Write Fiction Like a Pro
What’s
the single biggest difference between professional authors and novices?
Professionals know how to structure novels and stories for maximum dramatic
effect. This course helps you develop the same story structuring skills the
pros use. You'll understand how your passion, theme, premise, and characters
help you create the structure of your story, and you'll discover how
viewpoint, dialogue, pacing, and many other techniques are used to build
scenes and move your story from beginning to end.
Each assignment in this course helps you develop your own original novel or
story. As you apply each technique, your story will take shape, with a clear
path from beginning to end. And whenever you have questions or insights to
share, you can join your instructor and classmates in the Discussion Area
for some interactive brainstorming! Before you know it, you’ll be prepared
to ...write fiction like a pro.
To enroll in this course, click the Enroll Now button below:
Requirements:
Internet access, e-mail, the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and the Adobe Flash and PDF plug-ins (two free and simple downloads you obtain at http://www.adobe.com/downloads by clicking Get Adobe Flash Player and Get Adobe Reader).
Syllabus:
All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end.
Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course.
You do not have to be present when the lesson is released, but you must
complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.
A new section of each course starts on the second or third Wednesday of each
month. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to
space the start date for each course at least two months apart.
| Week One |
| Wednesday - Lesson 01 |
| The name of this course really says it all! For
the next six weeks, we'll focus on techniques that professional
authors use to write effectively and efficiently and that guarantee
a story structure that delivers maximum emotional impact. After all,
connecting with your audience is what great writing is all about,
right? In this first lesson, we'll explore the idea of story
structure, and you'll discover that nearly every piece of fiction
that works follows the same fundamental rules. We'll also look at
the often misunderstood difference between story and plot, a concept
that will be vital throughout the rest of this course. |
| Friday - Lesson 02 |
| At the heart of every story are the dramatic
elements of passion, theme, character, and premise.
Your passion is what drives you to tell your story, and the theme is
the underlying message it carries. To convey your theme, you'll
create characters who represent that theme—either positively or
negatively. Put all of these together and you've got your premise.
We'll talk about all of these elements in today's lesson. |
| Week Two |
| Wednesday - Lesson 03 |
| Character is what story is all about. Without a
character, and a change in that character, there can be no story. In
this lesson, you'll discover why the best characters are flawed.
We'll explore your main character—the protagonist—and the opposition
forces of the antagonist. And finally, we'll take a look at the
other characters who round out your story. |
| Friday - Lesson 04 |
| Today's is the first of three lessons in which
you'll see how to construct a story outline, act by act. In Act 1,
you'll learn how to hook your readers. Then you'll fill them in with
some character history called backstory. And finally, you'll exit
Act 1 with a bang by triggering a traumatic event in the life of
your protagonist. |
| Week Three |
| Wednesday - Lesson 05 |
| If Act 1 ends with a bang, Act 2 starts with a
whimper. Your protagonist begins in crisis, an emotional state
brought on by his or her flaw. And because of that flaw, your
protagonist will struggle throughout Act 2, as the antagonist deals
with setback after setback. Fortunately, at the conclusion of Act 2
your protagonist finally figures out the source of all this
emotional distress and how to overcome it. |
| Friday - Lesson 06 |
| The epiphany that ended Act 2 has prepared your
protagonist for triumph in Act 3. Now it's time to devise a plan.
The result will be a final confrontation with the antagonist. In
this lesson, we'll discuss the best way to arrange the defeat of
your antagonist—it's not what you might guess. Then, with that
climax behind you, you're ready to tie up loose ends in the ending. |
| Week Four |
| Wednesday - Lesson 07 |
| We've accomplished a lot in the last few lessons.
By now you should be pretty comfortable with story structure. In the
next three lessons, we'll take the concepts you've learned so far
and apply them to the development of a real novel. Today we'll begin
by using the dramatic elements to create a character, his or her
flaw, and then put it all together into a formal story idea. |
| Friday - Lesson 08 |
| In this lesson, we'll expand the story idea for a
novel into the nine checkpoints of our three-act outline. This is
quite a challenge for just one lesson, but we've become pretty
expert at this story structuring stuff by now, so let's go! |
| Week Five |
| Wednesday - Lesson 09 |
| Now that you have your outline—and a beautiful
one it is!—it's time for that magical moment when you begin
expanding it into the long form. Yikes! The actual novel is about to
materialize. We'll begin by inserting markers for the scenes that
support and develop the outline. Then you'll start expanding those
scenes and threading your theme throughout. This is really writing
like a pro! |
| Friday - Lesson 10 |
| One of the most important choices an author makes
is viewpoint. It affects every aspect of the story—from theme, to
pacing, to suspense. In this lesson, we'll explore the three most
common viewpoints—omniscient, third-person limited, and first
person—and discover their advantages and disadvantages. Then we'll
dig into techniques for developing characters and establishing a
convincing story logic. |
| Week Six |
| Wednesday - Lesson 11 |
| In this lesson, we'll look at techniques for
refining your plot and controlling its pace. Then we'll unravel the
internal structure of every piece of fiction you've ever read,
discovering a structure that I bet you never knew existed. After
today, you'll never forget it. It's called scene and sequel. |
| Friday - Lesson 12 |
| Now that your novel, play, or screenplay is well underway, it's time to think about polishing the final product. In this lesson, we'll look at some techniques for making your writing sparkle, including tips on dialogue and imagery and how to use them to show, not tell. We'll also see how to establish your own unique voice, paying special attention to the aspects of cadence and musicality. Finally, we'll talk a little about the creative process and your role now that you know how to . . . write like a pro. |
To enroll in this course, click the Enroll Now button below:
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