Online Course: Write Short Stories for Children - Certificate and CEUs
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Online Class: Write Short Stories for Children

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Course Cost
Basic Course: $30.00
with Certificate & CEUs: $55.00
This course is designed for those who wish to write short stories for children. It will lead the student through the basics of this art form into the specifics of characterization, age groups, plotting and outlining, drafting a story for children, rewriting and polishing the work. The final lesson will cover manuscript preparation and marketing strategies. The long-term goal is to help writers of children's fiction become published. One of the short-term goals is to choose one story to rewrite and polish and actively market. More than one story can be written, but the emphasis will be on getting one ready to market. Enroll today! This is a self-paced, online course. You have 6 months to finish. An instructor will monitor your progress and assess your body of work at course completion. UniversalClass™ offers many wonderful learning tools to help you get the most out of your online course, including an online portfolio service that manages all your course completions. This class has been officially reviewed by our Course Review Committee that scrutinizes course content and instructor participation. This course has received our Committee's highest rating: 4 stars.

If you would like to receive more information regarding this course, scroll down and fill out the "Request More Information" form and we'll try to answer any of your questions within the day.

Continuing Education Units (CEU)
1.0 CEUs

Course Description

This course is designed for those who wish to write short stories for children. It will lead the student through the basics of this art form into the specifics of characterization, age groups, plotting and outlining, drafting a story for children, rewriting and polishing the work. Final lessons will cover manuscript preparation and marketing strategies. Students will receive personal instructor feedback and critique. The goal of this course is to increase a  student's chance for publication.
Write Short Stories for Children with Instructor Margaret Shauers is a course which will prepare students to publish literature for children through a course filled with the practice and polish of writing activities complemented with instructor feedback. Students will have the opportunity to focus on one story which will be rewritten, refined, and actively marketed. (More than one story can be written and developed, but the emphasis will be on getting one ready to market.)

This course will assume that students are actively writing (or beginning to write) stories for children. It is a self-paced course (course begins on student's own timetable) Coursework will consist of a number of central lessons, quizzes, assignments, class polls, and netlinks . This course will be based on a 100 pt. grading scale, and the Instructor's specific grading policy will be presented in the class syllabus. For students who strive for course completion or other documentation might achieve several offered certificates based on academic performance, attendance and participation .

Instructor Margaret Shauers has an extensive writing background. Her novels include : "Girl of the Prairie" and "Dark Knight"; published by Thomas Bouregy & Co., New York.
Children's books include: "Birth and Childhood of Jesus" grades 3-4 activity book, Shining Star Publications, Torrence, California, 1997. "Math Folder Games for the Christian Classroom" (K-2), Concordia House Publishing, 1998. Puzzles and Prayers, 2000. Currently she is working on a murder mystery for adults.

Her children's short fiction include more than 1000 stories published, many of which have been reprinted. Publishers include Highlights for Children, Children's Playmate, Child Life, Day Care and Early Education, Happiness and most religious children's publishers. Children's stories have been reprinted in South Africa, Mexico, Canada, the Netherlands, as well as in the U.S. Children's fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies and approximately 10 stories were used in an elementary age school curriculum series.

In nonfiction she has published more than 500 articles, many of which have been reprinted. Publishers include Ladie's Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, Kansas! Magazine, Grit, Women's Circle, Women's Household, Byline, Housewife Writer's Forum, Writer's Guidelines, Canadian Writer's Journal, Woman's Day, Family Circle, Lady's Circle, The Woman, many business, craft, religious and other specialty magazines. A chapter in the book "Golden Opportunities: Older Adults and the Church."

In adult short fiction she has published more than 20 stories published in American Accent Short Story Magazine, Caprice, Chiron Review, Women's Household, Farm Wife News, Fiction Primer, Red Herring, Today's Prairie Woman, Evangel, Seek.

In short humor she has articles published in Reader's Digest, Ladies Home Journal, The Rotarian, Happiness, Grit, Good Housekeeping, many farm and other specialty magazines. And in the area of Poetry she has published articles in Caprice, Chiron Review, Prairie Women, and Poetry Rendezvous anthologies.


This course offers 1.0 CEUs upon successful completion. You may take this online course with or without CEU documentation. An online and hard-copy Certificate of Course Completion displaying your coursework and CEUs earned is included with the CEU Option. We also offer an expedited Transcript Service for sending your accomplishments to a third party.

Course Lessons

  1. Lesson 1: Facts & Fallacies - This first lesson discusses some of the fallacies about writing for children--and promotes some of the facts.
  2. Lesson 2: Never Grow Up...Except... - Now that I've talked you into becoming a child again, I'll ask you to act like an adult at the same time! At least in the matter of language.
  3. Lesson 3: Your Youngest Story Lover - Little people like stories! From the minute they are old enough (some prospective parents read to them when they are in the womb!) to hear the sound of a warm voice, children want to hear stories!
  4. Lesson 4: They Listen--& Read - From older level five-year-olds through the age of seven, kids both listen (to read-aloud stories) and they read (or begin to read). The differences in the two types of stories are vast!
  5. Lesson 5: The Most Active Readers - The most active reader around is the 8-10 year old. Most children this age can read, although they are still mastering the skills.
  6. Lesson 6: The Big Kids - Eleven-and twelve-year-olds are more complicated than are eight to tens. The fiction they read grows with them.
  7. Lesson 7: Characterization - One of the strangest quirks of the human mind is its capacity for being moved to tears, laughed, anger and joy by a fictional "person" who exists nowhere except the imagination.
  8. Lesson 8: The Very Basic Plot - Characters must grab your reader. They also must have somewhere to go in a story. This is plot.
  9. Lesson 9: Outlining--It Isn't What You Think! - The next step is to outline your story. Forget the Roman numeral outline format when writing fiction.
  10. Lesson 10- Ready? Get Set. Write! - You've worked hard to get here and now--it's time to write that first story actually due in this class.
  11. Lesson 11- Write it Right - You've already written the "heart" into your story. Now it's time to write it "right."
  12. Lesson 12- To Market, To Market - Because we are creative, most writers dread marketing--the business side. Truth is, marketing is 50% of your writing career. But you can do it!
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Optional Certificates Awarded

  1. Certificate of Attendance
  2. Certificate of Class Participation
  3. Certificate of Appreciation
  4. Certificate of Merit
  5. Certificate of Outstanding Achievement
  6. Certificate of Academic Excellence

Certificates awarded by the instructor will vary and are based upon student merit. Any awards you earn are considered unofficial (or temporary) unless you decide to make the award official. To make an award official, there is a $30.00 processing fee that covers the customization, printing, and shipping of a hard copy of the certificate as well as access to the UniversalClass™ Transcript Service. Official awards include a serial number that verifies the authenticity of the award you earned for a lifetime (great for employers to verify your achievement).

Additional Information

Course Title : Write Short Stories for Children
CEU Value : (Continuing Education Units)
Course Number : 2371
Course Type : Professional Development
Course URL : http://class.universalclass.com/childstories
Course Review :
Instructor : Margaret Shauers
Syllabus : View Syllabus
Duration : Continuous: Enroll anytime!
Course Fee :
Basic Course: $30.00
with CEUs & Certificate: $55.00
NOT FOR COLLEGE CREDIT
This is a non-credit course. This course may not fulfill any local, state, government, licensing, or educational requirements.
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Document your coursework with a Certificate of Course Completion. Pre-pay now for the Certificate Option and receive a $5.00 discount off the regular certificate price (normally $30.00). Includes both an online version and a hard-copy of your certificate, verified and tracked by a unique serial number.


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