Journaling Past Our Doubts

Saturday, April 10th 12pm-2pm
Interface: Zoom

ABC is excited to offer a workshop this spring where students will get the opportunity to write about their strengths and their superpowers. This workshop is designed to foster students’ empowerment and their sense of belonging through journal writing. Students will learn about the intricate nature of bullet journals, planner journals, gratitude journals, and free-write journals as they address and overcome their doubts. By the end of this workshop, students will have produced three writing pieces using a variety of journaling techniques to showcase who they are as writers and leaders. We can’t wait to see you there!

8th – 12th Grade

Courageous Cadence with Performing Justice Project

October 14th–December 9th, Wednesdays from 6:30–8:30pm
Interface: Zoom

Presented by the Performing Justice Project in partnership with ABC, Courageous Cadence will center the utilization of spoken word poetry as a tool for social justice. Through creative writing, performance-based skills, and personal storytelling, participants will examine and name connections between their individual experiences and systemic (in)justice. With a focus on race and gender theory, participants will imagine and perform more just possibilities for themselves and their communities. Courageous Cadence consists of eight two-hour video sessions in addition to a final performance for an audience. Join us to discover the rhyme in resistance and make a stand!

5th – 9th Grade

All About Me: Using Personal Narrative Writing to Tell Your Story

Saturday, November 14th, 11am–2pm
Interface: Zoom

We all have a story to tell, and writing can be one of the best ways to capture it. In this workshop, you will learn how to share your memories, experiences, and personality through the art of personal narrative writing. Students will learn the different styles that personal narratives can take, and, using inspiration from published authors, will write a short narrative about a meaningful event or experience from their life. 

6th – 12th Grade

Live Write-In & Author Visit with Natalia Sylvester

Wednesday, October 14th, 6pm–7:30pm
Interface: Zoom

ABC is excited to host a special Live Write-in and author visit with Natalia Sylvester, author of Running! In this workshop, Natalia Sylvester will read from her novel, talk about the inspiration for her book, and answer audience questions. Then, during the write-in, you’ll write independently to prompts about some of the themes explored in the book to help you consider speaking your truth and using your voice for change even if you are afraid to. Writers will have the opportunity to share their work open-mic style and get feedback from instructors and other teens. If you don’t want to share, you can just listen and hear how others responded to the prompt!

5th – 9th Grade

Austin Bat Cave D&D Club

Sept. 29th–Dec. 1st, Tuesdays from 6:30-8:30pm
Interface: Zoom

This fall, ABC is thrilled to offer a free bi-monthly, after-school Dungeons & Dragons Club! Students who are members of this club will play Dungeons & Dragons with a group of peers and an ABC teacher, build character-development and story-telling skills, and keep a writing journal documenting the adventures that take place during their D&D campaigns.  

5th – 8th Grade

Ghost Story Workshop

Saturday, October 17th, 1pm–3pm
Interface: Zoom

Where do ghost stories come from? Why are people drawn to tales of terror? Is there a ghost story you want to write? This workshop with Carie Juettner, author of The Ghostly Tales of New England, will explore our fascination with ghost stories and how writers tackle spooky subjects. We’ll learn the elements of a ghost story and how to structure them for maximum creepiness. Writers will get the chance to write their own ghost stories and share them with the instructor and with one another . . . if they dare!   

6th – 10th Grade

Horror Writing

October 26th–30th, 5pm-6:30pm each day
Interface: Zoom

What are the stories that scare you the most? Are they about monsters? Supernatural spirits? A trip to the Upside-Down? This program with author Jennifer Graham is for writers in 6^th-10^th grade who want to create horror fiction. Students will learn ways to work with horror tropes in order to write spine-tingling, hair-raising stories, whether subtly spooky or wildly terrifying. Over the course of the workshop, students will complete one short story and do a public reading. 

5th – 9th Grade

Celebrating Fandom Through Fanfiction

November 9th–13th, 5:00–6:30pm each day
Interface: Zoom

Do you have a fandom that you love but wish the story had ended differently? Want to explore your own story and play around in that universe? Then this workshop is for you! This workshop will explore how we can celebrate fandoms we love from books, movies, TV and video games by honing our writing and storytelling skills. Writers will learn how to adapt characters from your favorite fandom to a new and original fictional scene and reimagine what the story could look like. You will also learn about fanfiction communities and about DIY publishing through fanfiction.

6th – 10th Grade

Post-Apocalyptic Fiction

November 16th–20th, 5pm–6:30pm each day
Interface: Zoom

This workshop is for writers who want to write apocalyptic, dystopian, or futuristic fiction (Think Hunger Games. Think Divergent. Think Uglies). Students will re-imagine their city and neighborhoods in post-apocalyptic terms and bring these worlds to life on the page. Over the course of the workshop, students will complete one short story and do a public reading. 

5th – 12th Grade

#Quaranzine Workshop

Saturday, December 5th, 11am–1pm
Interface: Zoom

Looking for creative outlets while staying at home? This workshop will provide opportunities to connect creatively and document what quarantine has been like for you in 2020. Join author and creator Austin Kleon for this special #Quaranzine workshop and learn about how he has been creating mini-zines using various materials at home. You will learn how to make your own zine (self-published book/magazine) and will have time to respond to prompts to get you thinking about what your zine will be about and how it can express your life during the quarantine.