Speak Up: Creative Writing + Performance (Spring 2026)
Saturdays, January 31-March 14, 2026
3 p.m.-4 p.m. EST
Join us online for Speak Up, a teen creative writing program supporting the artistic and professional growth of teens.
In this FREE virtual creative writing workshop mini-series, teens will partner with experienced teaching artists to empower the creative writing process, from drafting to performance to publishing, to boost literacy and empower youth in Miami through community-based writing activities.
The program is open to all teens (ages 13-19) and is as free of charge as it is free of homework. No previous experience necessary!
March 7: Building Your World
Instructor: Sam Beck
What is world-building? How can you create a setting that feels real and interesting in your comics? In this workshop we’ll explore settings in fantasy and sci-fi stories and what makes them believable and interesting to your reader. The workshop will be split up into two parts. In the first part we’ll talk about what makes an interesting world and look at some examples from popular comics and movies. In the second part we will go through concepts you can start off with to jumpstart your setting (time period, density, language, culture, major events, important people etc.) and how they might affect your characters and story. This is a group activity where we will create a world together.
Sam Beck is a writer and illustrator living in Toronto, and the author of the fantasy trilogy VERSE. She has worked with publishers like Dark Horse and Vault Comics on multiple series spanning across science fiction, fantasy and horror. When she’s not working on her comics, you can find her admiring the forests of northern Ontario.
