Story Writing Course

Lesson 1 • What Makes a Story

Defines narrative as a structured sequence of events with meaning. Anchors all later craft decisions in this foundational definition.

Lesson 2 • Core Story Elements

Introduces character, setting, plot, conflict, and theme as interdependent components. Students practise identifying each element in published short stories.

Lesson 3 • Reading Like a Writer

Trains analytical reading to reverse-engineer craft choices. Students annotate texts to connect observed techniques to intentional decisions.

Lesson 1 • Building Character from Scratch

Covers biography, desire, and flaw as the three pillars of a compelling character. Students draft a complete character profile using a structured template.

Lesson 2 • Character Motivation and Goal

Examines how motivation creates reader investment and propels plot. Students map external goals against internal needs for each major character.

Lesson 3 • Supporting and Antagonist Characters

Explores how secondary characters and antagonists create contrast and pressure. Students write scenes where supporting roles actively challenge the protagonist.

Lesson 4 • Character Arc and Transformation

Defines positive, negative, and flat arcs and when each serves the story. Students outline a full arc for their protagonist across a story's timeline.

Lesson 1 • Classic Three-Act Structure

Breaks narrative into setup, confrontation, and resolution with clear turning points. Students map a familiar story onto the three-act framework.

Lesson 2 • Scene and Sequel Rhythm

Explains how alternating action scenes with reflective sequels controls pacing. Students rewrite a flat passage by inserting a proper sequel beat.

Lesson 3 • Outlining and Story Planning

Presents outlining methods from beat sheets to chapter-by-chapter plans. Students produce a working outline for a short story or novel concept.

Lesson 4 • Alternative Structural Models

Introduces the Hero's Journey, five-act structure, and story circle as flexible alternatives. Students compare models to identify which best fits their story concept.

Lesson 1 • Choosing the Right POV

Guides selection based on story type, genre, and emotional goals. Students justify their POV choice for their own story concept in writing.

Lesson 2 • Unreliable and Experimental Narrators

Examines narrators who distort, omit, or deceive and the effects they create. Students craft a short scene using a narrator whose account is subtly unreliable.

Lesson 3 • Developing a Distinct Narrative Voice

Separates author voice from character voice and teaches consistency in both. Students write two passages in contrasting voices to isolate the craft variables.

Lesson 4 • Point of View Fundamentals

Defines first, second, and third person and their subcategories with examples. Students identify POV choices in published excerpts and explain their effect.

Lesson 1 • Subtext and Indirect Communication

Teaches characters to communicate meaning beneath the literal words spoken. Students write a scene where the real conflict is never directly stated.

Lesson 2 • Showing vs. Telling in Scenes

Clarifies when to show through sensory detail and when telling is efficient. Students convert a telling passage into a showing scene and evaluate the trade-offs.

Lesson 3 • Scene Construction Principles

Defines a scene's goal, conflict, and outcome as its structural skeleton. Students build a scene from a one-sentence premise using this framework.

Lesson 4 • Writing Effective Scene Transitions

Covers white space, time jumps, and connective tissue between scenes. Students revise a chapter excerpt to improve flow between three consecutive scenes.

Lesson 1 • Atmosphere and Mood Creation

Examines how word choice, syntax, and detail selection generate emotional atmosphere. Students rewrite a neutral passage twice to create opposite moods.

Lesson 2 • Sensory World-Building

Trains writers to build place through all five senses without overwhelming the reader. Students draft a setting passage using a sensory checklist and then edit for economy.

Lesson 3 • Integrating Setting into Narrative Flow

Teaches embedding setting details into action and dialogue rather than static description. Students revise a scene to weave setting into character movement and thought.

Lesson 4 • World-Building for Genre Fiction

Addresses the unique demands of fantasy, science fiction, and historical settings. Students create a world-building document that integrates rules, history, and culture.

Lesson 1 • Building and Sustaining Tension

Covers techniques for raising stakes, creating dread, and preventing tension from deflating. Students revise a low-tension scene using at least three tension-building tools.

Lesson 2 • Identifying and Developing Theme

Distinguishes topic from theme and shows how theme emerges from character choices. Students articulate a thematic argument for their own story in one sentence.

Lesson 3 • Types of Conflict in Fiction

Maps internal, interpersonal, societal, and environmental conflict and their interactions. Students identify all active conflict types in a story excerpt and trace their connections.

Lesson 4 • Pacing and Tension Rhythm

Explains how varying scene length and intensity controls the reader's emotional experience. Students create a pacing chart for a story draft and identify flat zones.

Lesson 1 • The Revision Mindset

Reframes revision as creative work distinct from drafting and proofreading. Students learn to read their own work with critical distance using timed separation and read-aloud methods.

Lesson 2 • Feedback, Beta Readers, and Final Polish

Teaches how to solicit, evaluate, and apply feedback without losing authorial vision. Students exchange drafts and complete a structured critique using a provided rubric.

Lesson 3 • Macro-Level Story Revision

Addresses big-picture issues: structure, character arc, pacing, and thematic coherence. Students complete a story-level diagnostic before touching sentence-level prose.

Lesson 4 • Scene and Paragraph Revision

Focuses on scene-level goals, transitions, and paragraph-level clarity. Students revise two scenes using a scene checklist targeting goal, conflict, and outcome.