Interest pathway
Story Lab
How writers build tension, images and arguments that stay with you.
Topics in this pathway
Start here
Language for effect
How writers make you scared without showing the monster
The scariest sentence in a horror novel usually describes almost nothing.
Poetic conventions
Are song lyrics really poetry?
Strip the melody away and some lyrics collapse. Others get stronger.
Extended writing
The job an opening line has to do
You have about twelve words to make someone read the thirteenth.
Projects
Three-story mini collection
Write three very short stories that share a setting, then edit them properly.
Write a three-story anthology
Three short stories that share one object, each told in a different voice.
Draw a story map, then write the story
Plan an adventure as a picture map, then write it in five paragraphs.
Make one podcast episode
Script and record a twelve-minute episode explaining something you know well.
Edit a poetry anthology
Choose, order and introduce six poems so they build one theme.
Write a poem about home
Write a short poem using your five senses.