'A Year of Writing' Writing for Children Program'
Welcome to our ONLINE program on The Art of Writing for Young Children In this program you will receive wonderful guided lessons on writing for young children each month for one year, and be guided through a creative process of writing a variety of story themes for children. My writing is for early childhood, but these methods apply to story writing for older children too.
I am excited about this new online direction of a Year of Writing! In the past it was focused on Walkabout Tales and writing inspired by nature. Now we will still include intro and a new deepening to Walkabout Tales writing, but we will also explore and write stories for:
Seasonal Stories - Engaging children in finding their place in the consistent rhythm of the year through stories.
Celebration Stories - creating stories that honor the celebration days within the year. Lifting children's experience of special days with story.
Nursery Rhyme Stories - exploring the gifts of rhyme and rhythmic verse, and building that up to be a prose story. Discussing the gifts of the different types of language for young children.
Transformation Stories - Tales which help a character reach a more noble place. Through the images of the story line, supporting children in their own journeys.
Worker Tales - Honoring the importance of meaningful, purposeful work in the world, raising it to its most beautiful cosmic gestures through writing inspired by Steiner's 12 Professions.
The Protection/Shelter Story - creating stories that make children feel safe in the world, and supporting their sense of well being, and feeling secure in knowing that their world is good.
The Art of the Poem Story - These are enchanting as all children love learning language and are tickled with the rhythm and rhyme and repetition of poetry in story form.
The Art of Story Series - Children love stories about a special character that have multiple stories about them... not a chapter book, but independent tales united by a beloved character.
We also dive into Cafe Writing and Postcard Stories, Spirit Tales, lots of warm up writing exercises, Pocket/Paragraph Stories, Fantastical Stories,Outdoor Spontaneous Story Creation and Telling, Business of Writing and Getting Published, and so much more! and there will also be a StoryTelling and Voice Work component.
The lesson's assignments will feel like a creative retreat, a renewal...Do join us! Cost for the year will be $1450. Payment plans available. This is open to all friends with a commitment to the Entire Year Program. No writing experience is required.
This is an ONLINE Program for all friends near and far.
Each month I will bring new content and step by step writing exercises, then we write. We share our work with each other, and there will be lots of cheerleading, comments, ideas, support, insight. You will learn so much from each other as well. A beautiful and supportive community will develop to carry you onward beyond the year together. I respond to and guide all of your work with insights and love.
The course will also look at ways to edit, and share your work, getting published, how to establish yourself as a writer on social media and in your community.
The course is open for enthusiasts to begin at any time. You will get individual mentoring of the assignments, and have access to past student work and my comments on those. A new group program may be offered in 2025. Details TBA.
The 2025 group will be the 16th Year of Writing Program.
Please email me, suzannedown@gmail.com for further information or if you have additional questions.
Payment Plans are available to spread your cost over the year. Discuss your options with Suzanne.
It is a wonderful creative renewal for all who take it. it is joyful, uplifting, and quite a few past students have published their work, some have illustrated it too!!!!
There is flexibility in when you do your writing work. You can work at your own best schedule. I do recommend you schedule your best times to complete the assignments for each month within that month. You will have the course lifelong to refer back to again and again.
By the end of the year you will have at least 15-24 stories and can be well on your way to developing a part time income stream from your work.
Contact suzannedown@gmail.com for all questions about payment plans.
Best wishes, Suzanne Down, Founder Juniper Tree School of Story and Puppetry Arts
Participants will receive an email invite to join the course a few days before we begin from Ruzuku, our host platform. I am very excited to be offering this online year of creativity!
