Classes

Learn how to give great feedback, and get the most out of the feedback experience.   [ld_video]

Learn how to get the most out of receiving feedback, in order to hone your novel and grow as a writer.   [ld_video]

Are all your friends writers too? Let’s talk about them:   Ahau – I Koe – you Ia – she/he     Kei te tuhituhi koe – you’re writing   Kei te inu ia – she’s drinking Kei te pānui ia – he’s reading   There is one more word we need to know to [...]

What does a writer do when they’re not writing? Pānui – to read Kei te pānui ahau – I’m reading.   Here are four more words to learn, so you don’t have to spend your whole life reading and writing: Inu – to drink Waiata – to sing Kai – to eat Moe – to [...]

The most important word to learn if you're a writer is tuhituhi, which means ‘to write’. Kei te tuhituhi ahau. - I’m writing But we need to learn a few other words if we want to be able to use ‘tuhituhi’ in some useful ways. The first thing we need to learn is ‘kei te’. [...]

In this session we’re talking about writing description. Lesson Overview Using all the senses Specificity in description Beyond the obvious: fresh description Thematic mindmapping Metaphors and similes   [ld_video]   The key to mastering description is to give enough details for the reader to place themselves and to build atmosphere, without boring the reader or [...]

In this class, we’re talking about dialogue, when you should and shouldn't use it, and how it can make your novel more solid and convincing. Lesson Overview Dialogue in fiction How to set out dialogue Using dialogue to advance plot Using dialogue to reveal backstory Conflict and tension in dialogue Beats: speech tags and stage [...]

In this class, we’re talking about points of view and narration. Lesson Overview Perspective Point of view Tense Character thoughts in narrative Narrator voice Unreliable narrators   [ld_video]   The exercises in this session are going to give you a good handle on how different points of view and narration styles can influence the reader [...]

In this class, we're talking about pacing and tension, both of which help the reader to keep turning the pages.   Lesson Overview How to pace your plot The role of chapters in pacing Writing slow and fast scenes Creating conflict Foreshadowing Injecting tension into scenes   [ld_video]   There is no ‘right way’ to [...]

In this class, we’re talking about plotting your story, figuring out the events that are going to take place in your story: how does it start, what happens next, and how do we get to the end. Lesson Overview What is required for a plot. Character goals and motivations - the starting point of building [...]

In this first class, we’re going to be talking about characters. We’re going to start by looking at why readers fall in love with characters, and how to create that connection between your character and your reader.   Lesson Overview Creating a connection between your character and your reader Finding inspiration for characters Creating characters [...]