Course Overview

• Announcements

• 1a. Introduction

• 1b. (PDF) Course Outline

• 2. The Approach of this Course1

• 3. "Secrets" to Great Writing: (hint - there aren't any!)

• 4. Establishing Writing Habits or Routines

• 5. Software Recommendations to Make Writing Easier

• 5b. Living Writer Online Writing App pt. 1

• 5c. Living Writer Online Writing App pt. 2

• 6a. Don't Know What to Write About? Take a Look at these Suggestions!

• 6b. (PDF) Story Ideas If You're In Search of Something to Write About

Story Elements

• 7a. Point of View Character, Person, and Tense

• 7b. Third Person Limited Point of View2

• 7c. (PDF) Changing the Point of View Writing Exercise

• 8a. Using Character Profiles to Help Develop Well-rounded Characters

• 8b. (PDF) Character Profile Sheet

• 8c. (PDF) Questions to Ponder About Your Characters

• 9a. Describing Characters

• 9b. (PDF) Four Samples of Character Descriptions

• 9c. (PDF) Character Description Practice

• 10a. Character Arc - What does your main character want to accomplish?

• 10b. (PDF) Character Arc Worksheet

• 11a. Plot and the Story Arc

• 11b. (PDF) Plot and Story Arc Worksheet

• 12a. Conflict, Tension, Suspense, Unpredictability - Keeping the Reader Interested2

• 12b. (PDF) Conflict, Tension, Unpredictability Worksheet

• 13a. Physical Setting and Time Period

• 13b. (PDF) Setting and Time Period Worksheet

• 14a. Story Overview (maybe an outline?)

• 14b. (PDF) Story Overview Worksheet2

• 15. First Draft Pep Talk - Go Team, Go!

Nuts and Bolts

• 16a. Sentences and Basic Grammatical Concepts

• 16b. Sentences and Basic Grammatical Concepts

• 16c. (PDF) Sentences and Basic Grammatical Concepts

• 17a. The All-important First Sentence

• 17b. (PDF) First Sentences

• 18. Paragraphs - What are They and How are They Used in Fiction?

• 19. A Change of Scene

• 20. Hooking the Reader With the First Chapter

• 21. Vocabulary and Word Choice - Bigger isn't Better!2

• 22a. Becoming a POV Detective

• 22b. Types of POV Issues

• 22c. (PDF) Summary of POV Issues

• 23. Dialog, Dialog Tags, and Action Beats2

The Bigger Picture

• 24a. Showing vs. Telling and When to Use Each

• 24b. Showing vs. Telling Worksheet

• 25. Pacing - the Speed at Which Your Story Moves2

• 26a. Backstory - What it is, When and How to Include it

• 26b. (PDF) Backstory Worksheet

• 27a. Is Your Story Believable?2

• 27b. (PDF) Believability Worksheet

• 28a. Foreshadowing

• 28b. (PDF) Foreshadowing Worksheet

• 29. What Makes a Good Ending? Samples From Literature

• 30. Three Sonrise Stable Endings

• 31. Adding a Little Humor to Your Story

Feedback, Revisions, and Editing

• 32a. Story/Book Checklist and Book Lengths

• 32b. (PDF) Story/Book Checklist2

• 33a. My Editing and Revision Process Overview2

• 33b. (PDF) Editing and Revision Process Overview

• 34. Learn to Welcome Constructive Criticism

• 35. Where to Find Critiquers

• 36. A Sample Critique Using Track Changes Feature

• 37. More Info on How Track Changes Works

• 38. Types of Edits and Sources/Prices for Human Editors

Software Tools For Editing

• 39. Software That Reads Aloud to You

• 40. SmartEdit Writer Basic Editing Checks

• 41. ProWriting Aid - My Favorite Editing Software

• 42. Grammarly - Limited Free Version

• 43. Quick Look at Hemingway, Ginger, and Whitesmoke

• 44. Antidote - Powerhouse Editing With Some Complexity

• 45. Is Editing Software Sufficient or Do You Need a Human Editor?

Christian Considerations

• 46a. What Exactly is a Christian Novel?

• 46b. (PDF) Donna Fleisher's Definition of a Christian Novel

• 47. Christian Who Writes? Or Christian Author?

• 48. Life Experiences That Prepared Me to Write the Sonrise Stable Series

• 49a. What Should Be Included in Christian Fiction?

• 49b. (PDF) Philippians 4:8 - A Guide For Christian Authors

• 50a. Things You Don't Want to Write About in a Christian Novel

• 50b. (PDF) My Don't Include in Christian Fiction List

• 51. Sonrise Stable Book 1 - Comparing Jet's Death to Christ Dying for Us

• 52. Sonrise Stable Book 1 - Carrie's Salvation Story

• 53. Scriptural Themes in the Sonrise Stable Series

• Bible Stories for Children

A Few Thoughts on Writing for Children and Writing a Series

• 54. Writing Children's Books

• 55. Things to Consider When Writing a Series

Thoughts on Publishing

• 56. Overview of Traditional Publishing

• 57. Reasons to Consider Self Publishing

• 58a. Overview of the Self Publishing Process

• 58b. (PDF) My Molly Green Magazine Article on Self Publishing

• 59a. This is NOT Self Publishing

• 59b. This is NOT Self Publishing pt. 2

• 60. How to Legally Use Scripture, Song Lyrics, and Images in Your Book

• 61. Illustrations and Illustrators

• 62. Book Covers and Software for Interior Layout

• 63. Copyrights, Trademarks, and ISBNs - Oh my!

• 64. Tips for a Successful Book/Author Website

• 65. Getting a Book Printed

• 66. Realistic Expectations for Book Sales

The Compost Heap

• 67. Composting Life Experiences - and Continuing Education

• Writing Resources (PDF)

Q&A - Answering Your Questions

• Send Me Your Questions

• Are Social Media and Blogging Effective Marketing Tools for Self Publishers?

Writing Critiques and Additional Videos

• Submit Your Work for a Critique (limited)

• Critique - Chapter 1 - Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

• Critique - Chapter 1 - Mystery Horse: Horse Club by Lisa Morgan

• Critique - Thunder Dog