Designed primarily for fiction and creative nonfiction writers, this three-hour workshop will be a deep dive into finding, creating, and writing a professional logline for your book (or screenplay). Loglines are not just nice things to have; they are an essential tool for query letters, pitches, and the marketing of a book. Loglines can—and do—make or break a writer’s ability to find an agent, editor, or lit manager and are the first line of defense that assures your query letter will actually get read. But there is a lot of snake oil in the water when it comes to understanding what a logline is, how to build one, and most importantly how to write one. This class demystifies the logline process and practically teaches you a development process you can use for the future on any new stories you might have. By the end of the three hours, you will understand how a logline is built, learn the logline machine, and work one-on-one with the instructor to create a functional logline for your story.

Learning and Writing Goals

Learning Goals

In this course, students will learn:

• The nuts and bolts of logline construction.
• The 7 mistakes writers make with loglines.
• The logline machine and how to use it.
• The next steps in development, if story problems exist in the original premise.

Writing Goals

In this course, students will:

• Use their story idea to build a logline.
• Write a functional and useable logline.

Class Session:

The class will be conducted on Zoom and will be recorded. We will meet from 7-10 P.M. U.S. Eastern Time. 

Duration: 3 hours

Workshop Schedule

This class will include:

• PowerPoint lecture and Q&A
• Open discussion
• Review of original story premise with Q&A
• One-on-one logline development using the machine
• Open final Q&A
• Next steps in development

What You Get:

• Live, in-person training
• PowerPoint lecture slides PDF
• Downloadable session recording
• Preliminary notes on original story idea used in class
• A final logline you can use for query letters
• “Next step” notes for future development (if suggested)

Why Take a Logline Development Course with Writers.com?

• • We welcome writers of all backgrounds and experience levels, and we are here for one reason: to support you on your writing journey.
  • Small groups keep our online writing classes lively and intimate.
  • Work through your weekly written lectures, course materials, and writing assignments at your own pace.
  • Share and discuss your work with classmates in a supportive class environment.
  • Award-winning instructor Jeff Lyons will offer you direct, personal feedback.

The post Get Your Book Noticed: Writing Loglines That Sell appeared first on Writers.com.

If you have ever found your novel or work of creative nonfiction running out of narrative gas, with no clear path how to breathe life back into a limp or anemic story, you may have a subplot problem.

Subplots are the key to maintaining narrative pace in any novel, memoir, or biography and yet many writers barely give subplots a second thought. The knee jerk is to let them emerge in the writing with fingers crossed they will do the trick and fix any pacing problems. This rarely works. Rather than leaving it to the Muse, subplots can be designed consciously by the writer to support the mainline story so that it never lags or drags in the mushy middle.

This class will discuss what subplots are (and are not), why you need them, how to build them, and how to masterfully integrate them into your own writing to tell better stories. Through weekly lectures, assigned reading, and written assignments, students will implement a set of provided tools for subplot development and construct essential story elements of their novels or creative nonfiction. From subplot mastery to the basics of synopsis writing to understanding pacing fundamentals and narrative drive, students will create a roadmap for overall story development that can serve them across their entire writing journey, regardless of story or genre.

Learning and Writing Goals

Learning Goals:

What a subplot is and isn’t.
How to structure any subplot.
The 10 core subplot patterns.
The 7 mistakes writers make writing subplots.
Learn the synopsis writing process.

Writing Goals:

Build the structure of your main story.
Build the structure of at least 1 subplot.
Plan additional subplots.
Write synopses for the mainline story and 1 subplot.
Merge a subplot into the mainline story

Course Features:

• Weekly Live Sessions
  • Lecture, discussions, and Q&A
  • Requires interaction and active participation
  • An informal drop-in time for student Q&A
• Assignments & Coursework
  • Assignments and course materials posted in Canvas
  • Required discussions in Canvas
  • Instructor will provide feedback on assignments
• Individual conferences available by request

Zoom Schedule

Meeting days and times: Monday, 10 AM PST

Meeting location: Online (Zoom link will be provided to enrolled students closer to start date). Class sessions will be recorded.

Textbooks/Required Materials:

There are two texts recommended for this course.

Required: Rapid Story Development #1: Commercial Pace in Fiction and Creative Nonfiction, by Jeff Lyons (Storygeeks Press).

Optional: Rapid Story Development: How to Use the Enneagram-Story Connection to Become a Master Storyteller, by Jeff Lyons (Focal Press).

Pre-class Assignment

This is not a requirement for the class, but if you can try to watch three old movies (Lilies of the Field (1963), Amadeus (1984), and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)) that would be great. There is also a fourth, The Edge of Tomorrow (2014). These should be viewed before the end of the second week if possible.

Weekly Syllabus:

Why Take a Story Plotting Course with Writers.com?

• We welcome writers of all backgrounds and experience levels, and we are here for one reason: to support you on your writing journey.
• Small groups keep our online writing courses lively and intimate.
• Work through your weekly lectures, course materials, and writing assignments at your own pace.
• Share and discuss your work with fellow writers in a supportive course environment.
• Award-winning instructor Jeff Lyons will offer you direct, personal feedback and suggestions on every assignment you submit.

The post Story Lab: The Story-Subplot Connection appeared first on Writers.com.

Whether you are a pro or beginning writer, basic story structure principles are essential tools for success as a writer and a storyteller. But what story structure? Whose version of story structure? The story structure zoo is crowded, and the many competing gurus are loud and confusing. This course distills the basics that are common across all story-structure methods and systems—not to say who is best (there is not best), but rather to find the common structure principles that are true for all stories, irrespective of branded systems.

Through weekly lectures, assigned reading, written assignments, and video instructionals students will learn a set of provided tools for basic story structure development, be it for a work of fiction or creative nonfiction. The provided worksheets will give students the opportunity, in a systematic way, to implement their learning in a hands-on way to actually structure their own stories in class. Along the way, students will use the tools from class to analyze and critique two test cases (films) in order to hone their skills in identifying and use their new knowledge in an applied way. At the end of class, students will have a clear roadmap to help them structure any story idea into a long- or short-form piece of prose, regardless of genre.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn what story structure is and isn’t
• Learn the two structures needed to tell any story
• Learn how to navigate the story structure zoo
• Learn how story structure helps avoid episodic writing
• Learn the difference between a story and a situation

Writing Objectives:

• Structure a story from page one to the midpoint
• Structure a story from the midpoint to the doom moment
• Structure a story from the doom moment to the ending
• Identify the basic structure beats of test case examples from movies

Zoom Schedule

This class will meet on Mondays 11AM Pacific Time. Meetings will run for 60-90 minutes.

Course Features:

• Live session
  • Lecture, discussions, and Q&A
  • Requires interaction and active participation
  • An informal drop-in time for student Q&A
• Assignments & Coursework
  • Assignments and course materials posted in Canvas
  • Required discussions in Canvas
  • Instructor will provide feedback on assignments
• Individual conferences available by request

Textbooks/Required Materials:

• There is one text recommended for this course: Anatomy of a Premise Line: How to Master Premise and Story Development for Writing Success, by Jeff Lyons (Focal Press).
• Students should have a story idea in development already, preferably one that is past the idea stage.

Weekly Syllabus:

Why Take a Story Structure Course with Writers.com?

• We welcome writers of all backgrounds and experience levels, and we are here for one reason: to support you on your writing journey.
• Small groups keep our online writing courses lively and intimate.
• Work through your weekly lectures, course materials, and writing assignments at your own pace.
• Share and discuss your work with fellow writers in a supportive course environment.
• Award-winning instructor Jeff Lyons will offer you direct, personal feedback and suggestions on every assignment you submit.

The post Story Lab: Story Structure 101 appeared first on Writers.com.

Pitch perfect: write a premise line for your story.

If a story is going to fail, it will first do so at the premise level.  Knowing how to create, design, and validate a premise idea are essential skills every writer needs in their toolbox. The premise line is the only reliable tool that can tell you, BEFORE you start writing, whether or not your story will “work.” It is your canary in the coal mine, and when fully mastered can save you time, money and months of potentially wasted writing. In this class participants will learn how to master the process of premise line development—the essential first step in any book or screenplay’s development process. All that students need to prepare for this class is to have an idea that sparks their passion and imagination. It doesn’t matter how much, or little, actual writing has been done previously on the idea.

Students will have ample opportunities to work with the instructor live in one-on-one session once a week, and offline in private recorded video-chat sessions. Everyone will have the chance to work directly with the instructor, regardless of time zone. We only have five weeks to cover an immense amount of material, so expect an intense and invigorating experience.

I had no idea how profound (not too strong a word) the work would be. It was one of the most valuable experiences I’ve had as a writer, and I’ve been through a 3-year MFA program.
—Charles David Taylor

Audience

Novelists, screenwriters, playwrights, creative nonfiction authors.

Zoom Schedule

This class will meet on Mondays 11AM Pacific Time. Meetings will run for 60-90 minutes.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the fifth week, students will:

• understand the real purpose of the premise line,
• know how to identify a story from a situation,
• understand how premise relates to story structure,
• know how to design and execute a two-, three-, or six-page synopsis,
• and they will have a working premise line and logline for one of their own stories.

But, most importantly, going forward, each student will have a repeatable and reliable premise/story development methodology they can use on any new story idea.

Optional Materials

Anatomy of a Premise Line: How to Master Premise and Story Development for Writing Success, by Jeff Lyons (Focal Press—order from Amazon: http://amzn.to/1Es0iAm).

Worksheet-Based Assignments

This is not a creative writing class; this is a story development class. Student pages or writing will not be read or workshopped during the class. Instead, all class work will be guided by strategically designed worksheets that will guide participants through the various steps of their development process and all these worksheets will be the source material for all class and individual one-on-one sessions. This has proven, over many years, to be the best approach to get the maximum results for students.

How To Write A Story Premise Line: Course Syllabus

Week One: What Is a Premise / Story vs Situation

What is a story premise and why is it important? This week we look at the nuts and bolts of what premise development means and why it is an essential first step in creating any story. We also talk about what a story is and what a story isn’t and how to tell the difference.

Week Two: Moral Component

This is an essential part of any story and the engine of any narrative. This week we discuss what a moral problem is, why your protagonist needs one, and the three components that make up every moral premise.

Week Three: Classic Story Structure / How to Build a Premise Line

This week we look at the story structure principles that drive any story, how all stories are structured and how this informs the premise development process. We will also learn how to use the Premise Line Tool, the basic template and machine used to build premise lines and story pitches.

Week Four: High Concept / The Logline

This week we look at what makes a story “high concept,” what this means, and how you can tell if your story is high concept. We will also look at the logline concept and how to build a proper logline for query letters and pitching.

Week Five: Short Synopsis Writing and Next Steps in Development

This week’s lecture will introduce the synopsis writing process and describe the parameters used for designing, planning, and integrating your premise line into a narrative that you can use to write a short synopsis. The short synopsis is an essential tool in the development process. We will close with a look at “next steps” in the development process for future work, to help you prepare for actual pages and writing of the manuscript or screenplay.

Why Take a Premise Line Writing Course with Writers.com?

• • We welcome writers of all backgrounds and experience levels, and we are here for one reason: to support you on your writing journey.
  • Small groups keep our online writing classes lively and intimate.
  • Work through your weekly written lectures, course materials, and writing assignments at your own pace.
  • Share and discuss your work with classmates in a supportive class environment.
  • Award-winning instructor Jeff Lyons will offer you direct, personal feedback and suggestions on every assignment you submit.

The post Anatomy of a Premise Line: How to Use Story and Premise Development for Writing Success appeared first on Writers.com.

Get in the middle of your best storytelling!

Everyone writes great beginnings and endings to their novels, but when it comes to the middle they get bogged down and lose their way. It’s called “the mushy middle” and there seems no way out of this quagmire.

But there is hope. There is a process that can ensure a strong middle throughline for any story. Jeff Lyons will teach you the two-key story-structure engines needed for any story’s middle, and the two essential character patterns needed to build a character’s arc through the middle.

These engines and patterns work together to not only assure a narrative throughline that avoids episodic or meandering writing, but that also gives you a repeatable process that will produce solid middles for any story you might write in the future. Say goodbye to the mushy middle, and hello to stories that work.

Jeff challenged me like no other, and I love him for it.
—Allison Smith

Zoom Schedule

This class will meet on Mondays 11AM Pacific Time. Meetings will run for 60-90 minutes.

Course Outline

Week One: The Structure of Every Story and What Does “Middle” Mean?

Learning objectives:

• Students will learn the basic story structures in every story
• Students will learn what a story’s middle is all about
• Students will learn what “mushy” means and what are the alternatives

Topics:

• Basic story structure
• Narrative patterns in middles that don’t work
• Narrative patterns in middles that do work
• The Moral Component of every story

Assignments:

• Analyze their own story’s middle to see what is missing or needs improvement

Week Two: The Narrative Engine

Learning objectives:

• Students will learn the basics of how to build a Moral Component

Topics:

• The Moral Component and its three main pieces.

Tools

• The Moral Premise Worksheet

Assignments:

• Fill out the Moral Premise Worksheet

Week Three: The Classic Story Engine

Learning objectives:

• Students will learn the first critical narrative engine for the middle
• Students will learn the seven components of this engine

Topics:

• The seven pieces of the Classic Story Engine

Tools

• The Classic Story Engine Worksheet

Assignments:

• Fill out the Classic Story Engine Worksheet
•  

Week Four: The Narrative Story Engine

Learning objectives:

• Students will learn the second critical narrative engine for the middle
• Students will learn the various components that make up this engine

Topics:

• The six components of the Narrative Engine
• Review of the Moral Component (as it ties in)

Tools:

• The Narrative Engine Worksheet

Assignments:

• Fill out the Narrative Engine Worksheet

Week Five: Summary and Next Steps

Learning objectives:

• Students will apply all the previous weeks’ learning to their own story
• Students will learn the next steps in story development

Topics:

• How to apply all the previous work to your story
• Review of the basic story development workflow
• Specific steps to take to move forward with their own development

Why Take a Story Structure Writing Course with Writers.com?

• We welcome writers of all backgrounds and experience levels, and we are here for one reason: to support you on your writing journey.
• Small groups keep our online writing classes lively and intimate.
• Work through your weekly written lectures, course materials, and writing assignments at your own pace.
• Share and discuss your work with classmates in a supportive class environment.
• Award-winning instructor Jeff Lyons will offer you direct, personal feedback and suggestions on every assignment you submit.

The post How to Firm Up the “Mushy Middle” of Any Story appeared first on Writers.com.

The Enneagram is the most powerful model available today that describes the nine common personality styles of human thought, feeling, and action. Classic story development is the common set of storytelling best practices that have developed over hundreds of years of creative writing. The two systems together provide a powerful and proven methodology for developing effective stories and robust and multidimensional characters.

Through this class participants will learn a systematic process, “The Rapid Story Development Method,” that will walk them through specific steps designed to build out any story’s natural structure and create characters that ring true as convincing, fully-formed people. Through weekly reading, targeted written assignments, class video chats, and individual one-on-one sessions students will systematically conceive, design, and execute the core story development components necessary to assure writing success using these two powerful and complementary systems.

Zoom Schedule

This class will meet on Mondays 12PM Pacific Time. Meetings will run for 60-90 minutes.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the tenth week, students will:

• Understand the basics of the Enneagram for Writers,
• Understand the basics of classic story structure,
• Understand how the Enneagram System relates to overall story development,
• Learn a repeatable and proven methodology for story development,
• Have working tools and deliverables to move to the next steps in the story development process.

Required Text(s):

There are two texts recommended for this course. The first is mandatory, the second is optional.

• Rapid Story Development: How to Use the Enneagram-Story Connection to Become a Master Storyteller, by Jeff Lyons (Focal Press). Students get free shipping. E-book: order e-book Amazon  (Links to an external site.)
• Anatomy of a Premise Line: How to Master Premise and Story Development for Writing Success, by Jeff Lyons (Focal Press). Students get free shipping. E-book: order e-book Amazon 

Course Syllabus

Why Take a Story Development Course with Writers.com?

• • We welcome writers of all backgrounds and experience levels, and we are here for one reason: to support you on your writing journey.
  • Small groups keep our online writing classes lively and intimate.
  • Work through your weekly written lectures, course materials, and writing assignments at your own pace.
  • Share and discuss your work with classmates in a supportive class environment.
  • Award-winning instructor Jeff Lyons will offer you direct, personal feedback and suggestions on every assignment you submit.

The post Rapid Story Development: A Master Plan for Building Stories That Work appeared first on Writers.com.