How to Start and Run an

After-School Creative Writing Club

By

Julia Camilleri

1
 Feedback from Club Attendees:

I feel more confident when writing

Ive become more inspired and motivated as a writer
I learned how to be more comfortable with sharing my writing
I can better understand my characters and what they would do in certain
situations
I learned to write setting to improve my story
I learned how to use music to effect my writing and help make twists
I became more observant
My writing flows better
Im able to write better and my stories are more detailed overall
Ive become more descriptive, using more vocabulary
I learned how to use all five senses to add detail to my writing
I learned how to build fictional worlds
My writing has become more vivid/more creative and interesting
I was exposed to many different styles of writing
I got to meet successful writers and hear them speak
I was exposed to many authors and their careers
I learned how to make a twist in my plot to make my writing more interesting

2
Background

The CCA After-School Creative Writing Club was begun by Julia Camilleri, President of the CCA
Writing Club, as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award Project. As part of organizing the Annual Writers
Conference for high school students that takes place at Canyon Crest Academy, Julia had realized
that there was a need for creative writing at the middle school level. The first two after-school writing
clubs that Julia organized served as a pilot for future programs run by the CCA Writing Club. This
document serves as a manual to help other high school clubs duplicate this after school program and
to ensure that CCA Creative Writing Club has a procedure in place to continue to provide this service
to local middle schools.

Step 1

Find a location that can accommodate approximately 30 students. You will need to have enough
seating spaces at tables to give them a comfortable space to write. A white board is essential and a
projector will help authors give presentations but is not essential as you can provide photocopies of
the presentation instead.

Recommended locations are middle schools or Rec Centers.

Step 2

Set up dedicated email address. Start contacting authors (see sample letter attached). It is important
to find authors who are not only writers but also have experience teaching or making presentations.
Find out what subjects they enjoy giving presentations on.

Some websites to search:

San Diego Writers, Inc. - http://www.sandiegowriters.org/

San Diego Writers/Editors Guild - https://sdwritersguild.org/about/

Mysterious Galaxy: Meet and Greet Local Authors - http://www.mystgalaxy.com/event/meet-and-

greet-local-authors-sd-090812

SDSU Writers Conference - http://www.ces.sdsu.edu/wc

Step 3

Start marketing the program. Make flyer. Send email with flyer to Principals and Head of English
Department, announcing the program and asking them to share with their teachers of English. Send
press release to local newspapers. (examples attached)

3
Step 4

Manage reservations, making sure to deal with emails chronologically. On receiving an initial request
for registration, respond with an email as follows:

Thank you for your interest in the club. Please complete the attached Permission Form (see Appendix
for copy of form) and Club Rules (Attached) and return these forms to me (You may take a photo of it
to send to me). I will need this form before registering [name].

I am also attaching a flyer so that you can make a note of the dates and location.

On receiving the completed Permission Form, confirm registration with the following email:

This is to confirm that [students name] is registered for the upcoming Writing Club for Middle School
Students starting on [Date] from [Time] at the [Location].

Please have him/her bring a 1" binder and lined paper; it will also be a good place for him/her to file
any handouts that our authors will provide. We recommend sending a snack to be eaten before the
club starts.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing [name] on Friday.

Attach: Club Flyer

Step 5

Identify a number of volunteers who will help run the club. Volunteers are especially needed for
sessions to help run critique groups.

Step 6

A few days before the start of the workshop, send email to participants and parents reminding them of
the first session. If you are opening your workshop with an author presentation, send out an email
and remind the author about the time and location of the conference.

Step 7

General tips for each meeting:

At the start of each club, have each student sign in. This is important to keep of track of who is
attending and for safety reasons.
At the very first meeting, have each student prepare a name tag (which you will keep and use
at each meeting).
At the first meeting, announce small groups, which should be set up ahead of time. Make sure
to separate students who signed up together and have a good mix of girls and boys.
Review Club Rules and Regulations. As an icebreaker during the first session, have each
student introduce themselves, giving name, grade, school and one specific thing that each
student wants to get out of the club.
4
 Review Critique Rules [See attached]
Introduce author with a short description of bio.
At the end of each author visit, have students evaluate the session [see Evaluation Form
attached]
Alternate author presentations with small group writing exercises [see Flyer]. Have students
share writing in small groups.
Between each meeting, send out an email reminding parents and attendees of upcoming
meeting. Provide a short update on what was covered at the previous meeting.
Send out reminders to authors and volunteers a few days before each session, as necessary.

Step 8

The last session: have students bring potluck. Have them meet in their small groups and run a short
writing and sharing session. Have the students complete an end of program evaluation [Attached].
Run a discussion to have students discuss what they enjoyed most about the program and what they
would have changed if they could have.

Send out thank you letters to authors who gave workshops.

Good Practice Suggestions

Club Rules, signed by both parent and student, are very important to set the tone of the club.
We added this to our second session, after having behavior problems with a couple of
members in our first session, and found that the second session went smoother with less
interruptions and the students were more respectful.
During our second sessions, one author suggested that, as authors who typically work alone,
we are not often acknowledged for our work. She recommended that we clap for anyone
sharing written work. This generated a sense of camaraderie and support among the group
which had not existed in the first group.
Sharing of writing should not be made mandatory, as most people feel shy or uncomfortable at
first. Sharing however should be encouraged as to make students more comfortable with their
own writing and so that they can get valuable feedback from CCA club volunteers and their
peers during critique group sessions.
We found that a good balance for critique group sizes was approximately 6 attendees to one
volunteer. Having 6 people in a group took the pressure away from those who really did not
want to share as there were always enough students who wanted to read their stories in a
group of 6.
Separating students who signed up together, were from the same school, or generally
encouraged each other to not focus was important in providing an environment that was
conducive to writing. At first, we had a lot of push back about students wanting to be in groups
with their friends; however, after a week or so, the pre-assigned groups were accepted and
made working in critique groups a lot easier.
During our first meeting of the second session, we talked about Canyon Crest Academy and
the very inclusive environment at our school. We explained that we would have a zero
tolerance for students who were not supportive of each other or students who bullied each
other. Setting the scene as well as making sure that everyone on was on board with our Club
Rules and Expectations really helped to generate a much friendlier and supportive group than
we had had at our first session.

5
Attachments:

Sample letter inviting authors to present at the Middle School Club

Copy of Flyer
Copy of Press Release
Copy of Email to Middle School English Teachers, promoting the club
Permission Form
Sign In Sheet
Club Rules
Critique Rules
Speaker Evaluation Form
End of Program Evaluation Form
Examples of Small Group Writing Ideas

6
Sample letter inviting authors to present at the Middle School Club

Good morning [author name]

My name is [ ] and I am the President for the Creative Writing Club at [High School Name]. As
part of our community outreach, we are planning to start a free after-school Creative Writing Club for
Middle School Students. I think it is so important to teach writing concepts at the middle school level
and give them the opportunity to practice those concepts! They will be so much more prepared for
high school English than the average student! We are alternating author visits with sessions where
we practice what we learn within critique groups. This will be the perfect opportunity for middle school
students to practice writing technique, practice sharing their writing in small, supportive groups and
develop the confidence to share in groups in high school.

Attached please find our flyer with proposed dates. As soon as you can let me know which date
works for you, I will contact other authors with the remaining dates.

The club meets at [Time] at [Address].

I hope you are able to make it! You are such a great speaker and are able to connect with your
audience so well! I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely

7
 CALLING ALL MIDDLE SCHOOL WRITERS

The Canyon Crest Academy Creative Writing

Club, in partnership with local published
authors, invite you to our 2nd series of
afterschool writing workshops

Join us on a creative writing journey! This is a wonderful

opportunity to hone your writing skills and be ahead of the game
for high school writing!

Workshops will alternate between author presentations and writing

workshops/critique groups facilitated by members of the CCA
Creative Writing Club, which will put into practice techniques
presented by authors.

Sessions will be held at the Carmel Valley Rec. Center (3777

Townsgate Dr) on Fridays from 3:30pm-5:00pm as follows:

Sept 16 "Introduce critique group concept; Work on Writing Prompts

Sept 23 "1st Author Workshop
Oct 7 "Practice 1st writing topic; share writing in critique groups.
Oct 14 "2nd Author Workshop
Oct 21 "Practice 2nd writing topic; share writing.
Oct 28 "3rd Author Workshop
Nov 4 "Practice 3rd writing topic; share writing.
Nov 18 "Write in the park Using your Senses.
Dec 2 "4th Author Workshop
Dec 16 "Practice 4th writing topic; share writing.
Jan 6 "5th Author Workshop
Jan 13 "Practice 5th writing topic; share writing
Jan 20 "End of program review/evaluation. Potluck party.
PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED NO STUDENT WILL BE ALLOWED TO
ATTEND IF THEY ARE NOT REGISTERED.
Please email ccawritersconference@gmail.com to register with your childs name,
grade, school and contact information. We look forward to going on this creative
journey with your middle school student!

8
Press Release #1

Canyon Crest Academys Creative Writing Club holding free Middle School Writing Workshop Series
MARCH 6, 2016, 4:38 PM

Canyon Crest Academys Creative Writing Club recently announced a series of free writing workshops for
middle school students. As of March 4, students can learn about plot, characterization, setting and much more
from bestselling and award-winning published authors. The CCA Creative Writing Club is known for the
coordination of the CCA Writers Conference, which hosted 200 students from 24 high schools all over San
Diego at an all-day event featuring 22 writing workshops. Julia Camilleri, president of the CCA Creative
Writing Club, is coordinating these workshops as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award. She notes, I was so
inspired by attending the CCA Writers Conference as a freshman that I became president of the club. I wanted
to ensure that my peers could enjoy the same inspirational and educational workshops. Now wed like to help
middle school students be inspired to develop their skills in creative writing. This unique program is being held
at the Carmel Valley Recreation Center, (3777 Townsgate Drive, San Diego) on Fridays from 3:30-5 p.m.
Workshops will be given by authors alternating with workshop/critique group meetings facilitated by members
of the CCA Creative Writing Club. These workshops are free and open to any middle school students. Pre-
registration is required. Please email ccawritersconference@gmail.com to register with students name, grade,
school and contact information.






Press Release #2

Popular after-school Writing Club returns
SEPTEMBER 12, 2016, 10:15 AM

Last year, Canyon Crest Academy's Creative Writing Club President, Julia Camilleri, who also organizes the
annual CCA Writers' Conference, saw a need for writing workshops at the middle school level. I had many
parents of middle schoolers try to register their students for the annual writers conference at CCA, which is
aimed at high school students. It showed me that there was an interest in creative writing at the middle school
level and, with the support of several CCA students and author Kathy Aarons, who is the club mentor, we had a
very successful first session. The 20 students who joined the Writing Club attended presentations by several
local authors, practiced writing the many techniques they learned about and participated in critique groups. I'm
glad to see kids being encouraged to write and learn their craft, commented author Lisa Kessler, who taught
the students to write Flash Fiction, a favorite activity with many of the attendees. There are so many after-
school activities they could choose. Seeing so many choose to write was inspiring.

The next session of CCA's Creative Writing Club for middle school students starts on Friday, Sept. 16 from
3:30- 5 p.m. Only pre-registered students will be able to attend. To register, contact Julia Camilleri at
ccawritersconference@gmail.com

9


Letter Introducing Club to Middle School English Teachers

Hello

My name is [Name] and I am an alumni of [Middle School] and currently a junior at [High School. I am working
on my Girl Scout Gold Award and I am also the organizer of the CCA Writers' Conference, which last year had
220 students from all over San Diego and 24 published authors and we are expecting similar numbers at this
year's conference (http://ccawritersconference2016.weebly.com).

Each year, this conference gets many requests from middle school students who wish to attend. In order to
provide these middle school students the same experiences as their high school counterparts, I have decided
to organize an after school club for middle school students. I have 6 published authors signed up to come in to
talk to the students about various creative writing techniques and I also have members of the CCA Creative
Writing Club helping with running critique groups and writing exercises. Would you be able to advertise this
club to your English class - either to the students or by sending emails out to parents? The club is free of
charge and will be held at [Name of Venue].

I am attaching the flyer and would really appreciate it if you could help me get the message out to the school
community. The first class is [Date], so I am hoping to get word out asap.

Thank you

10
 Writing Club for Middle School Students
Permission Slip

Please complete the following form and submit prior to our first meeting. Thank you.

My child _____________________________________________________, a ___________ grader who attends _____________________________ Middle

School, has permission to participate in the [Name] Writing Club for Middle School Students series of workshops.

The following information is provided so that the adult in charge may contact a responsible person in case of illness or
accident during the activity:

Parent/Guardian _________________________________________________ Phone ____________________________

Other Responsible Party _________________________________________ Phone ___________________________

Doctor ______________________________________________________________Phone ___________________________

In an emergency situation, an emergency medical technician may need to know the following information about my childs
health (allergies, chronic illness, seizures, etc.)


I give permission for the adult in charge to take my child to a medical facility, if necessary. In case of emergency, if none of the
above can be contacted, I consent to treatment for my daughter under the supervision of and as deemed advisable by a
physician licensed under the Medicine Practice Act. This provides authority pursuant to Section 25.8 of the California civil
Code.

Parent/Guardian Signature ___________________________________ Date ______________________________

The objective is for this program to serve as a model for other programs for middle school students in San Diego. As such, we
would like to take photos, student comments and writing samples in order to share these with school districts in San Diego.
Please note that your student will not be identified in any way in our report.

I give permission for my childs photo, comments and writing samples to be shared with the San Diego School District and Girl
Scouts of San Diego for use in developing this writing program for middle school students.

Parent/Guardian Signature ___________________________________ Date _______________________________

As part of the evaluation of this program, we would like to contact your childs teacher to ask them to complete a comparative
evaluation of your childs writing before and after the program, in order to measure the efficacy of this program. Again, your
child will not be identified in any way in our final report.

I give permission for my childs teacher to be contacted.

Teacher Name _________________________________________


Parent/Guardian Signature ______________________________________ Date _____________________________

11
WRITING CLUB FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS
SIGN-IN SHEET
Meeting Date:
Place/Room:

Name School

12

Club Rules/Expectations:
Creative Writing Program for Middle School Students

Welcome! We look forward to getting to know you better over the next 13 weeks of this program. Please
come prepared to write and share your writing! We love to share our writing and this workshop will help
improve your creative writing technique and prepare you for the many sharing opportunities in high
school. In order for us to create a safe environment in which everyone feels free to share, please note the
following:

1. Create a Safe Environment for Sharing: It is important that everyone works together to provide
a safe environment for sharing work and ideas. Treat everyone and their work with respect. Take
your work, and everyone elses, seriously.
2. Celebrate Diversity: At our high school, we celebrate diversity and wish to ensure that
everyones point of view and values are respected. There will be zero tolerance in the Creative
Writing Club for any type of bullying, prejudice or discrimination.
3. Be Kind: Make a smile with your words. When you provide feedback, start with something you
liked or admired about the work. Then discuss something specific that could use improvement.
Then end with something you liked. Be honest we are all here to learn!
4. Show Appreciation: Please clap after each person shares their writing! Let us show our
appreciation of each others work and commitment to sharing.

Respect: Please note that the high school students and especially, our visiting authors, take time out of
their own schedules to work with you. They do this because they really care about sharing their love of
creative writing with you. Visiting authors are donating their time. The same rules that apply at school
should apply in the workshop pay attention to the speaker, follow rules, thank speakers for their time
and show respect.

We ask that you, the parent, read this list of expectations with your student. Please sign and bring the
signed bottom portion of this page to our first session. Thank you. The CCA Creative Writing Club

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We have read the club rules and expectations and agree to abide by them.

Name of Student: _____________________________________________

Signed ________________________________________ (Student) Date __________________________

Signed ________________________________________ (Parent) Date __________________________









13



CRITIQUE RULES:

As we move forward with the workshop series, you will have the opportunity to share your work with
other students and ask for feedback. Following are our rules:

1. Create a safe environment for sharing Treat everyone and their work with respect. Take your
work and everyone elses work seriously. Keep each others work confidential
2. Be kind Make a smile with your words. When you provide feedback, start with something you
liked or admired about the work. Then discuss something that could use improvement. And then
end with something you liked.
3. Be specific Point out what needed improvement. Sometimes its not clear what the problem is,
but its a point in the story where it was hard to follow.
4. Keep each others work confidential - Dont discuss it outside of the workshops.

14
 AUTHOR WORKSHOP EVALUATION #1 - PLOT

Please complete PART 1 BEFORE we begin our session! Wait for instructions before you complete PART 2 and PART 3
AFTER the author presentation.

PART 1

Todays presentation will be on PLOT. In your own words, how would you define PLOT?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PART 2

Now that you have listened to the presentation and worked on the exercises, has your definition of PLOT changed?
Yes/No (circle one)

If yes, how would you define PLOT now?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PART 3

On a scale from 1-5, how would you rate todays workshop?

1 2 3 4 5
I learned I learned a few I learned a few I learned some I learned many
nothing ideas but I am ideas that I might interesting ideas new and interesting
new not certain how be able to use that I will be able ideas that I will be
to use them to use to improve able to use to
my writing improve my writing



What was the most interesting thing you learned today?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

15
 CCA MIDDLE SCHOOL WRITING CLUB
EVALUATION

Congratulations! You have completed Session 1 of the CCA Creative Writing Club for Middle School Students. We hope
that you have not only learnt new writing concepts but that, the opportunity to learn from published authors, write
and share your writing, has helped you to become a better writer in general. In order that we may continue to
improve on this club for future sessions, we would greatly appreciate it if you could answer the following questions.

Which was your favorite presentation? Why?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Which was your least favorite presentation? Why?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

What is the most interesting thing you learnt over the course of these sessions? How do you anticipate using this
information to improve your writing?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Please provide 3 examples of ways in which your writing has improved due to the information you learnt in this club:
1.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


On a scale from 1-5, how would you rate your learning experience in this club?

1 2 3 4 5
I learnt I learnt a few I learnt a few I learnt some I learnt many
nothing ideas but I am ideas that I might interesting ideas new and interesting
new not certain how be able to use that I will be able ideas that I will be
to use them to use to improve able to use to
my writing improve my writing

16
 EXAMPLES - WRITING EXERCISES
CHARACTERIZATION

Compete Characterization worksheet from last week.

Make a playlist of songs that remind you of your character or that your
character might listen to.

Read through the worksheet or look at the vision board for your character.
Then become your character. Use first person to write the story of (select
one or more):
o Your (your character's) most embarrassing moment
o The time in your (your character's) life when he/she was the most angry
o The time in your (your character's) life when he/she was the most sad
o The time in your (your character's) life when he/she was the happiest
o The moment in your (your character's) life when he/she set a goal to
be a villain/hero/intellectual/slacker, etc.

17
WRITING PROMPTS

BREAKING UP ON VALENTINES DAY

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Valentine's...
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In an ironic twist, a dog really ate your homework. When you try to explain this to your teacher she says, "Come on, you can do better than that
excuse." Instead of arguing, you take that as a challenge and come up with an elaborate story as to what happened to your homework. Let...
DRY ERASE BOARD NOTES
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You come into work one morning and the dry erase board on your desk has a note on it that you didn't write. You assume it's a coworker friend so,
just to amuse yourself, you respond to the note on the board with your own note. The next morning you come in and there's...
GETTING ARRESTED ON JEOPARDY
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You are a contestant on Jeopardy and are in the lead. Final Jeopardy comes up and it's a question you know. As you are on the verge of revealing
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I CANT BELIEVE I DIDNT SEE THAT COMING
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Write a story that starts with the line "You'll never get me to tell you where the jewels are," and ends with the line, "I can't believe I didn't see that
coming." Be as creative as you can.
WORST MEMOIR OPENING LINE
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you write as a joke just to amuse yourself at how absurd the person's story is. But now that person wants you to use that line. Share it...
TRUTH OR LIE ABOUT YOU
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Write 4 things about yourself that are true and one that's a lie. Then, go on to at least one other person's post and guess which one is the lie.
NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS FOR 2017
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What are your New Year's resolutions for 2017? Post them here and then at the end of the year, I'll feature this in the newsletter and ask you to check
in to see which ones you've accomplished and reflect on your writing year.
RUDOLPHS REVENGE
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After years of teasing and name-calling, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has finally had it. Write a strongly-worded letter to all the other reindeer
from Rudolph, allowing him to air his grievances and announce that he is quitting to join (fill in the blank).
THREE WISHES
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You bump into a genie and she offers to grant you three wishes. What are your wishes and why?
BEST PRANK
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What's the best prank you've ever pulled on someone?
THANKFUL IM A WRITER
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Finish this sentence: I'm thankful I'm a writer because ...
MYSTERY COOKIE
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One day you come into work and find a cookie mysteriously placed on your desk. Grateful to whoever left this anonymous cookie, you eat it. The
next morning you come in and find another cookie. This continues for months until one day a different object is leftand this time theres a note.
STEPS CHALLENGE
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SMARTPHONEY
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18
After weeks of secret detective work, partners Barbara and Nolan are on the verge of cracking the case. Theyve been posing as employees at a high-
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hearing him say incriminating things into...

COUPON CUTTER
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Youve been an extreme coupon cutter for years, to the point where you have gained national recognition for it. But youve developed a rival coupon-
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REVOLUTION RADIO
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gossip, but on this particular morning you pick up a caller who says hes going jump off the top of your building unless you play every song he...
HEADLESS HALLOWEEN
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You and two of your friends are working at a Halloween haunted house. You each get into costume, representing scary creatures. On the first night,
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feel...
FINISH THIS SENTENCE #2
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I never would have married you if I'd have known __________. (And then write a story that follows it.)
THE HITCHHIKER
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Write a story about three people who are on a road trip together, only to stop off at a gas station and pick up a fourth person whom they don't know.
Why did they pick this person up? Where are they taking him/her? What happens?
WHAT I WOULD TELL MY YOUNGER SELF
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You've been given one-time access to a time machine to visit your younger self. After a brief pause, you know the when and the where, hop in the
machine and take off. When there, you chat with your younger self but offer one piece of advice to him/her that you hope will change his/her...
THREES A CROWD
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THE FLOOD THAT SPARKED YOUR MEMORY
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FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
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Write about a first day of schoolit can be your very first day, it can be the first day of a particular year or at a particular school, it can be a fictional
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LUNCH GONE WRONG
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19