Writing Fiction: Mastering the Basics

Mike Foley guides a beginner-friendly fiction class through turning ideas into a first draft, using a 10-step writing process to reach publication and master revision.

Explore how real life diverges from fiction and why fiction has to make sense. Use a simple plot outline, critical event, goal, plan, opposition, and realization, to craft engaging stories.

Treat viewpoint as a camera: one viewpoint character per scene, revealing thoughts and feelings, with first person, third person (single or multiple), and omniscient options.

Explore how to write flexible viewpoints, from first person and third person to omniscient, and learn to stay consistent in viewpoint and tense.

Explore crafting strong characters using a threefold model: external, internal, and deep internal, balancing backstory, shown traits, and character desires to drive the plot.

Craft realistic dialogue with contractions and avoid backstory in speech. Listen to real talk, read dialogue aloud, and format it in paragraphs to move the story.

Discover how to balance description with pace in modern fiction by front-loading brief, sensory detail, using active verbs, and avoiding filler to keep scenes moving.

Describe action with short paragraphs and brisk sentences to accelerate pace and show movement. Maintain a strong viewpoint by revealing thoughts and feelings, linking action to weaknesses to deepen tension.

Learn how scenes shift location or time to drive plot and forward momentum, using backstory and flashbacks, via the flashback door, to connect scenes.

Learn how to portray character thoughts using narrative thought instead of italics, when to italicize, and how to revise to keep thoughts as a subtle spice rather than overdone.

Learn to master revision by navigating two to three drafts, using intuition and critique, and applying ruthless editing to craft a polished story.

Embrace the writer's life as real work, debunk myths about publication and inspiration, and defend your writing time to grow through persistent, fulfilling practice.