- New this year at SavvyAuthors!
- New!!
- Level
- Mixed
- Category
- Characters
- Description/Setting
- Editing
- Dialogue
- Structure
- Plotting
- POV
Writing a book is not as easy as just saying that is what you want to do but given some thought and a little bit of time, you can begin to write a book, and lots more after that first one.
This class can help beginning writers and even intermediate writers move from their initial story idea to developing characters, setting and plot and then learn what it takes to begin writing their book.
This class can help beginning writers and even intermediate writers move from their initial story idea to developing characters, setting and plot and then learn what it takes to begin writing their book.
- Syllabus
- Among the topics we will cover in class:
1. Introduction: What do you need to know to take your story and idea and turn it into a short story, novella or novel. We will begin with an introduction to what you need to consider in order to take your idea from a short sentence to writing the story itself. We’ll begin with looking at where to come up with story ideas. For those who want to come up with stories, we’ll look at some simple ways to gather story ideas
2. Turning Ideas into Storylines: After coming up with story idea possibilities, we’ll start to learn how to take those vague ideas and turn them into actual stories by providing characters, setting and the beginnings of a plot.
3. Developing Your Setting: Where and when will you set your story? A look at using today’s contemporary world or going back in time or into the future or how to look at setting it into your own made up world. We’ll look at research, how to write a realistic setting if you are writing contemporary or historical books and how to fashion your own world if you are writing science fiction or fantasy.
4, 5, 6 Building Characters: No book goes anywhere without great characters. This class provides a look at why they are so important and then takes steps to help writers develop their characters beyond cartoon figures into realistic people that will come alive on the page. We’ll start with physical descriptions, look at the character’s emotional make up and their backstory or history.
7, 8, 9 The Plotting Process: Ideas are great, but they need to go beyond a story line that is out there in the ether. Writers will learn how to take their story line and begin to develop it into a cohesive plot that moves along in a logical fashion with plenty of action and internal reaction.
10. Turning plot points into Scenes: Once a writer has developed a plot, there comes the hard part – bringing that scene to life. We’ll look at how to put those plot lines and characters onto the written page so you can begin telling your story. We’ll cover writing scenes, hooks and dialogue as we begin the writing process.
11. Turning scenes into stories: In this lesson we’ll work on making those scenes come alive, moving the plot along through dialogue and narration. We’ll look at ways to make the scenes flow together and how to pace the story through chapters and scenes.
12. Putting it all together: By the end of the month, the writer should have an idea of how to plan their stories for the future, from that beginning idea to actually fashioning scenes and writing those scenes.
