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In this course, you will :
- shows you how to make the world of your story, no matter how fantastical, feel real to readers.
- Learn how to make your own "compost heap" of ideas and how to draw from your own experiences to create a story that is uniquely yours.
- Learn how to hone your voice and overcome your fear of making mistakes.
- Learn how to generate conflict and compelling stakes for your characters, as well as how to find a big idea that is meaningful to you.
- demonstrates how to concentrate your scenes and descriptions for maximum impact.
- shows you how to broaden your narrative by introducing conflict for your protagonist and how to bring your story to a satisfying conclusion.
- teaches you how to write realistic dialogue, how to listen to and trust your characters, and techniques for making your characters memorable to readers.
- Learn Neil's worldbuilding philosophy, including how to create compelling and believable settings for your novel, as well as how to avoid the common pitfalls that many inexperienced writers fall into.
- Neil discusses his techniques for enlivening descriptive prose, such as cold openings, withholding information, determining emotional weight, and selecting memorable details.
- Neil demonstrates how he incorporates humour into his work. He uses his novel Anansi Boys to demonstrate his personal techniques such as "sherbet lemons" and "figgins."
- explains how understanding your story's genre can help you surprise your audience with delightful surprises
- demonstrates his plotting and scripting process for a comic book, using an award-winning issue of Sandman as an example.
- discusses some of the difficulties of the writing life and offers suggestions for overcoming them.
- Neil offers editing tips, including why it's important to step away from a project and solicit feedback from a trusted reader.
- talks about finding the right balance of humility and confidence, as well as the importance of staying organised and dedicated to daily work
Syllabus :
- Truth in Fiction
- Sources of Inspiration
- Finding Your Voice
- Developing the Story
- Story Case Study: The Graveyard Book
- Short Fiction
- Short Fiction Case Study: “March Tale”
- Dialogue and Character
- Character Case Study: “October Tale”
- Worldbuilding
- Descriptions
- Humor
- Genre
- Comics
- Dealing With Writer’s Block
- Editing
- Rules for Writers
- The Writer’s Responsibilities
