Welcome to my course! In this lecture, I let you know the fundamental principles behind the course's inception, as well as give you my qualifications and experience. 

This course is centered on the 25 question you should ask yourself when you write your novel. You are welcome to ask these at any time--before you start writing, when you get stuck, or after your manuscript is done and you're ready to revise. 

The questions I'll ask you to reflect on during this course are all focused on character, world, and plot--the three components of every story. Additionally, some questions analyze you as the writer.

All the questions in this course are available in print form via the Paper Hearts Journal. While you can purchase a print version of this journal (and you may be a little more organized if you do so), every journal prompt is available as a downloadable worksheet throughout each lesson of the course. This means you'll be getting a free, downloadable version of this course simply by watching the lessons and downloading the content. If you'd like to purchase the journal in print form, it's readily available at Amazon and most other book retailers.

I hope this course helps you to write or enhance your novel. And remember: There is no right way to write. 

In this lecture, we talk about the author's role in creating work. Before you get started on a book, you need to analyze two key questions: why is the book important to you and why are you important to the book. This requires you to think about both your personal connection to the story and why you want to tell it, as well as lets you know how much and what kind of research you need to do in the fictional world. 

We often know a character's true nature in events and scenes where they think no one else is looking. In this lecture, I ask you to analyze what type of person your character truly is--knowing their best and worst actions, what they're vulnerable about and what they value will all help you to more accurately make your character seem like a real person on the page of your novel. 

At it's heart, all plot is simply a series of problems for your main character to solve. This lecture takes a closer look at better portraying the problems and solutions that your character faces throughout your story. This will be particularly helpful to those of you who are stuck, blocked, or getting feedback on your story that indicates your plot has pacing issues.

World building is often the most ignored aspect of writing, but can make or break a book. We start the lecture by adding in richer details through non-visual sensory descriptions. Once your descriptions are solid, we discuss how to add significance to your story through your world details. World is tied to both character and plot, and when these three elements work in harmony, a story becomes vividly real for the reader.

Everyone is the hero of their own story. You may be writing one person's story, but that doesn't mean your other characters don't deserve a time in the spotlight. While none of these activities may make it into the final version of your novel, they should add deeper meaning to the background, clarifying motivations and eliminating tired cliches. 

Failure is an important part of life...and of plot development. In this lecture, we discuss all the different ways various failures influence your characters and therefore your plot. Utilizing failures forces you to create more unique and less predictable outcomes for your characters. Don't let your characters off easy--create a plot that your readers will find inventive by exploring different routes that are not immediate solutions. 

Your world can help or hinder your characters, provide limits or opportunities. Lean into the world becoming an active participant in your plot...for just this one time. While not something you should do often in writing (as it becomes either predictable or coincidental for the characters), leveraging the world in your plot can add depth in a fun way. Flip expectations by swapping the genre-traditional roles of the world. 

CONGRATULATIONS!! You've made it to the end of the course, and now you're well on your way to developing a story that will sell! As you wrap up your journal--and your story--I want you to keep an eye on what's next. There are lots of steps here--getting critiques, revising, and more--but don't forget to start working on your next story...

Before you do that! Please leave a review for the course. Remember that you can get a print copy of the journal from Amazon or any book retailer, and you're welcome to leave reviews there. My next course will be focused on the Paper Hearts Workbook and will be out soon! Feel free to reach out to me on social media (@bethrevis) as well.