Margie Lawson
Make your writing soar
Beautiful words and exciting scenes aren't enough to propel the reader through a novel. Stories need a plan, a focus, a solid structure from beginning to end.
In this 30-day course, you will explore the story structure elements, transformational character arcs, and plot that make up powerful, bestselling stories. You will learn how to analyze examples, from bestselling novels, movies, or TV shows, for each story element or concept. A variety of activities and techniques help you hone your skills and infuse these elements and concepts into your own story. You’ll receive feedback from the instructor, and often from other classmates, to aid in your understanding of the concepts as you apply them to your story.
Story Structure Safari’s goal is to help you dig deep into the heart of your story and focus on how to consistently meet or exceed your reader’s expectations.
A story is created by weaving together two major components, Plot and Character, within a setting or world. Both the plot and characters change and evolve as the story unfolds. Neither plot nor character can stand alone.
Story Structure helps the writer identify elements and patterns throughout a story. Story Structure aids in understanding how those elements can be woven together to create a powerful, effective story that meets or exceeds reader expectations.
Story Structure is a framework to help identify and create:
Wrap-Up Lesson: Overarching Story
Lisa Miller retired from teaching and counseling after 30 years. While she loved writing YA fiction, she has been drawn back into teaching. Not always finding the writing classes she needed; Lisa scoured the internet and how-to books for self-instruction. She funneled that knowledge into the creation of the Story Structure Safari class and merged it with her master teaching skills and experience with different learning styles. This is her ninth year to teach the class and she continues to update materials and expand her knowledge to best meet writer needs.
The information in the lessons blew me away. It created many a-ha moments for me, and working through the exercises gave me lots of ideas that I love for my new story. I finally have an outline I feel really good about.
I feel like I went from ten to a hundred in terms of understanding the important arcs and milestones of a story. I've always had a good sense of internal developments, but struggled with external ones in the past. I'm now much more confident in my plotting abilities, and am sure I'll continue to get better at it. This course offered a wonderful framework you can build off of to structure compelling and satisfying stories.
Lisa does an excellent job with her Story Structure Safari. I'm answering the points given for a review.
The one obstacle I had before I signed up was the time involved to get through the lessons.
What I discovered while taking the class was that I really needed the structure to sharpen the different zones in my book.
What I like most about the class was the examples of the different steps she listed in each lesson. Those were really helpful.
Three other benefits of the class was seeing some of the sources Lisa followed. The input Lisa gave on our lessons. And an increased thirst for knowledge to keep learning.
Yes I would recommend the class because I don't believe in ever learning too much about your craft. Lisa was an instructor who took interest in what we did in a non-condescending way and was available with great ideas.
I would add you get out of the class what you put in.
This is taking your current plotting skills and elevating them to the next level no matter where you are in your journey or your story. Already know your characters' goals and motivations? You can go deeper. Already know your turning points? You can revise them.
I had two main concerns before signing up. I'm an introverted plotter and have self-studied most of my prior story structure knowledge. Plus, I brought a half-finished, plotted draft into the class. Both those worries ended in the first week.
Lisa will work with you, and give you the map you need to make your good story even better. It's not just "here's the lecture" either. She takes time to provide feedback for your homework, to give you additional ideas and plotting tools. I already plan to come back and Safari again.
This was the right class at the right moment. I took Story Safari five years ago when I was working on what eventually became my debut novel, and I found the notes invaluable as I worked on my second book. This time around, I was partway through the first draft of a manuscript, knew it wasn't working, but wasn't sure how to fix it. By working my way through the whole process again (with homework and Lisa's feedback to keep me on track), I now have a much stronger handle on what I need to address.
You'll benefit most from this class if you plan to dedicate some serious time to it. In return, you'll have a comprehensive understanding of story structure and character development that will power you forward to a great book.
I finally learned there is life after pantsing. I took my first SSS class back in 2015, and have taken it every year since. SSS teaches the underlying principles of storytelling, much like learning the laws of physics. You don't have to believe in gravity, but you'll still fall if you lose your balance. So too with storytelling. Theme. Plot. First Plot Point. Protagonist. Midpoint. The Fall. The Crisis. Character Arcs. Lisa teaches each essential element and how they fit together, using examples from literature, bestsellers, and movies.
At heart, she's a teacher- tough, demanding, but also patient and compassionate. Lisa got me out of my circular thinking and coached me through the discipline to take a raw story idea or a work in progress and craft a plot structure that works. Plenty of room for creativity and brainstorming, and a lot of surprises along the way.
I try to take every story I write, from raw concept to finished structure, through the SSS class. As a result, my writing is stronger, more flexible, more compelling. I can't think of a more efficient or effective way of working with a story coach.
I'm looking forward to the next class.
© 2022 Margie Lawson, all rights reserved.
