Novel Writing Course

Lesson 1 • What Makes a Novel a Novel

Defines the novel's essential characteristics: length, sustained narrative, and thematic depth. Establishes the baseline vocabulary used throughout the course.

Lesson 2 • Reading Like a Writer

Trains analytical reading habits that reveal craft decisions beneath the surface of published fiction. Connects close reading directly to intentional writing choices.

Lesson 3 • Core Elements of Narrative

Introduces the six foundational elements: character, plot, setting, theme, point of view, and style. Students map these elements onto published novels they have read.

Lesson 1 • Voice and Interiority

Explores how a character's unique voice and inner life are rendered on the page through thought, diction, and perception. Connects interiority to point-of-view choices.

Lesson 2 • Desire, Need, and Motivation

Distinguishes conscious want from unconscious need as the engine of character arc. Students map motivation onto plot events to ensure coherent character behavior.

Lesson 3 • Secondary and Antagonist Characters

Develops supporting cast as independent agents with their own goals, not mere plot devices. Antagonists are framed as thematic mirrors to the protagonist.

Lesson 4 • Character Anatomy

Breaks character into external traits, internal psychology, and social role. Students learn to layer these dimensions to avoid flat, one-note figures.

Lesson 1 • Inciting Incident and Rising Action

Identifies the inciting incident as the event that locks the protagonist into the story's central problem. Students map escalating complications through the second act.

Lesson 2 • Outlining and Pantsing Strategies

Presents outlining and discovery writing as a spectrum, not a binary. Students develop a hybrid planning method suited to their creative process.

Lesson 3 • Scene and Sequel Units

Defines the scene-sequel unit as the micro-level building block of plot. Students learn to alternate action and reaction to maintain narrative momentum.

Lesson 4 • Climax, Resolution, and Denouement

Teaches how to engineer a climax that resolves both external conflict and internal arc simultaneously. Students draft the structural logic of their novel's ending.

Lesson 1 • Narrative Distance and Psychic Distance

Introduces the psychic distance scale from cinematic distance to deep interiority. Students practice sliding along the scale within a single scene.

Lesson 2 • POV Modes and Their Effects

Distinguishes first, second, third limited, and third omniscient POV by their access to interiority and narrative distance. Each mode's strengths and trade-offs are analyzed.

Lesson 3 • Multiple POV and Head-Hopping

Teaches how to manage multiple viewpoint characters without confusing readers or losing narrative coherence. Distinguishes intentional multi-POV from accidental head-hopping.

Lesson 1 • World-Building for Speculative Fiction

Addresses the unique demands of fantasy, science fiction, and alternate-history settings, including rule systems and internal consistency. Students apply the iceberg principle.

Lesson 2 • World-Building for Realist Fiction

Covers research, social texture, and period or cultural accuracy for fiction set in the real world. Students build a setting bible grounded in observed and researched detail.

Lesson 3 • Setting as Character and Mood

Reframes setting as a dynamic force that reflects character psychology and generates atmosphere. Students analyze how published authors use place to carry thematic weight.

Lesson 1 • Authorial Voice vs. Character Voice

Distinguishes the author's governing sensibility from the voices of individual characters. Students identify their own stylistic fingerprints through comparative exercises.

Lesson 2 • Common Prose Pitfalls

Identifies and corrects recurring weaknesses: passive constructions, adverb overuse, cliché, and filter words. Students apply targeted revision to their own draft pages.

Lesson 3 • Dialogue Craft and Subtext

Teaches dialogue as a vehicle for conflict, character revelation, and subtext rather than information delivery. Students write scenes where meaning lives beneath the spoken words.

Lesson 4 • Show vs. Tell and Concrete Detail

Reframes show-vs.-tell as a strategic choice rather than a rule. Students learn when concrete sensory detail serves the story and when summary is more efficient.

Lesson 1 • Beta Readers and Feedback Integration

Prepares students to seek, evaluate, and act on feedback from beta readers without losing authorial vision. Students practice distinguishing useful critique from personal preference.

Lesson 2 • Structural Revision Pass

Teaches how to evaluate the manuscript at the macro level: arc, pacing, scene necessity, and thematic coherence. Students produce a reverse outline of their draft.

Lesson 3 • The Zero Draft Mindset

Establishes the first draft as a discovery tool, not a finished product. Students overcome perfectionism and internal censorship to generate raw material quickly.

Lesson 4 • Scene-Level Revision

Focuses revision on individual scenes: goal clarity, conflict intensity, and emotional payoff. Students apply a scene checklist to every chapter in their manuscript.

Lesson 1 • Pacing and Reader Experience

Teaches macro and micro pacing strategies that sustain reader engagement across a full novel. Students audit their manuscript for pacing gaps and tension drops.

Lesson 2 • Finishing and Polishing the Manuscript

Guides students through the final polish pass and the psychological challenge of declaring the novel done. Students produce a submission-ready manuscript document.

Lesson 3 • Reflecting on the Creative Process

Consolidates lessons learned across the course into a personal creative philosophy. Students write a process statement that guides future novel projects.

Lesson 4 • Understanding Genre Conventions

Maps the reader expectations and obligatory scenes of major fiction genres. Students identify their novel's genre and the conventions they must honor or deliberately subvert.