Business
Communications
Novel Writing
Novel Writing Workshop
4.5 (1,383 ratings)
Course Ratings are calculated from individual students’ ratings and a variety of other signals, like age of rating and reliability, to ensure that they reflect course quality fairly and accurately.
12,286 students enrolled

Novel Writing Workshop

Turn your idea into a published novel, step by step. Includes 27 video lessons!
4.5 (1,383 ratings)
Course Ratings are calculated from individual students’ ratings and a variety of other signals, like age of rating and reliability, to ensure that they reflect course quality fairly and accurately.
12,286 students enrolled
Created by Steve Alcorn
Last updated 2/2019
English
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Novel Writing Workshop
Current price: $135.99 Original price: $194.99 Discount: 30% off
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This course includes
  • 5 hours on-demand video
  • 48 downloadable resources
  • Full lifetime access
  • Access on mobile and TV
  • Certificate of Completion
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What you'll learn
  • Turn Your Idea Into a Novel
  • Discover Your Dramatic Elements
  • Create a Premise that Sells
  • Develop Interesting Characters
  • Construct Your Novel in Three Acts
  • Learn How To Write Effective Scenes
  • Explore Viewpoint, Voice and Tense
  • Add Conflict, Mystery and Suspense
  • Polish Your Manuscript
  • Develop a Marketing Plan
  • Get Published!
Requirements
  • Open to all aspiring writers, young or old, experienced or just getting started
Description

Have you started a novel only to get part way into the manuscript and find yourself stuck? Or do you have an idea for a novel but aren't sure where to begin? Have you completed a first draft but feel it doesn't quite have the luster of professional Novel Writing?

In this lively and fun course Steve Alcorn shows you how to achieve success. Here you'll learn How to Write a Novel Step by step you'll breathe life into old manuscripts create new novels that real like bestsellers and put the spark back into your writing life. Topics include:

* Story Structure
* Character Building
* Viewpoint
* Tense
* Voice
* Setting
* Conflict
* Suspense
* Mystery
* Dialogue
* Writing Big
* Beginnings and Endings
* Getting Published

Whether you're a first time novelist still planning your story or an experienced author looking for ways to bring your fiction to life Novel Writing Workshop is the course for you.

Who this course is for:
  • First-Time Authors
  • If Your Manuscript Needs Polish
  • If Your Manuscript is Unfinished
  • Authors Who Want to Get Published
Featured review
Allan Sharp
Allan Sharp ( 31 courses, 4 reviews )
a year ago
The course goes into necessary detail about how to set up your story and characters and actually write your novel. There is also some candid information about the reality of getting your book published in the Information Age and how to get it into the hands of readers. These days that often means in the form of a digital book.
Course content
Expand all 28 lectures 04:58:51
+ – Planning Your Novel
3 lectures 28:08

Welcome to the course! This lesson provides an overview of what's to come, and suggestions for how to choose a fun and marketable subject for your novel.

First Steps
Preview 09:21
Discover the important difference between plot and story, and learn how you can improve your novel my achieving the perfect balance between them. I've included examples from popular books and movies to help make the difference between plot and story crystal clear.
Plot vs. Story
Preview 08:22
Just four dramatic elements underlie every novel. Here's your chance to discover what works best for you, and to begin constructing both your story and your plot by creating a premise.
Dramatic Elements
10:25
Test your knowledge of Plot, Story, and the Dramatic Elements.
Planning
6 questions
+ – Characters
4 lectures 34:26
This lesson shows you how to create great characters, step by step. What's important and what (surprisingly) isn't important? We'll make some exciting discoveries!
Character Building
16:13
Create a protagonist your readers will relate to by drawing upon the tools from your own experience.
Your Protagonist
06:46
How do you create an effective antagonist? This lesson will show you several techniques, and explain why it's a powerful technique to relate your antagonist's flaw to that of your protagonist.
Your Antagonist
06:15
This lesson shows you how to create all the secondary characters you'll need. I'll explain the roles of the important and lesser characters, and show you how to "cast" your novel.
Other Characters
05:12
Find out what you've learned about creating characters.

Characters
5 questions
+ – Story Structure
4 lectures 39:33
Three Act Structure is the key to writing a successful novel. I'll graphically reveal the path you'll follow from beginning to end. By the time you complete this lesson, you'll be brimming with ideas for the structure of your own novel!
Three Act Structure
09:13
Discover the three checkpoints that make an effective Act 1 and then apply them to create the first act of your own novel.
Act One
08:49
As you develop Act 2 you need to keep your readers engaged and excited. This lesson shows you how.
Act Two
07:48
Get ready to wrap things up! This lessons shows you how to create a satisfying climax, and an ending that remains true to your theme.
Act Three
13:43
This quiz lets you test your knowledge of three act structure and the checkpoints.

Story Structuring Checkpoints
6 questions
+ – Creating Your Manuscript
11 lectures 01:58:29
Discover the magic of scene and sequel. This simple structure, repeated over and over, is the key to writing your novel. By the end of this lesson you'll have a road map for your entire manuscript, and the structuring process will be complete.
Scene and Sequel
18:42
Discover the importance of conflict in your novel, and practice three great ways to create it.
Conflict
06:06
In this lesson you'll explore four great techniques for creating suspense to captivate your readers and keep them on the edge of their seats.
Suspense
09:56
Employ these four techniques to keep your readers in the dark!
Mystery
04:53
This lesson introduces three techniques you'll use to control the pacing of your novel, so you can mix fast paced action and slower paced reaction in any combination you like.
Pacing
06:29
Test the three most popular viewpoints out on your own novel, and see which one works best. You'll see the advantages and disadvantages of each, and be able to choose wisely.
Viewpoint
12:08
Voice is a slippery subject, but I'll help you get a handle on it in this lesson and the accompanying test drive.
Voice
07:28
There are only two common tenses for you to use to tell your story. That should make the choice simple... but there are advantages and disadvantages to both. This lesson lets you explore how they work for you, so you can make the best choice.
Tense
06:58
Learn how to build amazing settings, step by step. You'll be amazed at the results!
Setting
11:06
This lesson gives you seven reasons to use dialogue, and five techniques for making your dialogue more interesting. Then, in the accompanying handouts, I'll have lots more dialogue Dos and Don'ts, and a really fun test drive where you'll get to fix a famous novel's awful dialogue!
Dialogue
14:17
Beginnings grab your readers, and endings leave them thinking. Creating a relationship between The two can reinforce your theme or show changed circumstances. This lesson lets you experiment with which techniques work best for you.
Beginnings and Endings
20:26
Test your knowledge of manuscript writing techniques.
Creating Your Manuscript
8 questions
+ – Polishing Your Manuscript
2 lectures 38:00

Writing Big can make the difference between flat prose and a sparkling novel that sells itself. Here's how to do it.

Writing Big
26:13
Writing well is as much about what you don't need as what you do. In this lesson I'll show you how to dramatically improve your work by finding the right words—and cutting the wrong ones.
Writing Well
11:47

Test your knowledge of ways to improve your manuscript.

Polishing Your Manuscript
5 questions
+ – Selling Your Novel
4 lectures 39:15
Create the collateral you'll need to plan, write and sell your manuscript.
Collateral
08:02
Once you've checked each of The items in my Manuscript Evaluation Checklist, you'll be ready to publish your novel.
Manuscript Evaluation Checklist
11:17
You've put in the hard work, here's how to get published!
Getting Published
19:56

This final quiz will show you what you've learned about getting into print.

Selling Your Novel
6 questions
Now that you've completed the course, here are some ways you can stay involved, and further develop your novel writing skills.
Next Steps
1 page