Step 2: Mystery Quest - Age 13+

Get creative and solve a mystery

Mystery Quest is the next part of the Story Quest Academy curriculum. This 8 week course focuses on building the foundational skills such as creating compelling characters, point of view types, creating a fun writing routine, and how to use action verbs. Some of the fun activities include drawing their character, creating found poetry, making a pie and more!

Testimonials for Adventure Quest:

I liked that it addressed problems that are NEVER addressed anywhere else, like the writers block, and how to focus better. The story planning was good too, and it helped me lay out my story. - Dalton, Student age 14
I liked the side quests a LOT they were really fun, especially the one with the pirates! And I liked learning about the parts of a story! - Belle (12)
StoryQuest was very responsive and helpful when we encountered any difficulty. And it was great to see my kids enjoying a writing class so much! - Janice D. Parent

If you would like to buy this course as a gift, click here and you'll receive a beautiful acceptance letter!

BONUS #1: How To Research and Add Historical Details To Your Story

This is a guest lesson from Erin Michelle Sky & Steven Brown, the authors of The Wendy!

BUY NOW TO SOLVE YOUR MYSTERY QUEST

The course is self-paced, so students can begin at any time.

This course is designed to take the student two months from beginning to end. With the self-paced, complete-it-as-you-go format, your writer can take it slow if they need more time finish each lesson or speed up and complete the lessons ahead of schedule. This allows you to customize the course depending on their learning speed and lifestyle. You can hit pause on sick days and pick up right where you left off.

During this 8 weeks course Story Questers learn about:

  • Create Compelling Characters and Planning Your Story
  • Learn About The Call To Adventure
  • Create A Fun Writing Routine
  • Learn about Mystery Sub-Genres & Cozy Mystery Detectives
  • Read fun mystery novels like Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and Penny Parker
  • Learn About Point Of View
  • Learn about verbs and grammar errors to avoid

Imagination Boosting Side Quests include:

  • Draw their character
  • Create a Pinterest character inspiration board
  • Create found poetry (also known as blackout poetry) using excerpts from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle & Agatha Cristie
  • Make the "butterfly pie" from Nancy Drew & The Sign Of The Twisted Candle
  • Become a sleuth and answer all the clues in the book club discussions

Book Club Discussions

Your young sleuths will read a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books and a Penny Parker book. They will get questions to answer, topics to discuss, and fun book activities like making a pie and writing alternative endings.

The Penny Parker series was written by the main ghost-writer of the Nancy Drew series. Penny is sassier, more advantageous, and even more clever! She often gets help from a variety of characters including her father, reporter Jerry Livingston, her friend Louise Sidell, and photographer Salt Sommers, making it a blast for both boys and girls alike.

Many of the classic books we read are available for free or are available at your local library!

Why Does It Work?

Story Quest Academy writing courses appeals to the five different learning styles: Auditory, Verbal, Visual, Logical, or Kinesthetic AND the different types of writers: Planners and Explorers.

  • Audio lessons for auditory learners
  • Written lessons for the verbal and logical learners
  • Worksheets and drawing activities to help visual learners visualize the topic
  • Hands-on activities for physical or kinesthetic learners
  • Prompts and worksheets to get the planners from the daydreaming stage to the writing stage
  • Short versions of the worksheets to keep the explorers interested and lessons on story structure to help them write better stories
My goal is to make kids LOVE stories, boost their imagination and cultivate their creativity.

Hi there, I’m Amelia DeField

I'm a professional copywriter, a homeschool advocate, and short story author. I live in Northern Idaho with my family and my big dog, Teddy Bear. For the past twelve years, I have worked as a business consultant and copywriter for Small Town and Rural, a design and marketing agency. When I'm not writing or reading something, you can find me painting birds or gardening.

Meet the rest of the team here!

Evaluation vs Grades

It can be hard to know whether something was an A+ story or a B- and a grade doesn't give much information for your student to know where they need to improve their story.

At Story Quest Academy, we think constructive feedback is the best way to grow as a writer which is why we provide you will evaluation questions to help you provide feedback on your writer's story in thirty minutes or less!

Don't have time or energy to give feedback on your writer's story? No problem!

Every student gets a FREE story evaluation from one of our instructors. This includes a filled out copy of the story evaluation workbook plus basic grammar and spelling corrections. 

Exclusive Rewards

You will receive an exclusive reward from Story Quest Academy to give your writer once they complete their writing quest! These rewards will help to incentivize them to write and keep them motivated to finish their stories!

FAQs

In the day and age of texting and emojis, creative writing is an essential subject to help teens learn how to communicate their thoughts and ideas eloquently. Writing short stories is the best way to have fun while teaching them how to order their thoughts and improve their grammar! They won't even realize its schoolwork!

Click the button below to get started!


12 Sections

Story Quest Academy Blog

Find tips and tricks to boost your child's imagination and cultivate their creativity on our blog!

Create Compelling Characters and Plan Your Story

In this week's lesson, we will be talking about creating compelling characters. Get your Story Quest prompt and start brainstorming ideas!

Downloadable: Character Profile

Write Your Story + Naming Your Character

This week, you will start writing your short story, learn ten tips to name your character, the essential elements in the mystery genre, and create a character inspiration board!

Learn About Point Of View and Fun Writing Routines

This week, we will be learning about Point Of View and how to create a fun writing routine.

Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys Book Club Activities

Get the questions and topics for your book club discussion of the Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys book, watch a movie, and get a fresh perspective from your story by taking a break with a delicious pie recipe!

Revise Your Story and Learn About Types Of Cozy Mystery Detectives

This week, we'll be editing our short story, learning about the 14 types of cozy mystery detectives, and have fun creating your character design.

Learn about The Call To Adventure and Make A Blackout Poem

This week, we'll learn about the second stage in the Hero's Journey: Call To Adventure and creating a blackout poem using pages from famous mystery stories.

Penny Parker Club Activities

It's time to discuss Penny Parker with your Book Club, write your own ending to the book, and learn how to write a book review!

BONUS: How To Add Historical Details To Your Story

Get this sneak peek from the 2022 Historic Quest! This lesson is all about how to add historical details to your story by Erin Michelle Sky & Steven Brown, the authors of The Wendy.

Sections for this course 12

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 Mystery Quest
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