structure

Everyone has that special picture book that we all remember. The one that instilled in us the love of books and reading. You can write a book that will touch a child's heart! Come along with Irene on a voyage of discovery and learn the secrets of writing every child's favorite book! In this...

Are you seeking a coach and mentor who listens? Doesn't squash your writing style? And who provides positive, constructive feedback to meet your goals? As a certified coach with a background in education and over a decade of working with writers, my goal is to offer you an individualized...

If you plan before you begin your draft or plan during the drafting part of your writing process, we’ll cover many of the techniques that you can use to help make your drafting go smoother. If you current do no or little planning before or during the writing of the story draft, we’ll explore...

Once you have a plot and characters you should be all set to write that next best seller, right? Wrong! A boring beginning or a flat ending can leave your readers throwing the book at the wall or eager to write up a nasty review. Writing a book that can have readers eagerly awaiting your next...

Don’t let the plotting process get you down. It can seem like a major undertaking, but once you figure out what works best for you, you can let the real author in you come out and get down to plotting any type of story – from romance to thriller to fantasy, from short stories to a long series...

You’re familiar with all the basics, but how do you really apply all those acronyms? This workshop will go deep with hands-on assistance to show you how to build your story our of your character’s emotional journeys. We’ll pay special attention to the character arc and how it relates to theme...

Do you want to write a funny novel or short story? Or perhaps you'd like to add humor to the book you've already written? If so, then this is the course for you. Some of the areas covered in this two week course, include-- The difference between funny and humorous. What makes something fun to...

What is the best way to plot your novel? Not every process works for every author. Sometimes you might find a combination of methods that can work for you. In this class we’ll take an in-depth look at the various plotting methods, and you can determine what might work best for the way you like...

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...

Sentence Structure. The foundation of your writing is the sentence. How you construct those sentences can make the difference between your story or book plodding along and holding the interest of your reader. This course will discuss the basics of sentence structure. Topics include: The three...

Don’t have time to write a novel? Well, fewer people have time to read one. That’s why flash fiction is hot, with over 300 paying markets looking for well-formed stories of 1000 words or less. Learn how to write, market and sell these tiny tales.

Writing a romantic suspense is like trying to juggle while walking between two skyscrapers on a high wire. This workshop will explore ways to make sure you don’t drop any balls or tumble to the street below. Discussions will relate to both the romance and mystery genres in general, as well as...

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...

In this class, you will start with two pages of dialogue and transform it into a fully functioning scene. By adding each element of what needs to go into a story individually, you will see how it all makes the whole. You will also be able to add all the elements seamlessly, including description...

Don’t TELL me that! An interactive workshop that will teach you to break down the wall of the dreaded manuscript telling and show your readers a whole new world. This workshop is an incredibly immersive and interactive workshop for beginning and intermediate writers. You are encouraged to...

What’s the best way to get (and hold) your readers’ attention from the first line of your book until the last? With so many books to read and so many ways to read them (ebooks, audiobooks, and good old fashioned hardbacks and paperbacks), authors are often fighting for reader eyeballs in an...

Do you want to write a funny novel or short story? Or perhaps you'd like to add humor to the book you've already written? If so, then this is the course for you. Some of the areas covered in this two week course, include-- The difference between funny and humorous. What makes something fun to...

Every storytelling/screenwriting guru has their own outline of how Beginning-Middle-Ending unfolds, naming necessary beats/events and identifying when they should happen. The 16 lessons of this four week course will walk through the comparison-contrast of two: Blake Snyder and Christopher...

Plotting and Planning: How to Write a Cozy Mystery 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...

EXTREME MAKEOVER: TAKE YOUR CHARACTERS FROM DRAB TO FAB This workshop will give a writer the tools they need to craft a character, paying particular focus to character types, character goals, character growth, and conflict (both internal and external). Showing tried and true methods for...