Advanced Novel Craft Course

Lesson 1 • Defining the Novel as a Form

Examines length, scope, and structural expectations that define novels. Grounds students in formal distinctions before any craft technique is introduced.

Lesson 2 • Reading Like a Writer

Trains analytical reading habits that reveal craft decisions in published novels. Students apply these habits to their own reading before drafting begins.

Lesson 3 • Core Elements of Long-Form Fiction

Introduces the interdependent elements—character, plot, setting, theme, and voice—that sustain a novel. Students see how each element supports the others.

Lesson 1 • Psychology of Compelling Characters

Explores how desire, wound, and belief systems create dimensional characters. Students apply psychological models to generate authentic inner lives.

Lesson 2 • Supporting Cast and Ensemble Writing

Teaches techniques for creating memorable secondary characters who serve distinct narrative functions. Students map each supporting character's role in the story ecosystem.

Lesson 3 • Character Voice and Dialogue

Distinguishes each character's speech patterns, vocabulary, and rhetorical habits. Students write dialogue that reveals character without authorial intrusion.

Lesson 4 • Character Arc and Transformation

Defines the internal journey a character undergoes across the novel's span. Students design arcs that align with plot events and thematic intent.

Lesson 1 • Story Structure Models Compared

Surveys major structural frameworks—three-act, hero's journey, story grid, and others—as tools rather than rules. Students select the model best suited to their project.

Lesson 2 • Climax and Resolution Design

Teaches how to construct a climax that answers the story question and a resolution that satisfies thematic promise. Students draft their novel's ending sequence.

Lesson 3 • Midpoints, Reversals, and Escalation

Examines the structural functions of midpoints and reversals in maintaining reader engagement. Students map escalation patterns across their novel's second act.

Lesson 4 • Inciting Incidents and Story Questions

Defines the inciting incident as the event that launches the central story question. Students craft inciting incidents that create irreversible narrative momentum.

Lesson 1 • Unreliable Narrators

Examines how unreliable narration creates dramatic irony and reader engagement. Students craft a scene in which the narrator's account is demonstrably skewed.

Lesson 2 • Psychic Distance and Free Indirect Style

Introduces the concept of psychic distance as a sliding scale between narrator and character consciousness. Students practice moving fluidly along the distance spectrum.

Lesson 3 • POV Modes and Their Effects

Surveys first, second, third-limited, and omniscient POV with attention to intimacy and authority. Students analyse published examples of each mode.

Lesson 1 • Integrating Setting into Narrative

Teaches techniques for weaving setting details into action and dialogue rather than static description. Students revise a passage to activate its setting.

Lesson 2 • Setting as Character and Atmosphere

Reframes setting as a force that shapes character behaviour and emotional tone. Students analyse how published authors use place to generate meaning.

Lesson 3 • Research and Authenticity

Establishes research methods that ground fictional worlds in credible detail. Students build a research plan and source library for their novel's setting.

Lesson 1 • Openings and Endings of Scenes

Focuses on the craft of entering scenes late and leaving early to maximise tension. Students revise scene openings and closings for maximum impact.

Lesson 2 • Pacing and Rhythm in Prose

Teaches how sentence length, paragraph structure, and white space control reading speed. Students rewrite passages to achieve target pacing effects.

Lesson 3 • Anatomy of an Effective Scene

Defines a scene's goal, conflict, and outcome as its structural core. Students diagnose weak scenes and rebuild them using this framework.

Lesson 4 • Imagery, Metaphor, and Figurative Language

Develops the use of figurative language to deepen meaning without decorating prose. Students build a consistent imagery system tied to their novel's themes.

Lesson 1 • Motif, Symbol, and Recurring Imagery

Explains how motifs and symbols create thematic resonance across a novel's full length. Students design a motif system tied to their central theme.

Lesson 2 • Subtext and the Unsaid

Teaches how meaning conveyed beneath the surface of dialogue and action creates depth. Students rewrite scenes to move explicit statement into subtext.

Lesson 3 • Thematic Payoff and Resonant Endings

Connects the novel's ending to its thematic argument for maximum emotional and intellectual impact. Students revise their ending to deliver thematic closure.

Lesson 4 • Embedding Theme Through Story Events

Shows how plot events, character choices, and consequences carry thematic weight. Students audit their outline for thematic coherence.

Lesson 1 • Manuscript Formatting and Submission Standards

Teaches industry-standard manuscript formatting and the components of a professional submission package. Students format their manuscript and draft a query letter.

Lesson 2 • The Revision Mindset

Reframes revision as creative opportunity rather than corrective labour. Students develop a revision philosophy and a multi-pass revision plan.

Lesson 3 • Copyediting and Proofreading

Covers grammar, punctuation, continuity, and consistency checks at the final manuscript stage. Students apply a proofreading checklist to their own work.

Lesson 4 • Structural and Developmental Revision

Addresses large-scale issues of plot logic, character arc, and pacing before line-level work begins. Students produce a structural revision memo for their manuscript.