The CatholicAuthor Creative Writing Program for High School Teens

Get help and feedback from Catholic writer mentors on each story your teen writes.

Homeschool parents:

Can you imagine your high school teens excited about a creative writing course that counts as school, and will help them get jobs in the future? Want this writing club to be more than an extracurricular activity?

By enrolling your high school teens in this course, you can assign a full credit for extra curricular activities on the high school transcript. Colleges will love to see that!

Personal

a mentor reads every submission to provide constructive feedback

Flexible

write at your own pace each month, assign it to any high school semester

Reputable

mentors are professional writers and passionate Catholics

Affordable

flat monthly fee or annual discount, perfect for homeschool families

Valuable

earn an English elective credit for your high school transcripts

Details about the Course

Program Cost

$35 per month, or $350 per year (get 2 months free). Or pay quarterly.

Age for Entry

Students must be 14, or 9th Grade or higher. Younger students may request to apply

Pre-Requisites

No pre-requisites required. A passion for creative writing is a must.

Writing Multiple POVs: Why a POV Should be *Indispensable.* Or Not.

About this Program

This Creative Writing Program prompts your child to have fun with writing, to actually get it done and get published, to earn feedback and share their own insights. All of this teaches them how to communicate and express themselves, to help them get jobs!

What if your teen could share their excitement about fiction with a community of friends? Imagine your teen joining regular contests, and competing for a chance to get published in our quarterly journal? What if they could share their works in progress for ideas and feedback, to help them be better writers in record time?

It’s all online, fits right into their schoolwork, or after their normal schedule. Join a community filled with people serious about writing.

If your teen has dreamed of writing a novel but no idea where to start, sign them up.

If they’ve found themselves stuck somewhere between planning and finishing their drafts, they should join.

If your teen lacks the confidence to complete a manuscript, sign them up.

If your teen needs practice receiving and implementing feedback, sign them up.

If your teen wants a fun, lively, space to make friends and enjoy improving their writing skills, start today.

Why join this program

Most homeschooling families don’t have a course or a plan for creative writing. Students are allowed to fiddle around in their spare time. But if they’re uniquely passionate about this, they’re spending hours on it already.

When your teen joins this course, they’re going to get better, get feedback, stop procrastinating, learn from published and professional authors, join workshops and challenges, be pushed to think about themselves and their writing more deeply, finish their stories and novels, stimulate their creativity, start getting used to the publication and revision process, and get in the groove of regular writing – so that they actually improve!

Imagine gifting your teen a fun and friendly way to learn the discipline of writing.

  • To learn to write faster and clearer to land better jobs – because they can prove they can share what they think with clarity
  • To understand the parts of a good story, and a good novel
  • To understand how to be a modern Catholic Author
  • To get published and their name known
  • To have a network of friends who support them
  • To build a trusted circle of beta readers
  • To launch their brand and their audience by starting their writing portfolio
Desk in sunlight

How the program works

    Step 1: Start Subscription

    Set up your subscription with Stripe or Paypal.

    Step 2: Set up account

    Enter the group, and create your profile on Catholic Homeschool Online.

    Step 3: Start your first story!

    Read the manifesto, introduce yourself, and start writing your first story!

    Bonuses

    Feedback

    Help form each other with feedback from your peers

    Live meetups

    Optional live co-writing sessions with other teens

    Enrichment

    Monthly Q&A or podcast with published authors

    Credits

    Half Credit

    Students can spend a minimum of 60+ hours. Concretely, that means participating in the quarterly contests to finish 4 stories.

    1 Credit

    150+ hours of work, or around 30 minutes a day. Students participate in every monthly genre challenge and quarterly contest, and will finish 12 stories in a year.

    Additional Half Credit

     Students can participate in additional workshops throughout the year to spend time with Catholic writer mentors on a preferred topic. They must complete the exercises to get a passing grade from the mentor.

    Desk in sunlight

    How Mentors work

    Every story is read by a program mentor, a passionate Catholic with professional writing experience. The student gets private feedback on the quality of their submission, including what’s working and not working in your story. This usually includes characters, voice, plot, dialogue, setting, and style.

    Students must demonstrate an ability to incorporate feedback from their mentor, and improve their submissions each time.

    At the end of the year, students can earn a Certificate of Satisfaction from the mentor. Parents are encouraged to read the stories and follow along with their student’s progress, so that you feel confident in awarding the credit on their high school transcript.

    The core value of our creative writing program is professional feedback from our mentor. This gives your student the confidence and direction they need to improve faster.

      Meet your Mentors

      Starting with our founder, and more coming throughout the year!

      Amelia Leedom

      Amelia Leedom

      Amelia Leedom writes for many reasons. To relax, to make herself happy, but mostly she writes because she needs to get these ideas out of her head so she can sleep! Her stories range from romance, to bromance, to whatever-mance you can think of. When she’s not writing, Amelia can be found watching the best low-budget B movies Amazon has to offer, making her husband pay attention to her, or coming up with new story ideas as a way to procrastinate on the stories she is working on.

      Website: https://amelialeedom.com/

      ABOUT THIS SHOW: Legendmakers
      Interviews with authors, brought to you by LegendFiction, the creative community for Catholic & Orthodox fiction writers! Hosted by Dominic, the founder, we talk creed, craft, and co-creation, rooted in grit, grace, gods, and dragons. Let’s inspire your faith and your fiction.

      ABOUT LEGENDFICTION
      The creative community for modern Catholic & Orthodox authors. Share your works in progress, give and get feedback, and double your writing output! Join our private community: https://legendfiction.com
      About: https://legendfiction.com/about/
      Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/legendfictions/
      Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/legendfiction/

      FREE COURSE: How to be a Faith-Inspired Fiction Author
      Helping authors write exciting novels, connect faith with fiction, and be a better Catholic! https://legendfiction.com/free-course

      read more
      Katy Campbell

      Katy Campbell

      Katy grew up in a family that was always joking around and laughing. “My grandma taught me that humor is a powerful tool for getting perspective, especially when working through difficulties. I brought this value to my writing and have yet to create a story I don’t consider at least a little bit fun. So far, I’ve published four comedy fantasies and have many more in the works! ”

      WEBSITE: www.katysfables.com

      Q: Favorite fandom/movie series?

      This is the worst question ever because there are so many awesome fandoms to choose from. Since I have to choose, I’ll say Star Trek from the original series through Voyager. (None of these new-fangled Star Treks you kids are watching.) My fairies draw a ton of inspiration from Q, the mischievous all-powerful space alien that appears in Next Generation.

      Q: What are you writing these days?

      Lots of things! I am doing a sequel to my first novel, Love, Treachery, and Other Terrors. A sequel to Rosaline’s Curse, and a new fun fantasy for middle schoolers about a fifteen-year-old girl’s search for her long-lost parents.

      Q: Why is LegendFiction a Good Idea?

      Because Orthodox and Catholic writers need a place to tell fun stories that reflect their worldview. I mentioned how much I love Star Trek earlier, but numerous episodes depict religious people as superstitious, science haters that need to be defeated. It’s a pretty standard sci-fi trope.

      What’s the solution to this? Help religious writers create awesome sci-fi! Their stories might not be explicitly religious, but they also won’t perpetuate anti-christian stereotypes.

      Q: What Services Do You Offer?

      I offer story coaching for novels and short stories. As I am reading through your story, I will leave inline comments with my real-time reaction and predictions about where the story is going. This will help you understand if your emotional beats are working.
      I try to be as specific as possible with feedback whether it’s constructive or praising. So instead of saying, “I like Chapter 6” I’ll say, “I like how you built tension in Chapter 6 by introducing the mysterious stranger. He was really creepy and the way he kept showing up everywhere the hero went got me really on edge.”

      Instead of saying, “This section is boring.” I will say, “Cut this section down because it repeats information you gave us earlier in the story.”

      Q: What’s your dream audience?

      I like working with people who are open-minded, willing to consider my notes even if they don’t end up using them, and people who are willing to ask clarifying questions about my feedback. I also love working with people who have great senses of humor and don’t take themselves too seriously.

      Q: What’s one thing that you wish people knew about editing?

      Nobody’s work is perfect. All the great books you’ve read went through numerous rounds of editing. Don’t be embarrassed if I catch a mistake in your manuscript. I’ve probably made the same mistake a hundred times. Editing can hurt, but it’s an important part of making your story awesome!

      ABOUT THIS SHOW: Legendmakers
      Interviews, convos, and community news about LegendFiction, the creative community for Catholic & Orthodox fiction writers! We talk creed, craft, and co-creation, rooted in grit, grace, gods, and dragons. Let’s inspire your faith and your fiction.

      ABOUT LEGENDFICTION
      The creative community for modern Catholic & Orthodox authors. Discover new worlds, support your favorite authors, share your works in progress! Share your stories for free, or join our private community.
      https://legendfiction.com
      About: https://legendfiction.com/about/
      Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/legendfictions/
      Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/legendfiction/

      FREE COURSE: How to be a Catholic Author
      Helping authors write exciting novels, connect faith with fiction, and be a better Catholic! https://legendfiction.com/free-course

      read more
      Katelin Cummins

      Katelin Cummins

      Katelin Cummins is a writer and fiction book coach certified through Author Accelerator. She is a cradle Catholic who loves stories (especially fantasy) Katelin is excited to support Catholic writers to write the best stories they can, whether the content of those stories has religious themes or not.

      WEBSITE
      https://www.katelincummins.com/

      As a book coach, Katelin help writers plan, write, or revise their novels. She offers guidance for planning a novel, professional developmental editing, project management for the creative process, accountability, and encouragement.

      The two best times to begin working with Katelin are when you are beginning a new novel or have completed a first draft and are planning a revision.

      Book Coaching Services:

      – Accountability & Encouragement: Achieve your goals with personalized project management support for your book project. Twice per month, meet for a 30-minute video call to discuss your goals, your progress, and your plan for how to move forward.

      – NaNoWriMo Support: Plan your book and reach the 50,000 word finish line this November. This package uses the Blueprint for a Book tool from Author Accelerator along with six weekly coaching sessions for accountability and encouragement.

      – Blueprint for a Book: Build your book using Author Accelerator’s in-depth novel-planning method. Complete the exercises over four deadlines (one to two months), receive written feedback, and discuss your work with me during three live coaching sessions.

      – Manuscript Evaluation: Send your completed manuscript and find out what’s working and what’s not working with your book as a whole. Receive a detailed editorial letter with a step-by-step plan for revision. Then discuss your feedback and revision plan on a one-hour video call.

      See more information or contact her on her website: www.katelincummins.com.

      DISCOUNT
      Katelin offers a 10% discount on services to members of LegendFiction!

      CREATIVE PROJECTS
      As a writer, Katelin is currently working on a supernatural women’s fiction novel called Inheriting the Muse. It’s about an artist who meets the muse spirit who inspired her famous painter father. The muse magically inspires her, animates her artwork, and brings her success. But when the artist-muse relationship turns toxic, the artist must decide if creative bliss is worth her freedom.

      About Author Accelerator
      https://www.authoraccelerator.com

      ABOUT THIS SHOW: Legendmakers
      Interviews, convos, and community news about LegendFiction, the creative community for Catholic & Orthodox fiction writers! We talk creed, craft, and co-creation, rooted in grit, grace, gods, and dragons. Let’s inspire your faith and your fiction.

      ABOUT LEGENDFICTION
      The creative community for modern Catholic & Orthodox authors. The creative community for modern Catholic & Orthodox fiction authors. Discover new worlds, support your favorite authors, share your works in progress! Share your stories for free, or join our private community.
      https://legendfiction.com
      About: https://legendfiction.com/about/
      Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/legendfictions/
      Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/legendfiction/

      FREE COURSE: How to be a Catholic Author
      Helping authors write exciting novels, connect faith with fiction, and be a better Catholic! https://legendfiction.com/free-course

      read more

      Questions? Requests? Send us a message

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      'How to Be a Catholic Author'

      Manifesto

      How to be a Catholic Author

      Helping authors write exciting novels, connect faith with fiction, and be a better Catholic!