A 12-Week Course with Aquinas Writing Advantage -- where you learn to

write exceptional fiction and learn literature must-haves for
Theme, Style, & Point of View; Conflict & Creating the Breakout Novel;
and Writing the Short Story! (Part 2 of 2)

Do you love stories? Do you want college writing to be easier? When you join this hands-on, high-interest creative writing course, you’ll learn exceptional fiction and literature must-haves and writing know-how for Theme, Style, & Point of View; Conflict & Creating the Breakout Novel; and Writing the Short Story…and learn how to transfer those skills into all of your writing!

Special Notes: Course materials are provided free. This is Part Two of a 2-part course. Students are welcome to join us midyear if there are open seats and they have met the minimum prerequisites.

Accompanying Courses:  Students are encouraged to take the accompanying course(s), Screenwriting or The Hero’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. These courses can be taken alongside the series courses or following the series courses. Students can also sign up for the Authoring a Book, Part 1 course as a companion to the Fiction Writing courses. You can access each 4-week section of the course in Unlimited Access at any time.

Total Classes: 12

Class Dates and Times:

Thursdays, January 9 to April 10, 2025. No class Feb. 6 & March 6.

1:00 PM Eastern (Noon Central; 11:00 Mountain; 10:00 Pacific)

Duration: 55 minutes

Prerequisite: Required: Essential Punctuation and Grammar I (HS 9-1) and High School Simplified Writing 1: Strong Foundational Writing Skills HS 9-2. Prerequisites can be taken live or through Unlimited Access and taken concurrently. An alternative to the prerequisite: a passing assessment from the Aquinas Writing Advantage Assessment service. Please contact homeschoolconnections@gmail.com for any questions on permissions. Highly suggested: Part One.

Suggested Grade Level: 11th grade; however, this LIVE course can be taken at any grade level in high school.

Suggested Credit: One (1) full semester’s credit for Creative Writing, Fiction Writing, or English

This course is created by Erin M Brown, MA, MFA (AKA Erin Brown Conroy/E.B. Conroy).

Your LIVE Class Instructor is

Cherise Papa, BA

Course Description: “What makes great fiction? And how can I use fiction writing to make all of my writing dynamic, interesting, and strong?” In this course (the second of two successive courses), you’ll learn what makes excellent fiction writing — and hone your writing skills through the elements and techniques of writing an excellent story. Whether you want to write a novel or want to be a dynamic, successful writer in all that you do — learning the elements of theme, writing style,  point of view, creating conflict, and “what makes a short story great” allows you to write exceptionally well, raise your written communication skills, become skilled in the elements of literary analysis, and be fully prepared for college and beyond.

Course Outline:

Theme, Style, & Point of View (Class 1 - 4)

In the first 4 weeks, the student learns how to create a dynamic theme, style, and point of view for fiction books of any genre for middle grade, young adult, and adult plots.

Class 1: What is theme and how to use it in your book

Class 2: What is style and how to develop your own style

Class 3: Point of view

Class 4: Integrating theme, style, and point of view to create a dynamic story

Conflict & Creating the Breakout Novel (Class 5 - 8)

In the next four weeks, students learn how to create conflict that drives any story forward as well as how to implement the Christian worldview into story conflict.

Class 5: What makes a great novel and “stakes” (personal and universal)

Class 6: Conflict in the setting, characters, and plot

Class 7: Playing the “what if” game—making your character do the unthinkable

Class 8: Cliffhangers, self-sacrifice, and turning points

Writing the Short Story (Class 9 - 12)

The final four weeks answer, “What makes a short story?” Using famous short stories and dynamic how-to content, students learn how to write a dynamic, publishable short story—including developing ideas for short stories, the similarities and differences between short stories and full-length book writing, and marketing short stories to publications.

Class 9: Defining short stories: micro fiction, flash fiction, short stories, novelettes, and novellas

Class 10: Characteristics of dynamic, saleable short stories

Class 11: Brainstorming, outlining, and forming your short story

Class 12: Who buys and publishes short stories? Short story markets and sales

Course Materials: All materials are provided FREE in the course. Word 2007 or later version or the ability to convert a document to a Word-compatible document. If you do not own Microsoft Word 2007 or a later version, you can use a system such as Google Docs that converts to Word documents FREE.

Homework: Weekly writing assignments with direct feedback from the instructor. There is an estimated three (3) to four (4) hours per week for homework outside of class time that includes reading, writing, and responding to feedback.

Fee: All 12 classes: $277 if you register on or before November 15, $297 if you register after November 15. (Registration closes one week before the first day of class. After that date, registrations are not guaranteed. There is a $20 surcharge for late enrollments after the course is closed.)

Technical Help: If you have any technical trouble or questions about course content, please email us at homeschoolconnections@gmail.com.