plotting

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...

This course will focus on the basic building blocks of every story; the scene. It’s a course that works bests for plotters, writers who outline their story, and pantsers, writers who have a mental hold on the scope of their story but perhaps not a detailed outline. Writers will learn how to set...

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...

Looking to create a book trilogy? Maybe your ideas are more than 1 book, but you don't want to commit to a long-term series. How to plan your trilogy or two-part book and still satisfy readers without using cliffhangers. 1. Defining your story world – this is the world that will have to be...

Chris Redding will show you how movie making and scriptwriting techniques can make your novel come alive. She will cover the three act structure of most movies and instruct you on how you can use movie magic including shot lists to make your novel a bestseller. No need to write anything special...

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...

You've probably heard of the Snowflake Method of writing, pioneered by award-winning writer Randy Ingermanson. Its premise is that you begin with a a single sentence that represents the theme of your book and then add complexity building outwards from that sentence until you have a full-blown...

So you want to plan a novel. Are you more of a pantser? Are you allergic to outlines? Don’t know where to start? Just need a little help? Have no fear! Every novel has a few basic components. First, we’ll look at plot beats, the basic building blocks of a story, and think about ways to plan...

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...

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...

Do you get into writing and pouring your ideas out onto the page and hit a wall, unsure where your story should go next? Do you have a great idea with a few scenes in mind, but can't picture how to get a full story together? Do you have a few books you have started that sit on your computer...

*** Registration is now full. *** You’ve no doubt heard of many different ways of plotting a piece of genre fiction. Things like outlines, beat sheets, three act play, and who knows what else. But have you ever considered math as a guideline? Hang out with Beth Daniels, author of 30 published...

Romance is the hottest genre in fiction. It has limitless subgenres and a voracious reader base. But adding a love interest isn't enough. You have to respect the genre, and you must deliver the genre conventions to meet reader expectations. Discover how to craft a powerful, character-driven...

How do you keep a reader engaged? One tool is using the desire to find out what happens next. That means predictability is the death of stories. Many people will put down a mystery as soon as they figure out whodunit. And “spoilers” that give away turns and plot points in a movie or a TV show...

When we come to discussing plot, most of the time the discussion veers into a question about how to go about plotting. We have wagon wheels, heroes on journeys, snowflakes growing in a fractal universe and all sorts of other techniques. Often, it is a debate between planning approaches. Do you...

This workshop explores story structure models from Aristotle's and Sid Field's 3-Acts, to Shakespeare's 5 acts, The Hero's Journey's 12 steps, Save The Cat's 13+ Beats, and several other less well known ones. The genres and sub-genres best suited to each story structure model are suggested...

You’ve heard of “reverse engineering”, right? It’s when a company takes a product another firm has created and then tears it down to see how it works and then improves on it to tromp the original company’s profits nearly out of existence. Actually, the first time I heard the term was in the...

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...