Start Your Novel
Instructor: Stacia Ann (Stacia Ann)Includes a free two month upgraded membership! Details
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Duration: Four Weeks
Class Size: 7 Students
Seats Left: 1
You will learn the techniques for beginning a novel through reading sample chapters from a classic novel "The Great Gatsby," recognized as a great 20th novel, and available online. This novel will be used as a model in all of the novel writing courses.
In addition, students will participate in weekly writing exercises toward the completion of their novel chapters.
Week 1: Getting ideas, difference between "short story scope" ideas and "novel scope ideas," deciding protagonist and main conflict, the genre of novel, and developing your idea into an outline
Read: outline of "Great Gatsby"
Write: Your novel idea and novel outline
Week 2: Where to begin? Deciding the correct place in the story events to open your novel. Introducing the main characters, the narrator, the major conflict, the inciting event.
Read: The first chapter of "The Great Gatsby"
Write: Your Chapter 1 of your novel
Week 3: What do I do about all that stuff that happened in the story before chapter 1? Techniques for addressing backstory: flashback, dialogue, interior monologue
Read: chapter 2 of "The Great Gatsby"
Write: chapter 2 of your novel
Week 4: How do I keep readers interested? Building the complications and introducing new complications. Foreshadowing future events.
Read chapter 3 of "The Great Gatsby"
Write: chapter 3 of your novel
Instructor: Stacia Ann
About The Instructor:
Stacia Ann is an Linguistics Lecturer and Writing Instructor at the University of California. She has a doctorate of Education, Master's of Art in English/TESOL. This instructor has taught writing classes for over ten years. She also teaches academic writing and English as a Second Language at the University of the Pacific. A published author including works of short fiction and academic nonfiction including contest winning stories.