Creative Writing Course: Novel Planning

What you'll learn

Improve your work skills by learning the techniques of writing a novel with our comprehensive writing short courses online and in Sydney!

There are many different approaches to plotting a novel, some writers find success by broad stroke planning with flexibility and revisions and others benefit from intricate planning before a word is written. Regardless of your chosen strategy, the end goal is always the same: to produce an organized manuscript with a logical beginning, middle, and end that's exciting and engaging to your audience.

In this novel planning course, you’ll learn the anatomy of story structure, how to develop a novel from idea to plot outline, as well as how to construct a project plan for your novel. Upon completion, you’ll have a comprehensive understanding of character development, story structure, and the resources to outline your next engaging, reader-magnet novel. Take out some of the mystery of getting started and join our novel planning course and begin to sketch out your narrative!

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this novel writing course, you will have enhanced your career prospects by :

• Know how to develop a compelling, engaging heroic character, and a worthy supporting cast.
• Understand what makes your characters tick, and therefore how to plan their story actions.
• Understand how to use motivation and backstory to set up suspenseful, must-read turning points.
• Understand story structure, and how to use it to develop plot.
• Know how to use character development and story structure to draft your novel outline.
• Learn how to use project planning methods to help construct a novel writing schedule that can help with NaNoWriMo – and beyond.

Course Content

What will be covered in this novel planning course?

Week 1:

• Learn exactly what NaNoWriMo is, and how to use it
• How to develop character by crafting goals, motivation and conflict
• Satisfying character arc
• How to create a character that readers will cheer for – and want to read about.

Week 2:

• Learn the importance of blending character and plot to develop the story.
• Learn the basics of dramatic story structure
• The constructs of the first act of a story – and how to outline it.

Week 3:

• Learn the constructs of the second act of a story
• How to avoid the middle story sag.
• Understand the story developments – turning points – and how to use them
• Building tension and suspense toward the story crisis.

Week 4:

• Learn how to escalate stakes and tension to that all-important climactic turning point
• How to end your story in a satisfying way that fulfils your story promise and provides that epic story resolution that results in a completed and gratifying character arc that will have readers eagerly anticipating your next story.
• Learn how to plan your time and optimise your writing schedule.

Intended audience

Who is this novel writing course for?

This course is carefully crafted to cater to students looking to upskill, including beginners who are new to the craft of creative writing, as well as those with some prior experience in writing.

Course materials

What to bring to class

• A notebook with removable pages
• Pen or pencil
• A laptop or tablet if this is what you prefer to write on (optional)