Fairy tale retellings are very popular for a reason. They use tropes and characters that we're familiar with. For instance, the Cinderella story is a common one across cultures and centuries. Learn how to use these familiar and beloved characters in stories and give them a different twist.
1...
Plot a Romance Novel in 2 weeks. Set your book up for success with detailed character outlines that deepen story connection and worldbuilding. You're familiar with some plotting, but still unsure you're taking the right path... learn a structure that's simple to grasp and easy to use for any...
The basic building blocks of romance fiction are conflicts: internal, external, and romantic. Strong conflicts drive readers to keep reading in order to discover who wins.
No matter how beautiful the writing is, if the conflict isn’t strong enough, the reader will get bored and go read...
Over the next ten days, we're going to take a deep dive into developing and shaping your story’s plot based on your protagonist's motives. We will review the essentials of character interiority and explore techniques to help develop your story’s structure.
This course will help writers of all...
Every good story (and every good character) is driven by goal, motivation, and conflict. If you’re struggling to complete your work-in-progress, you might be missing one of these elements. Or, you might not be going deep enough with one of these elements.
In this class, we’ll learn the...
Do your characters have nice, worry-free lives? Do you flounder in the middle of your story wondering what happens? Does your head hurt every time you try to add more conflict to your story? If so, join Melinda Curtis for a weeklong course on how to Hack Your Way to Conflict. In this interactive...
This workshop material is for beginning and intermediate writers, but all are welcome!
Having a good foundation in fiction writing skills is vital. Our goal is to keep readers turning the pages and buying more of our books. Join me as we learn and discuss the techniques of characterization and...
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...
Readers are looking for more stories with "mature" characters (30 years old +). Learn how to create characters who have life experience and are perfect for all types of romances (all sub-genres of romance).
Determining the age range and what character experiences might be
How not to fall into...
Award winning and bestselling author, L. C. Hayden will discuss the various writing pitfalls that stand in the way of becoming a successful writer. Not only will she point them out, she will show you ways to avoid them.
Some of the pitfalls she will discuss center around character development...
An emotional arc is the journey that a character’s emotional state of mind undertakes during a scene. A typical emotional arc has a beginning in which the character is feeling a certain way, an end in which their emotional state of mind has undergone a change, and a turning point that triggers...
A class designed to take the idea and opening scenes of a story and turn it into a full-fledged finished product. Using a method involving character needs and oppositions, writers will learn to churn out a list of ideas, create detailed scenes from those ideas, and figure out the best ending...
Learn how to keep the middle of your book from suffering from the Sagging Syndrome. Get secrets of how to make your plot move along more quickly through the middle. Learn the basics of subplots and how they can be utilized to get the most out of your characters. Find out how you can use dialogue...
Conflict is the reason stories happen. Conflict is keeping a romance from blossoming, a hero from reaching his goal, a villain trying to stop a hero, or even a killer from being stopped.
Nine times out of ten a book falls flat because the conflict is non-existent and in this one-week course...
Every writer, but especially beginning writers, have trouble keeping their plots moving. We've all heard about the "sagging middle" and other gotchas authors run into, but how do you avoid these pitfalls?
In this workshop you'll learn tried and true techniques for making sure your reader...
Have you heard the dreaded phrase…your book needs more conflict? Ugh! Maybe you've been told the story just doesn't grab me? Perhaps you're wondering what you can do differently? How can you make your characters come alive?
In Plot Friction: Making Your Plots Sticky multi-published erotic...
The foundation of every functional novel is goal, motivation, and conflict. What your character wants, why they want it, and what they’re willing to endure to get it.
Sounds simple in principle, right? But I’ve seen a lot of people struggle with this, so over the next few weeks, I’m going to...
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...
A six-week course outlining step-by-step instructions on crafting a work of fiction. Students of this course will receive feedback after Week 1, and after Week 6, as well as receiving a 20% discount on Brenda Chin’s freelance editing services, if they choose to take their work further...
Core Wounds sit in the heart of every person - both real and fictional. An understanding of these deep-seated, harmful "truths" we believe can lead to the creation of three-dimensional characters and emotionally impactful narratives readers will never forget.
This workshop will explore what a...
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