Written Out Loud is a writing program rooted in the ancient practice of team-based, out loud storytelling. Out loud storytelling is a natural and joyful process. Writing, on the other hand, can be difficult: it is learned, not natural behavior. At Written Out Loud we believe that writing can and should be every bit as joyful as out loud storytelling… if the young writer tells their story out loud first. That’s why we gather students together in small brainstorming groups, to build their stories out loud before they begin writing. Then the words flow onto the page. That’s how writing becomes as natural and joyful as out loud storytelling.

While working as a professional screenwriter, Written Out Loud’s founder Joshua Shelov worked in “Hollywood writers’ rooms,” where writers build and write stories as a team, out loud and bounce ideas off of each other to create new worlds. Shelov wanted to share this experience with his own kids, and others. So he returned to his alma mater Yale University to workshop the writers’ room structure as an academic methodology. It worked even better than he’d hoped, and he immediately launched Written Out Loud. During the pandemic, it grew swiftly into a national platform for both individual students as well as schools. Written Out Loud has proven to be a profoundly effective methodology for young learners, jet-fueling every student’s writing with belonging, friendship and joy.

Whether a student already loves writing, or is struggling to develop a writing habit, we believe that every kid can and should love writing – and they will *if* their writing is connected to their organic love of storytelling. Too often, in schools, kids are forced to write silently, in isolation, hemmed in by a structure that is dry and uninspiring. Our team-based, out-loud methodology appeals deeply to young learners at every level of engagement. The human species has been telling and sharing stories out loud for at least 15 times as long as we’ve been writing our thoughts down. By tapping into that ancient craft, Written Out Loud is awakening the inner storyteller and joyful writer in every participant.

Connecting writing with joy is job one at Written Out Loud, and students find the most joy creating stories like the ones they love most, and know by heart. Whether it’s Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Marvel, Dog Man, anime, and even video games, kids don’t need to have those structures explained to them. These story-forms are already embedded inside their hearts.

We see that this love a student fees for their favorite stories helps launch an organic process of creative brainstorming. Team-based brainstorming sessions then clarify the story in the student’s mind, generating a powerful desire to write their stories down. Their stories tend to resemble a blend of their own favorite stories, combined with the favorite stories of their fellow crew members: Percy Jackson meets The Lion King, or Hamilton meets Minecraft. The students' empathetic, collaborative spirit makes all of their wild and various influences cohere.

Students are grouped with a “creative crew” of 4-to-5 peers who are close in age. Because our platform is usually virtual, students are often teamed with peers across the country. Each crew is led by a Story Director: a skilled teacher experienced at delivering our methodology. Depending on whether your student is part of our Team or Young Novelist program, their crew will meet for 10 or 15 sessions that are usually 90 minutes long. During these sessions, through a structured and highly engaging curriculum, their crew works together to create and grow their stories, chapter by chapter, resulting in a novel that we publish for them.

We recommend that kids on the younger side (8-10 years old) begin their journey with us in our Team Storytelling program. Team Storytelling is the perfect path to help kids build their first published books, using their weekly team-based brainstorming sessions to create written words, chapter by chapter, all the way to co-authoring a fully constructed and finished novel. 

In the Team Storytelling approach, every student will write a full chapter every week, and can expect to write 15-to-25% of the finished book. But they’ll contribute more than just their written chapters as they brainstorm and structure the entire story structure in collaboration with their crew. Collaborative and empathetic story-shaping is a priceless skill that will benefit your student at every level of their lives, from group projects in high school to high-stakes business meetings as adults.

We recommend the Young Novelist program for older kids (11 years and up) who are ready to write every word of their own published book. If your child is younger than 11, discuss this path carefully with your student to see if they’re truly ready for the Young Novelist’s program. 

While the Young Novelist will indeed write every word of their own published book, they will still meet every week with their crew of peers. In their live brainstorming sessions, young novelists draw priceless inspiration and guidance from their crew members and story director. Structuring and finishing a novel is the hardest part of the process, and working with a crew offers the best path for a student to achieve their goal of finishing a completed novel. Your Young Novelist will never be required to adapt a note or suggestion from their crew members or story director. But a vigorous and spirited exchange of ideas lends the young writer great confidence in the words and chapters they’ll write next.

If you’re on the fence about which program is best for you, that’s totally normal! We’re happy to discuss in a call or zoom. Please contact us at support@writtenoutloud.org to set up a time.

You and your child own the rights to the stories they create and write in our programs. Written Out Loud claims no ownership whatsoever of your student’s characters, stories, and intellectual property. For our Young Novelist program, students own all rights to the story and book they have created. In the Team program, when your student co-authors a character or storyline, they have full permission to create new works after the program containing the characters they create. Important caveat: in this team-based program, a participant cannot claim *exclusive* ownership of any characters and ideas they develop and write about. Every student who participates in our team-based program is fully permitted to create and write subsequent works and books based on any characters and ideas developed during the program.

Yes! You’d be surprised how quickly the words get put on the page when a student is inspired and engaged. The key is to begin by unlocking their passion first, through the verbal craft of storytelling - which humanity has practiced for hundreds of thousands of years, gathering around the campfire. This innate out loud craft channels effortlessly into writing, especially when our story directors help students understand how to shape their ideas along the arc of a story. Time and time again, even doubtful kids surprise themselves with their productivity, and graduate as published authors.

Yes, our story directors are our teachers. (We tend to avoid “school-y” terminology like teachers, classes, and homework. We prefer story directors, story sessions, and missions.) WOL’s story directors come from a wide variety of backgrounds, including education, Hollywood, theater, and publishing. In all cases, our story directors have years of experience facilitating youth learning activities that are engaging and educational. They will lead your student’s sessions and guide their collaboration process.

Written Out Loud is perfect for kids between 7 and 17. We group kids with others near their own age, which helps them build lasting relationships, brainstorm and write together with ease.

We offer two different programs. The first is Team Storytelling, where kids  build and write a single novel together as a team. This program is our primary offering for students on the younger side (8-10 years old) and is also a great option for any student above 10 years old as they start out programming with us. 

During the school year, this program typically has ten (10) ninety minute virtual sessions held once a week. Classes are scheduled after school, on weekday afternoons or evenings. During the summer, our Team Storytelling classes typically meet 4 times a week for 2 hours per day and run for 2 weeks.

Our other program is the Young Novelist’s Program, which is intended for slightly older students (11 and up). In Young Novelist, students are still in a crew with 4-5 students, but in this program, every student writes every word of their own novels. (Nonetheless, they work with their fellow writers to brainstorm ideas.) Held throughout the year, this program typically contains fifteen (15) ninety-minute sessions and meet once per week. Programs are usually scheduled after school, on weekday afternoons or evenings.

Not to worry. At Written Out Loud, we record every session. Simply tell your story director that your student will be unable to attend class on a particular day. Your story director will share the zoom recording of the session they miss, which your student can watch at any time. Important: your student is still part of the crew and is still responsible to write their mission (chapter), in time for the next session. Then, for the next class, they’ll be completely caught up.

Yes! Every one of our classes is open to students in EVERY U.S. and Canadian time zone, and we try to have scheduling options that work for every family. In fact, most of our classes contain kids from across the country. On our website, we list the start time of all of our programs in Eastern Time, but they are available to all students regardless of the time zone in which they live. Please make sure to check this timing carefully before purchasing a program.

Yes! Your child and their friends can simply register for the same class time. Then, simply list the names of their friends in the "crew preferences" section. Another option: gather a group of 4 to 6 friends, and we can work with you to create your own exclusive class and timing. Reach out to us via support@writtenoutloud.org for details.

Yes! Part of our mission is to help bring out the amazing ideas from every student, even those who are a bit reluctant to speak up at first.  Our story directors have two traits in abundance: a passion for storytelling, and keen antennae for a student’s needs. Every storytelling session is filled with kids of all kinds: big talkers, loud laughers, and plenty of quieter kids, who love stories with a passion, but don’t necessarily love talking quite as much. 

Our program is designed to put every storyteller in a position to create and collaborate with confidence and joy. And our directors are trained to maintain the “Balance of the Force” inside every session: ensuring louder storytellers have their say, but also making sure that the quieter storytellers find a path and process to find and develop their voice.

Our program is structured so that students typically will have time to brainstorm, outline their writing assignments and start writing a new chapter during the zoom session. As the students leave the session, their excitement about putting the ideas down on paper continues. The true power of the program can be seen in these moments - where the creative, powerful story that your student jointly builds with their peers helps make the writing process much more engaging, effective and meaningful than they find in traditional writing assignments.

In practice, students in our Team Storytelling program will usually write for at least 15-30 minutes outside of class to complete their assigned “missions” or chapters. In the Young Novelist program, students often spend 60-90 minutes outside of our zoom session writing their chapters, with some writing more as they dive deeper into the writing process and build excitement about the tale they are building. 

In all cases, we help students explore the outer edge of what they’re comfortable with, and we don’t have unrealistic expectations: for example, we don’t push 8 year olds to write a five-page chapter. A typical Team Storyteller tends to write a one-to-three page chapter after each session, while a Young Novelist tends to write chapters with a bit more meat on the bone, three to five pages or more. More productivity is always welcome, but we don’t measure storytelling and writing quality through page count alone. If your student is engaged in their storytelling, they’ll meet and surpass expectations.

While we do not (and cannot) forbid kids from using A.I. for brainstorming and world building in private, between our sessions, Written Out Loud students are not allowed to include any A.I. generated writing of any kind in their shared chapters, or shared work (such as outlines). Our reasons for doing so are many and varied, and we are firm in our desire to see your student use this amazing experience to build their own writing skills. But no reason is more important than their honesty towards their fellow storytellers. Collaboration is based on a foundation of integrity and trust. Written Out Loud storytellers may not, under any circumstances, represent A.I. generated writing as their own.

Every Written Out Loud program ends with the highest possible standard of achievement: authorship of a published book. Students’ final sessions are spent carefully editing their writing, and then submitting their polished manuscript. That’s when our publishing team gets to work. 

Based on the students’ input, our designers create a professionally designed cover, interior design, and ISBN number. In the end, the book and intellectual property belongs completely to students . You (and your family and friends) are welcome to purchase as many copies of the book as you’d like. Book costs are typically $10 to $15.

Published books are typically available for purchase about 8-10 weeks after the program is completed.

For books written in our Young Novelist programs, Written Out Loud will publish your book on Amazon, as well as other online booksellers, for an administrative fee of $150. This is achieved through our printing partner, Lulu.com. Lulu coordinates Amazon distribution through their “Global Distribution” process. Important details about this process can be found here.

Young Novelists must submit their manuscript for publication within one year of program completion. Otherwise, we cannot publish their book.

If you wish to make changes to their manuscript after the book has been published, a $300 republishing fee will be applied.

Written Out Loud will fully refund your tuition if written notice of cancellation via email (support@writtenoutloud.org) is received prior to the 2nd lesson. After the start of the 2nd lesson, refunds will be granted with 4 weeks' notice on a prorated basis.