Creative Writing Workshop:  Fan Fiction on the Book of Genesis – Thursday – Winter 2024 – 10 Weeks – Grades 8 – 10

Books and movies that we love often leave fans wondering about questions that are left open, and details that are not filled in.  People who write fan fiction on Harry Potter, Star Wars, or other stories, use their own creativity to answer these questions and fill in the gaps.  People have been doing the exact same thing with bible stories for thousands of years.  

In this class we will dive into the first book of the bible and explore it not as a religious text but as a great work of literature, full of fascinating people and complex plots.  Students will participate in a variety of exercises, including reading both ancient and modern fan fiction on the bible; responding to prompts to write their own stories; creating prompts; and discussing how paintings of biblical scenes function as a form of fan fiction.  We will also try some Bibliodrama, which involves students answering questions in the first person as characters in the story.    

This class is open to people of all religions and no religion, and no prior knowledge of the bible is necessary. This will be a fun class that helps students with their creative writing, and also hones their skills in close reading.  Before creatively answering questions left open in the text, you first have to read the text carefully to figure out what those questions are!

This is a discussion class–there will not be any lectures.  Students should come to class prepared to actively participate.  Students should expect approximately one hour of homework per week.  Assignments will include writing short fan fiction pieces in response to prompts.  

NOTE: This class must reach the minimum of five students by December 15, 2023 to run. If we do not reach this minimum, parents will be notified via email.