Gearing up for the Halloween season, the Meadow Brook Writing Project is offering half day youth writing workshops on topics such as “ghost story writing” and “horror story writing,” are held in the Meadow Brook Hall library.

The seminars, which are available for youth in grades 2-12, are taught by actual Oakland University professors like Laura Gabrion and Christina Hall, both special lecturers in the department of writing and rhetoric. Classes offered include historic writing, science fiction, poetry and fantasy writing.

“I teach workshops on various genres and to different age groups,” Hall said. “In our writing workshops, we learn about historical fiction, science fiction, mystery writing, poetry and more. This year I will be working with kids in second through eighth grade on ghost story writing and science fiction. We have a lot of fun using writing prompts and sharing them with each other.”

The classes are an opportunity for parents to use OU as a learning tool, even before their child is ready for college. In the two hour classes, the attendees learn a lot about writing, according to Gabrion.

“Parents have a perfect opportunity to take advantage of the university, as well as one of America’s most beautiful estates (Meadow Brook Hall),” Gabrion said. “The expertise and support of the teachers creates a wonderful atmosphere … in a short period of time — the kids grow as writers.”

Sharon Altman is a parent who has sent her eight-year-old daughter, Lena, to seven of the writing workshops and to a Meadow Brook writing camp. She wanted to give her daughter a way to express her creativity and love for writing.

“She (Lena) has gained confidence in her writing abilities, learned writing techniques she wasn’t aware of and discovered different genres that she didn’t have exposure to before attending the workshops,” Altman said. “She also found the experience of being on a college campus to be enjoyable and has already expressed an interest in OU at age eight.”

Altman likes that OU offers these courses because they are a fun learning experience for her daughter.

“As a parent, I truly appreciate that this opportunity exists for my children with … technology in use today … the art of writing has faded into the background and these workshops offer a wonderful experience for the kids to learn about writing in way that is fun and entertaining for them,” Altman said.

The half-day workshops cost $20 each. For a complete list of classes and more information, visit oakland.edu/mbwp