Course materials are provided free for this course. This is Part One of a 2-part course. Students are expected to sign up for Part Two in the spring. Due to the popularity of this course, it is offered at different times during the week. Choose the day and time that works best for your family’s homeschool.

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 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.

Required: Writing Essentials 1: Essential Punctuation and Grammar I (HS 9-1) and Simplified Writing 1: Strong Foundational Writing Skills (HS 9-2). Prerequisites can be taken either live or through Unlimited Access.

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.

Course Outline:

Plot and Structure (Weeks 1 - 4)
The first 4-week segment of the course teaches your student about writing a gripping plot for fiction books of any genre for middle grade, young adult, and adult story plots.

Class 1: Great openings—the opening line, hook, drop into action, and inciting incident

Class 2: Developing your plot—doors of no return, peaks, and the rising plot line

Class 3: Creating tension and intrigue—tricks, tips, and “the plant”

Class 4: Great endings—creating a strong climax and finish

Description and Setting (Weeks 5 - 8)

In the next four weeks, the student will learn how to use excellent descriptions and craft a strong and memorable setting for any fiction work.

Class 5: Description and Setting Foundations

Class 6: Types of Description—the senses, metaphor and simile, figures of speech, and literary techniques

Class 7: Principles and techniques of memorable settings (including examples to learn by)

Class 8: How to integrate description and setting into plot, structure, and character development

Characters and Dialogue (Weeks 9 - 12)

The final four weeks teach the importance of dynamic characters and dialogue for fiction books of any genre—and how to create memorable characters and clear, distinct dialogue.

Class 9: Types of characters, developing characters fully, introducing your character

Class 10: Character arc—your lead character’s inner change

Class 11: Dialogue how-to’s, do’s, and don’ts

Class 12: Showing your character in the dialogue—weaving dialogue with your character and the action

• All course materials are provided FREE in the course. Microsoft Word or the ability to convert a document to a Word-compatible document is required. If you do not own Microsoft Word, you can use a system such as Google Docs that converts to Word documents FREE.

LIVE and Instructor Access students will have weekly writing assignments with grading and direct feedback from the instructor (parents will grade recorded students’ work), for an estimated three (3) to four (4) hours per week for homework outside of class time that includes reading, writing, and responding to instructor feedback.

Fee: All 12 classes: $279 if you register on or before July 15, $ 299 if you register after July 15. (Registration closes one week before the first day of class. After that date, registrations are not guaranteed. There is a $25 surcharge for late enrollments after the course is closed.)