WORKSHOPS FOR YOUNG CRIME WRITERS
And then there were Clues
Description
A 1-hour detective short story writing workshop led by children’s author Susan Brownrigg. Attendees (ages 9 – 11) will use magnifying glasses and old maps of Marple to plan and write a mystery short story.
Plotting the Perfect Crime
Description
Attendees will plot a mystery novel by thinking of a crime and brainstorming the strategies used in crime-solving to come up with a list of suspects. Moniza will use the plot of her own mystery novel as a guide to show the attendees how this is done.
Workshop Details
And then there were Clues
Presenter: Susan Brownrigg
Description: Use detective magnifying glasses and old maps of Marple to plan and write a mystery short story. Plus! Dress up in Golden Age costumes to help create your story’s detective!
Attendees: Up to 20 attendees, ages 9 -11
Length: 1 hour
Materials to bring: None
Supervision: Children must be supervised by an adult during the workshop.
Workshop Outline:
Introduction: Susan will explain how she uses historic maps to name her characters (like Agatha Christie) and to plot her mystery novels.
Activity: Children can try on costumes to create and detective character for their short story. They will then use a magnifying glass and old maps of Marple to identify locations for scenes for their story. Children can read aloud their story at the end or ask a parent or Susan to share it for them.
Takeaway: Children will have written a short story and gained map reading skills.
Plotting the Perfect Crime
Presenter: Moniza Hossain
Description: Attendees will plot a mystery novel by thinking of a crime and brainstorming the strategies used in crime-solving to come up with a list of suspects. Moniza will use the plot of her own mystery novel as a guide to show the attendees how this is done.
Attendees: Up to 20 attendees, ages 12-16
Length: 1 hour
Materials to bring: Paper and pen
Supervision: None required
Workshop Outline:
Introduction: Moniza will use the plot of her novel Bad Things Happened Here to explain the strategies used by the main characters to solve crimes in mystery novels.
Activity: Attendees will brainstorm their own crimes and come up with a list of suspects.
Presentation: Attendees will share their plot outlines with each other.
Takeaway: Attendees will have a plot outline that they can use to write their own mystery novels.