Business
Communications
Fiction Writing
Young Adult Fiction Writing Workshop
4.3 (166 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.
2,198 students enrolled

Young Adult Fiction Writing Workshop

Turn your idea into a published novel in today's hottest genre.
4.3 (166 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.
2,199 students enrolled
Created by Steve Alcorn, Dani Alcorn
Last updated 12/2017
English
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Young Adult Fiction Writing Workshop
Current price: $126.99 Original price: $194.99 Discount: 35% off
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This course includes
  • 8.5 hours on-demand video
  • 72 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 Young Adult Novel
  • Explore What Makes Bestselling Young Adult Fiction
  • Create a Premise That Sells
  • Develop Real, Engaging Young Adult Characters
  • Construct Your Novel Using Easy-to-follow Checkpoints
  • Learn to Structure Powerful Scenes
  • Explore Viewpoint and Tenses Choice That Pack a Punch
  • Learn Techniques That Create Bestsellers
  • Polish Your Manuscript
  • Create Cover Art That Sells
  • Discover Marketing Techniques That Work
  • Get Published!
Requirements
  • Open to all aspiring writers, young or old, experienced or just getting started
Description

Young Adult Fiction is today's top-selling category. This class shows you how to turn you ideas into a bestselling novel or screenplay that will rival Harry Potter, Hunger Games, or Twilight.

Do you have a Young Adult novel idea, but aren't sure where to begin? Have you started a novel, only to get stuck? Or perhaps you've completed a first draft, but want to add the luster of professional writing?

This course is for you! Featuring lively discussions between Young Adult Fiction authors Steve and Dani Alcorn, this engaging class gives you all the tools you need to create a bestseller.

We'll reveal what makes Young Adult novels today's most exciting genre, and show you how to use the techniques of top-selling authors to create your own finished novel. Step by step, you'll learn and practice:

  • What Makes Great Young Adult Fiction
  • Planning Your Project
  • Story Structure
  • Character Building
  • Viewpoints that work best for Young Adults
  • Experiment with Tense
  • Create a Vibrant Narrative Voice
  • Build Vivid Settings
  • Dialogue for Young Adults
  • Beginnings and Endings
  • Polishing Your Manuscript
  • Cover Art that Sells Young Adult Novels
  • Getting Published
  • Marketing Your Work

In addition to the video lectures and panel discussions, the course includes extensive supplemental materials, featuring reference lists, exercises, checklists, and handy reference sheets.

Whether this is your first Young Adult novel or you're an experienced author looking for new techniques, Young Adult Fiction Writing Workshop has what you need to get your young adult idea published. Enroll now!

Who this course is for:
  • First Time Authors of Any Age
  • Published Authors Looking For Fresh Ideas
  • Authors With Unfinished or Unpolished Manuscripts
Featured review
Rex Torres
Rex Torres ( 3 courses, 3 reviews )
a year ago
Thank you for the course. I have co-authored and published a young adult book about 11 years ago but I really needed this in order to prepare myself for my next book. I feel I'm ready to tackle my next project now. Cheers.
Course content
Expand all 40 lectures 08:40:56
+ – Exploring Young Adult Fiction
7 lectures 01:04:02
Meet Steve and Dani Alcorn, and enjoy this preview of all the material covered in the course!
Welcome to Young Adult Fiction Writing!
Preview 06:18
Where did Young Adult literature come from, and where is it going? This lecture shows you.
Young Adult Fiction Origins
Preview 10:05
Explore the themes of modern Young Adult Fiction.
What is Young Adult Fiction?
17:47
The range of genres for Young Adult fiction is as broad as fiction itself. In this lecture we take a look at some of the bestselling genres and what makes them so popular.
Young Adult Genres
14:36
There are a lot of great reasons to write Young Adult fiction. Can you guess which one is most important?
Why Write Young Adult Fiction?
04:08
Why is Young Adult writing better than most mainstream fiction? This lecture suggests a number of reasons.
What Makes Young Adult Fiction So Good?
03:31
These simple techniques will start you on the path to writing your own great Young Adult novel.
How to Write Great Young Adult Fiction
07:37
+ – Planning Your Young Adult Project
5 lectures 01:22:24
Plot and Story are two very different things. This lesson explains why. It's perhaps the most important topic of the entire course.
Plot vs. Story
12:16
Meet the four dramatic elements on which all fiction is based.
The Dramatic Elements
19:45
Your Protagonist is your main character, and the most important person in your manuscript. Learn how to create a compelling protagonist in this lesson. The supplemental materials are also great for brainstorming vibrant characters.
The Protagonist
35:05
Your antagonist has a special relationship to your protagonist. This lesson shows you how to create an antagonist who can act as the perfect dramatic foil for your protagonist.
The Antagonist
11:00
Your manuscript is populated by many characters. Here's how to create them using a "character pyramid."
Other Characters
04:18
+ – Structuring Your Young Adult Project
6 lectures 01:43:44
Following a tried and true story pattern makes it easy to create fiction that works, yet won't make it formulaic. Here's how to make story patterns work for you.
Young Adult Fiction Story Patterns
13:24
Three Act Structure is the key to almost all successful fiction. We make it easy to create your novel or screenplay, by breaking the three acts up into nine checkpoints.
Three Act Story Structure
24:30
Let's look at the Act 1 checkpoints in detail: Hook, Backstory and Trigger.
Act 1
12:20
Act 2 features the plot-oriented Struggle, bookended by two emotional moments, the Crisis and Epiphany.
Act 2
08:41
In Act 3 your protagonist makes a Plan that gets you to the Climax, and then you wrap things up in the Ending. In this lecture's test drives you'll also begin work on your detailed scene list.
Act 3
17:45
Scene and Sequel makes your writing flow logically and strike with maximum impact.
Scene and Sequel
27:04
+ – Writing Your Manuscript
9 lectures 02:01:24
Experiment with Omniscient, Third Person Limited and First Person viewpoints, and decide which one works best for you.
Viewpoint
16:10
This lecture helps you get a handle on the slippery topic of Voice.
Voice
08:23
This lecture shows you the difference between past and present tense, and explores the benefits and pitfalls of switching between them.
Tense
12:38
Setting is important for establishing the mood of your story. This step by step process makes it easy to create vivid settings.
Setting
09:03
Make your story's beginning and ending work together, and resonate with your readers using these powerful techniques.
Beginnings and Endings
18:08
Great dialogue makes your work more interesting and more readable. This lesson shows you how, and includes test drives to help you write better dialogue.
Dialogue
27:03
Conflict is what drives fiction. This lecture introduces three different forms of conflict, and shows you how to use them in your own fiction.
Conflict
11:05
Suspense is a great way to keep readers turning pages. This lesson shows you how.
Suspense
06:29
An element of mystery keeps readers interested in all genres of Young Adult fiction.
Mystery
12:25
+ – Polishing Your Manuscript
8 lectures 01:45:40
Writing Big means giving your work maximum impact. We'll share a variety of techniques that enable you to amplify your fiction.
Writing Big
12:50
Polished prose is the difference between amateur and professional writing. This lesson shows you how to polish yours.
Writing Well
16:37
John Green is perhaps todays greatest young adult author. These five books show you why. 
Looking at Great Young Adult Fiction 1 - John Green
09:27
Scott Westerfeld writes some of the best Young Adult science fiction and fantasy series. This lecture looks at seven of his greatest novels.
Looking at Great Young Adult Fiction 2 - Scott Westerfeld
07:55
Romance is a very popular Young Adult sub genre. We look at some of our favorites, and why we like them.
Looking at Great Young Adult Fiction 3 - Romance
09:53
We take a look at the broad range of dramas and writing styles in Young Adult fiction.
Looking at Young Adult Fiction 4 - Drama
17:02
We look at two of the bestselling Young Adult series of all time.
Looking at Great Young Adult Fiction 5 - Bestsellers
14:44
This lecture takes a revealing look at two of Steve Alcorn's Young Adult novels, and how they were written.
Looking at Great Young Adult Fiction 6 - Behind the Scenes
17:12
+ – Getting Published
5 lectures 41:42
They say not to judge a book by its cover, but books are sold by their covers. The lesson looks at how different covers appeal to different markets, and will give you some ideas for your own work's cover.
Cover Art
15:01
This handy checklist helps you make sure your manuscript is ready for publication.
Manuscript Evaluation Checklist
2 pages
Now that your manuscript is complete, this lecture gives you everything you need to get it published.
Getting Into Print
14:15
Now that your book is published, here's how to market it to maximize sales.
Marketing
11:53
Here are some great resources for continuing your exploration of Young Adult Fiction!
Next Steps
Preview 00:33