BITING WRITINGAbout the Teacher
About the Program
Student Writing Samples
What Kids & Parents Say
Sample Reading List
F.A.Q.






BITING WRITING is an individualized, innovative after school creative writing program for creative kids, ages 7 and up, who like to write – or think they might like to write.

Children meet once a week, from September to June, on a-one-to-one basis in a relaxed, informal environment. Over the course of the school year each student has the opportunity to write a short story, an essay, a monologue, a play, a piece of poetry or anything else he or she might dream up.

As we brainstorm, discuss and write, we also read the work of published writers, from old school masters like Chekhov, Edgar Allan Poe, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, to new school greats, such as Bill Bryson, Jhumpa Lahiri, and David Sedaris (see Sample Reading List for a more extensive list). Works chosen depend on the child’s interests, abilities, maturity level and relationship to his or her own piece of writing. We explore these works to see how elements of style have been used, and how we can incorporate these elements into our own writing.

As we read, we focus on character, plot, theme, point of view, and genre, as well as figurative and descriptive language - simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, and other literary devices.

Each June, the children’s writing is compiled into an anthology that is distributed to all students. Students are also given an opportunity to read excerpts from their work at a celebratory year-end family reception.

Students in grades 7 and up are eligible and encouraged to submit their work to the prestigious Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Though Biting Writing represents a tiny percentage of the approximately 25,000 submissions, each year we have several national gold medal winners.


 

Biting Writing | Creative writing classes taught by Darlene Freeman | Park Ave & 94th St, New York, NY 10128 (212) 348-8852
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