Framing Your Short Story: An Outlining Workshop for Young Writers

On Saturday, February 22nd,  a new PEIWG workshop called, Framing Your Short Story, will teach young writers (ages 8–13) how to frame a story, from the beginning to the end. Bestselling middle-grade author Jaime Lee Mann will walk students through her personal process of writing books, paying particular attention on the outline.

By the end of the day, students will have a ten-page short story outlined.

This workshop is perfect for anyone thinking about submitting to the Island Literary Awards (deadline: Feb 28!), as it will help spark the initial idea and framework needed to guide the story. 

Topics include:

• The hero's journey
• Obstacles standing in the hero's way (internal vs external struggle)
• Character sketches of the hero and the villain 
• World building
• Three-act process for outlining a story
• The "Sticky note" outline

During the last 30 minutes of the workshop, students will engage in individual writing time. Jaime Lee will be available if anyone would like to share their writing or get help with a beginning, end, or plot problem.

The workshop will run on Saturday, February 22nd at the Haviland Club, from 9:00am until 4:00pm. Please bring a brown bag lunch. Cost is $45; please bring pencils / pens and a notebook. 

About the Instructor

When Jaime Lee Mann was nine years old, she decided she would be an author when she grew up. Her first novel was Elora of Stone. JL (as her family calls her) lives in a pretty house in Prince Edward Island with her husband and two daughters. In addition to writing her own creative fiction, JL also co-owns a writing and editing business, called Manley Mann, where she writes books and things for other people. Now that the Legend of Rhyme series is complete, JL is working on a new series of books, this time, for a YA audience.