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 Teen Writing Summer Camp Curriculum

The Teen Virtual Writing Summer Camp is an extensive writing program geared toward developing young, aspiring writers with age-appropriate instruction. This virtual summer writing camp helps guide young authors, ages 13 to 18, toward stronger fiction writing and industry knowledge through hands-on story development and character enrichment. Our industry professionals then guide the summer camp attendees through the entire publishing process!

Smiling Teenage Boy

Story Development

Using easy-to-grasp features of developmental editing, we help summer camp attendees work through the structure of their stories, discover whether outlining or stream of consciousness writing works better for their style, and learn the nuances of book mapping and narrative pacing.

Smiling Girl

Fiction Mechanics

What works in a student's grammar class in school is not always what works best for their style of fiction. We help them navigate this confusion with clear explanation and guided instruction on how to utilize these differences to create stronger fiction, while also reaffirming the elements of style and grammar that help authors meet reader expectations.

Smiling for the Camera

Industry Knowledge

Different industry professionals come together to make up each author's publishing team. We help summer camp attendees identify these professionals, understand what each contributes to the publishing process, and learn how to effectively work with them on future products through the creation of a summer camp anthology.

Ready to register your teen for an immersive virtual writing summer camp that will give them a foot forward into their future careers in the writing and publishing industry?

About the Instructor

Lyndsey Smith is the chief editor of Horrorsmith Editing Services, the acquisitions editor for Horrorsmith Publishing, and a mentor for the Horror Writer's Association. She specializes in speculative fiction genres—horror, fantasy, sci-fi—mystery, thriller, cozy mystery, and romance. Lyndsey has worked with award-winning and best-selling authors in their respective genres and has developed a summer camp curriculum focusing on immersive instruction in real-world simulation. 

As part of the summer camp, the attendees will be taking original stories and using the weekly instruction to enhance the features of their own style. Then, working one on one with Lyndsey, the attendees will get to experience working with an industry-recognized editor, polishing their stories for publication. As a class, the camp attendees will have Q&A sessions where they'll be introduced to cover artists, publishing assistants, and best-selling authors. Each of the daily modules will be recorded for students to review after the scheduled class times. 

Following the summer camp, Lyndsey will compile, format, and publish the entire collective works the summer camp attendees elevated throughout the program, giving each attendee author credit and full copyrights. Pen names can be chosen if preferred, instead of using legal names. An eBook copy and a paperback version of this anthology will be gifted to each summer camp attendee shortly after publication, along with Lyndsey's self-editing resource, How to Self-Edit Your Novel, and an editing-focused writer's planner. All proceeds from the sales of the summer camp anthology will be donated to the World Literacy Foundation, which helps provide books and educational literacy resources to disadvantaged children in their native languages all over the world.

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Lyndsey Smith

Certificated Fiction Editor

H. C. Newell, Fantasy Author

“Working with Lyndsey was an incredible experience.

Dr. Brita McCreary, Editor

“Lyndsey exhibits considerable editing knowledge and an outstanding level of professional judgment.

Debra Castaneda, Horror Author

“I swear, [Lyndsey] is magical...She digs out the landmines you didn't know were there.”

Smiling Student Sitting At Desk
Week 1 Topics
  • Monday - Determining genre and genre expectations, story structure, and book maps

  • Tuesday - Pantser vs. plotter, how to outline, writing sprints, overcoming writer's block

  • Wednesday - Effective hooks, pacing, character development

  • Thursday - Using research, point of view, deep POV

  • Friday - Common grammar mistakes, punctuating dialogue, filter words. Submission of stories for final editing over the weekend, by Monday.

Week 2 Topics
  • Monday - Types of editing, how to find an editor, working with an editor, editing as a career, start of one-on-one editing coaching

  • Tuesday - What does a publishing assistant (PA) do, how to find a PA, working with a PA

  • Wednesday - Marketing resources and avenues, series or stand-alone fiction

  • Thursday - Traditional or self-publishing, Q&A with two speculative fiction authors

  • Friday - What does a cover artist do? How to select and work with a cover artist. Q&A with an industry-recognized cover artist, selection of camp's anthology cover

 

Smiling Student in Lecture

But it doesn't stop there...

Not only will recognized industry professionals provide your teen author with the tools needed for stronger fiction writing and a head start within the publishing industry, we'll also send additional resources to help them advance their careers well after the summer camp is over! Your teen will receive: a paperback copy of How to Self-Edit Your Novel, written by Lyndsey Smith; the supplemental electronic Additional Editing Package to go with the editing resource; a paperback Plotting Your Year, an all-inclusive planner designed by Lyndsey Smith that focuses on all aspects of publishing a career-focused author needs, and a paperback contributor's copy of the anthology created by the summer camp attendees!

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