Sonrise Stable Writing Lessons: Creative Writing Course
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Course Overview

Announcements
1a. Introduction
1b. (PDF) Course Outline
2. The Approach of this Course
3. "Secrets" to Great Writing: (hint - there aren't any!)
4. Establishing Writing Habits or Routines
5. Software Recommendations to Make Writing Easier
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 View
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 Interested
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 Worksheet
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!
22a. Becoming a POV Detective
22b. Types of POV Issues
22c. (PDF) Summary of POV Issues
23. Dialog, Dialog Tags, and Action Beats
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 Moves
26a. Backstory - What it is, When and How to Include it
26b. (PDF) Backstory Worksheet
27a. Is Your Story Believable?
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 Checklist
33a. My Editing and Revision Process Overview
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

Writing Critiques and Additional Videos

4 Lessons