Questions? Feedback?
powered by
Olark live chat software
Autoplay
Autocomplete
Previous Lesson
Complete and Continue
Novel in Nine - Novel Writing Course
Welcome to Novel in Nine
Curriculum
Welcome to Novel in Nine!
Helpful Information
Recommended Books on Writing
If you have a novel-in-progress, read this
Please read
Week 1: Discovering Your What-if
Before We Begin
Week 1 Lesson & Assignment: Situation and Story
Week 1 Video: Is Your Situation Novel-Worthy? (7:32)
Download: The Big Questions Worksheet
Download: Week 1 Checklist
25 Quick Writing Prompts
Week 2: Beginning with Character
Week 2: Understanding Your Protagonist
Week 2 Video - Revealing Your Character (8:45)
Week 3: Developing your protagonist
Week 3 Protagonist, Part 2: Obstacles & Influences
Week 3 Video (2:19)
Writing background: how much should you include? (video) (6:49)
Download - Checklist Weeks 2-3
Writing about real people in fiction (video) (8:08)
Week 4: Make it urgent!
Week 4: Urgency & Change (Video) (5:49)
Week 4: How to find your novel's urgency
Week 4 Process: Do you need special novel writing software? (Video) (7:10)
Month One Word Count Check-In (0:47)
Week 5: In Search of Place
Week 5: Setting your novel in time and place (Video) (9:29)
Week 5: Setting - Giving your reader a place to land
Checklist: Weeks 4 & 5
Week 6: Notes on Research
Week 6: Down the Rabbit Hole and Out Again: Enlivening Your Novel with Research
Week 6 Video: Research (9:17)
Week 7: Point of View
Week 7: What You Need to Know about Point of View
Week 7: Whose story is it? Zeroing in on Point of View (Video) (8:56)
Week 7: How to handle multiple points of view (video) (18:12)
Checklist, Weeks 6 - 7
Week 8: Anatomy of a Scene, plus Inspiration
Week 8: How to write a scene
Week 8: Showing up on the days you don't feel inspired (video) (5:39)
Week 8 - Process: Organizing your novel with Scrivener (video) (17:54)
Week 9: The Secret Structure
Week 9: The Secret Structure
Week 9 Download: Plot Balance Worksheet
Download: Checklist Weeks 8-9
Month 2 Word Count Check-in
Week 10: All About Scenes and Chapters
Week 10: Constructing Scenes & Chapters
Week 10: What You Need to Know About Scenes and Chapters (video) (16:39)
Week 11: Essential Scenes
Week 11: 17 Essential Scenes (Video) (2:24)
Week 11 Download: Foundational Scene List
Download: Weeks 10 & 11 Checklist
Week 11 Download: Scene Type List
Week 12: Making Friends
Week 12: Close Connections & Emotional Intimacy (Primary Positive Relationship)
Encouragement: Give yourself 30 minutes
Week 13
Week 13: Fun with Subplots
Week 13 Video: Subplot (3:18)
Download: Weeks 12 & 13 Checklist
Week 14
Week 14: The Art of the Sentence
More Writing Prompts for Days When You Feel Stuck
Books to help you write betters sentences
Month 3 Word Count Check-in
Developing Your Narrative Voice (video) (11:00)
Week 15
Week 15: Tell Me More (Really)
Week 15 Video: Why You Have to Show AND Tell (18:42)
Week 16
Week 16: Finding Your Novel's Ideal Pace
Week 16 Video - Pacing (5:34)
Download: Checklist Weeks 14-15
Week 17
Week 17: Establishing Narrative Patterns
Week 17 Video - Patterning & Pacing (7:46)
Download: Checklist, Weeks 16-17
Week 18
Week 18: Taking Stock
Halfway Point Cheers & Check-in (Video) (1:32)
Week 18 - Halfway Point Checklist
Week 19
Week 19: Plot by the Numbers (video) (11:40)
Week 19 Download: Plot by the Numbers PDF
Week 20
Get them talking
How to Write Great Dialogue (Video) (7:45)
Week 21
Week 21: Understanding Your Antagonist
Not Just Your Average Bad Guy (Video) (7:46)
Week 22
Week 22: What are you trying to say? Notes on Theme
Week 22: Notes on Theme Audio Version
A Little Bit More on Theme (Video) (13:10)
Week 23
Week 23: Notes on Process: Discovering your narrative map
Week 23 Lesson, Audio Version
Month 5 Word Count Check-In
Week 24
Week 24 Video: What makes a detail significant? (8:45)
Week 24: The Art of Description and Suggestion
Week 25
How Suspense Happens - The Art of Planting Many Seeds
Suspense Check Worksheet (download)
Beyond the Nailbiter: Creating Suspense in Any Genre (Video) (12:05)
Week 26
The Power of Vulnerability in Writing
Writing away from home (video) (6:07)
Week 27
"Sudden & Consequential" - Writing the Climax
More Tips for Writing Your Novel's Climax (video) (5:32)
Month 6 Cheers & Check-in (2:07)
Week 28
Chapter Length, Where You're Headed, & More
How to Handle Background Material Throughout the Novel (video) (6:49)
Week 29
A Sense of an Ending
How to Write a Great Ending (video) (6:56)
Further Reading on Endings
Week 30
Scene Work: Deepening Scenes
Fleshing Out Skeletal Scenes (video) (7:38)
Week 31
A Model Climax & Denouement for Study--and the Art of the Double Climax
Working on Multiple Projects at the Same Time (video) (8:17)
Month 7 Word Count Check-in
Week 32
Why You Need to Understand Your Novel's Genre (video) (12:48)
Week 32 Assignment: The Final Chapter
Week 33
Crafting the Unforgettable Title
Video: Titles, plus words of encouragement (10:38)
Please share your title
Week 34
Writing the Cross-Genre Novel
Congratulations! Plus: Revision & Continuity (video) (13:51)
Week 35
Addition, Subtraction, & Stages of Revision
Week 36
Week 36: The Reward of Exhaustion, & Next Steps for Revision
A Deep Dive Inside My Revision Process (video) (19:03)
Month 8 Word Count Check-in
Week 37
Sentence by Sentence Revision
Revising for Point of View (video) (13:00)
Pitching the Cross-Genre Novel
Week 38
How I Got Published & Found an Agent (in that order) (video) (26:52)
Do Publishing Trends Matter? Advice from a Literary Agent
Writing Through Rejection (10:19)
Week 39
Finding & Working With a Literary Agent (video) (11:50)
Manuscript Basics (Download)
Querying Literary Agents (Download)
Week 40
Parting Thoughts
Congratulations & Au Revoir - Our Final Video (10:37)
Finding & Working With a Literary Agent (video)
Complete and Continue