Summer Class 2024: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Dystopian, & Speculative Fiction
Class Description
Fantasy & Sci-Fi Summer 2024 course
This course teaches students the basics of characters, building an authentic world, crafting cultures and governments, developing magic and technology, dialogue, creating captivating conflicts, and much more! Students will use writing exercises, templates, and writing tools to create a captivating short story. This course is available to any writing levels and ages 12-17.
Class Summary
Students will learn, practice, and share world-building and narrative techniques to create a short story or excerpt to share at the end of the week.
Topics covered:
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World Building (cultures, religions, fashion, food, geography, etc.)
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Dialogue and sentence structure
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Character Development
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Crafting a Compelling Plot
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Analyzing fantasy & sci-fi stories
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Creating motivation for characters
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Methods of driving plot
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Students will participate in instructor-led and supervised lessons with activities during online sessions. They will then have the rest of the day to write at their own pace, applying the skills taught in class to their projects.
Meet Your Instructors
Keiko Rakin
Hello! My name is Keiko Rakin and I am a junior at Alhambra High School. I have been writing since first grade and I am currently working on publishing my 450 page fantasy novel! I have been involved in many writing programs such as Write The World, UCLA Writing Extension, and Idyllwild arts. I am president of my school's Creative Writing Club which entails teaching members writing techniques and leading meetings. In addition, I am involved in my schools Speech and Debate team and I am a Student Board Member on the Alhambra Unified School District working with youth from all over Alhambra, Monterey Park, and the San Gabriel Valley. I can't wait to work with students and read their amazing writing!
Sophia Ramirez
My name is Sophia Ramirez and I am a rising junior at Grand Arts High School in California. Although I've come to branch out into other art forms, storytelling has been prevalent in my life since before I even learned to read. Today, writing has become necessary for me to describe how I'm feeling and I value it limitlessly for that reason. I currently play violin in Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) which is sponsored by the LA Philharmonic. With YOLA, I have played at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. I also am a soprano in my school's audition based chamber choir. I have leadership roles in multiple clubs at my school (Science Bowl Club, Tri-M Music Honors Society, and the Choir Council). I have extensive knowledge in sentence structure and grammar which I know I can use to help our students grow as English speakers/writers. I also happen to be my best friend's personal dictionary as I've always been an excellent speller. I hope to study historical linguistics and etymology in college. I am currently learning Latin and Greek to develop a deeper understanding of root words and the evolution of western language. I am incredibly excited to help our students become the writers they wish to be.
Guest Speaker
Evangelina Rattray
Evangelina Rattray is a student and author from the midwest area of the United States. She has written two novels in the young-adult category that showcase the varying personalities of Black youth. Her goal is to contribute more representation for the community of non-stereotypical Black girls since she lacked it as a child. She is hopeful that her sci-fi/dystopian novel, Echo, will create a new and diverse generation of dystopia-lovers.
