Weeks 1 and 2: Why this course. Why create fiction?

Weeks 3 and 4: Story components and Revising

Who, What, When, Where, How, and Why

The difference between the story and the story's components

Characters

Editing your story for grammar and punctuation

Examples of common grammar problems and how to change them

Examples of common punctuation problems and how to change them

Write and revise a story

Weeks 5 and 6: Goals, Motivation, and Conflict

The essence of story: Goals, Motivation, and Conflict

Goals

Motivations

Conflict

Write and revise a GMC-based story

Weeks 7 and 8: Generating Story Ideas

From where do story ideas arise?

How original does my story have to be?

Use this site's story prompts to activate your imagination

Using Genres to instigate stories

Generate a story premise from conflict

Writing to figure out the story

Activity: generate ideas for a new story

Write a story based on your newly generated ideas

Weeks 9 and 10: Point of View - Who Tells the Story

The narrator of the story may be different from the protagonist

The differing Points of View

Point of View and Perspective

Activity: Read a story told from different Points of View and Perspectives

First Person

Third Person Omniscient

Third Person Objective

Third Person Limited

Second Person

Epistolary

Write a story from two different Points of View

The Movie Frozen and the power of Point of View

Weeks 11 and 12: Characters - the Key to a Great Story

Your character must be active and strong

Your readers must relate to (though not necessarily like) your characters

The Protagonist

The Antagonist

The Sidekick

Using a sidekick in your stories

Other Characters

Make your characters complex

Character transformation

Write a character-based story

Weeks 13 and 14: Plot action

What is Plot

The Narrative Arc (Plot Diagram)

Developing plot points

The Inciting Incident - Launch your story!

Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution

The waves of plot during the story

Write and revise a plot-driven story

Week 15: Final Story

Write a story with all you've learned

Revise your story with all you've learned

Celebrate the difference in your story-telling ability

Dictating or typing your stories (especially if you have dyslexia or dysgraphia)

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Writing Fiction Stories - Semester 1

Dictating or typing your stories (especially if you have dyslexia or dysgraphia)