craft

Want to pump out a well structured manuscript in less than 90 days? L.C. Hayden wants to share her first-draft blueprint with YOU. In this two-week workshop she will guide you through a series of exercises so that after you finish the workshop you can write, write, write! The importance of...

Learn how to create a fictional case that readers won't be able to solve! Lesson One: Ineffective ways to create mystery - Learn commonly used methods that help prevent readers from solving a case - Understand why many readers dislike these methods - Learn how to catch them in...

You’ve finished the first draft of your novel. What next? Many writers find the revision process daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. In this workshop, we’ll discuss practical ways to approach revision. I’ll focus on the big picture, rather than the little details, to make sure you’ve got a...

As if it wasn’t difficult enough to dream up a storyline for a book, for those of us interested in writing tales that take place over the course of more than one book, with the same main characters in the leading roles, there is an extra burden. Not only is a standalone story required for each...

Write a novel in a month? Who me? Yes, you! Learn tricks and techniques for getting the words of your WIP draft onto the page in the quickest, most efficient way possible, so that the story makes sense and requires the least amount of revision. Perfect for people planning on participating in...

Shows like Scandal and The Walking Dead pride themselves on the jaw dropping final few seconds of the show which have viewers eager to tune in the next week. Never hear another complaint about a cliffhanger ending again when you learn to plot your serialized novel like a season of a television...

Setting is often treated as just window dressing, but it can inform every part of a story, right down to plotting and pacing and how characters speak and behave. In this workshop, we’ll discuss how to turn Generic Town, USA, into a living, breathing place that your characters inhabit. We’ll...

The Pacific ocean, the deepest ocean on earth, is almost 7-miles deep. Can you imagine how many layers of this beautiful life-force are unlocked with every mile down? In this workshop, we’ll be applying the 7-Miles Deep process to understanding and unlocking the layers of Deep POV in your...

Telling isn't always a bad thing. There are ways to share information without using an info dump or using cliches. And there are ways to show the action by describing what the character is experiencing. Learn how to use both showing and telling without boring the reader or throwing them out of...

Every novel has common parts of scenes, such as moving the plot forward, revealing character, motivation, inner/external conflict, etc. These universal necessities will make up the first part of the workshop and be fleshed out and explained. In addition, romance has some specific things...

Do you spend your autumns wishing you had written more last summer? Well, we can't fix that but we can provide you with something educational and fun to do while you are not writing this summer! Enter the SUMMER SLACKER'S BOOK CLUB! Just like Oprah, we'll pick a great craft book each month and...

Writing a series takes time and commitment. After all, any series is going to take you years to complete at the rate most authors release. So is it worth it? Absolutely. Why? Because readers love series books. If you're going to do a series, what do you need to know? What subgenre will you...

Did you know that there are 7 senses? Or wait is that 8? At any rate, no matter how many there are, a great writer uses ALL of them in EVERY place possible in their writing. In this course, you will learn about our senses, how they work, and when, where and how to use them in your current WIP...

Develop your characters and create backstory using emotional wounds and inner conflicts. What motivates your character? What are the traumas that might be inspiring them to take certain actions? How to determine what wounds make sense for your characters and your story Raise the stakes in your...

When it comes to writing Futuristic, Fantasy and Paranormal stories there is far more than merely deciding on height, build, coloring, past experiences, and hopes and dreams when building a character. Oh, sure, you’ve still got all that, but it’s expanded! Seven-foot-tall might make a character...

Love cozy mysteries and dying to write your own, but don’t know where to start? In this eight-week course, Lori Devoti (aka Rae Davies) USA Today Bestselling author of the Dusty Deals Mystery Series, will walk you through everything you need to know to plan and write and a successful cozy...

Dialogue is a writer's greatest tool when it comes to bringing a character to life. It communicates their beliefs, their emotions, and their relationships with others. It sets them apart from everyone else in the book and is a key ingredient in the story's believability. But how do you create a...

Writing a book is a hard work, but writing a page-turner is even harder. Steve will teach the secrets that authors who write thrillers use to grab the reader from the opening sentence until the end. This workshop will show you, How to grab your reader from the opening paragraph The three...

Writing a book is a hard work, but writing a page-turner is even harder. Steve will teach the secrets that authors who write thrillers use to grab the reader from the opening sentence until the end. This workshop will show you, How to grab your reader from the opening paragraph The three...

Are your readers satisfied with your stories? Are they reluctant to put your story aside? At the end of your story, the reader should sigh, with a sense of satisfaction, when finishing your story, one which they will remember for a long time coming. So how does one create a satisfied reader...