What’s the single biggest difference between professional authors and novices? Professionals know how to structure novels and stories for maximum dramatic effect. This course helps you develop the same story structuring skills the pros use. You’ll understand how your passion, theme, premise, and characters help you create the structure of your story, and you’ll discover how viewpoint, dialogue, pacing, and many other techniques are used to build scenes and move your story from beginning to end.

Each assignment in this course helps you develop your own original novel or story. As you apply each technique, your story will take shape, with a clear path from beginning to end. And whenever you have questions or insights to share, you can join your instructor and classmates in the Discussion Area for some interactive brainstorming! Before you know it, you’ll be prepared to …write fiction like a pro.

Learning Objectives

Get an overview of the fundamentals of story structure, and learn the crucial difference between story and plot.
Take what you’ve learned about story structuring and the story idea and develop it into a story outline.
Expand your story outline with scene lists, and expand your scenes into your long form.
Discover how to plot like a pro by using techniques like plot sketching, foreshadowing, flashbacks, parallel cutting, and scene and sequel.
This course is part of the Advanced Creative Writing Certificate.

View full course syllabus

For our online course refund policy, click here.

Requirements: Internet access, e-mail, Firefox or Internet Explorer web browser.

You will need to create a login for your online classroom. Go to www.ed2go.com/ksuconed. Find your course by browsing the catalog or using the search bar. Click the ‘Add to Cart’ button. Select your start date and then create a Username and Password. You must make an 80 or higher on the final exam (online) to successfully complete the course. You may only take the exam once.

If you have questions about this course, please contact the online coordinator at 470-578-6693 or online@kennesaw.edu.