Follow the lead of writing rockstars like J.K. Rowling, E.L. Stein, and John Grisham as bestselling author, Julie Anne Lindsey, walks you through the creation of an outline that will move your story from concept to completion in 28 days flat.   What You Will Learn: Maximize your writing time Avoiding plot holes & other pitfalls Work […]

Ever heard that expression ‘beyond the pale’? Someone behaves dreadfully and someone else says, ‘tsk, tsk, that’s beyond the pale’. The English administration in Ireland coined that phrase about the ‘wild’ Irish. Wild? Why and what was the Pale?  Ireland has clans too, not just Scotland. Clan comes from clann, the Gaelic word for children […]

‘From the fury of the northmen, Oh Lord, deliver us.’ The vikings (aka northmen) burst on the scene in Britain in the late 8th century. In 793 the ‘heathen destroyed God's church on Lindisfarne by rapine and slaughter’. In that year ‘immense whirlwinds and flashes of lightning, and fiery dragons were seen flying in the […]

Castles cover the landscape of Europe. Many have lasted because they are built of stone, but it takes some imagination to see how they looked when they were the homes of the wealthy and powerful. Wherefore this course. A castle was a fortified structure, the home and administrative centre of a magnate (great man) or […]

Course description coming soon! Teacher Schedule Reviews Submit a Review Tags Level All Levels Topic History Class Richard the Lionheart Duration month Teacher Sheila Currie

In England, before the Norman Conquest of 1066, fairies were called elves. Fairy is a word borrowed from French. Walt Disney would have you believe that fairies are sweet little creatures with wings and wands, helpful entities like Tinkerbell and the Tooth Fairy. Walt was wrong. In many lands people believe it's not wise to […]

Lackluster, one-size-fits-all characters aren’t enough to keep readers turning those pages and anticipating future books. You need a well-rounded cast of complex, riveting characters to inhabit your story—a constellation of supporting characters to showcase the protagonist Star. In this month-long class, the Constellation lessons will guide you through: Internal and External Character Development Character Relationships […]

Don't settle for nice! Don't settle for anything less than Wow!

Self-editing is hard, even on a good day when you have all your spoons and are ready to jump into your manuscript with a handful of highlighters and a prayer. Using some Author Alchemy you can make the tools you use every single day work for you. Macros, or written command built into Word to […]

Have you ever imagined how history could have turned out differently? What would the world have looked like if the Nazis had won the Second World War, the South had won the American Civil War, or the US had lost the Cold War? Alternate histories challenge and inspire us to think about what might have […]

Where is the road to a New York Times bestseller? Let me point you in the right direction—write a fantasy! Different sources of fantasy have inspired a torrent of novels and films. I’m sure you’re familiar with Rowling’s Harry Potter novels or G.R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones. Or perhaps you’ve read Guy Gavriel Kay’s The […]

Writers have to keep track of so much information! Overflowing inboxes, lost maps, and what color were my hero's eyes anyway? Enter the modern age with digital tools to help organize everything from scraps of paper, future story ideas, world-building details, or the best reviews you've ever received! What we'll cover How to reach Inbox […]

Recognize and write the POV that suits your story Choose and use the right Point of View to showcase the emotional drama and intrigue in your story. Industry professionals are quickly put off by head-hopping borne of poor POV mastery, or POV that doesn’t make the most of the story structure.  The voice of the […]

Course description coming soon... Tags Level Advanced | Intermediate Topic Business | Craft Duration month Teacher Nancy Warren

Despite ghostwriting’s deep historical roots and thriving modern practice in the publishing industry, ghostwriting is still largely cloaked in secrecy. Writers often weigh the allure of additional income, creative freedom, and a chance to grow their craft in a risk-free environment against what literary purists believe is an exercise in deception. Art may be a […]

There is nothing worse than an awkward sex scene. Many authors, who want to write romance feel pressured to include sex scenes in their stories, even if they aren't well suited to write Tab A into Slot B. That's why they should take this class, so they can write on the "sweet side." This class […]

This power-packed class provides writers with hands-on tools for making character descriptions fresh and deep and powerful. We’ll cover: What to avoid What’s smart to include Using Deep Editing techniques Making your characters unforgettable How to be strategic with style and structure Descriptions for main characters and supporting characters Using description to share the POV […]

What you’ll learn: Think of this course as Self-publishing with training wheels! In this course you will learn the ins and outs of the self-publishing world. How to take your book from written to published and all the things in between. And take a guided tour via zoom through the KDP jungle and other publishing […]

The Future of Novel Writing! Stay ahead of the curve. Join Kathleen Baldwin for a frank discussion about how readers are changing, what to expect in the future, and how to reach YOUR reader in this changing marketplace.  ★Streaming video is radically changing storytelling. Even old people are turning to video streaming. How will it impact what they […]

Celebrate your writing passion this December with a month-long low-stress class designed to: inspire a daily writing habit recharge your writing spirit bring a sense of play into your writing This course will provide a month’s worth of playful exercises intended to feed your writer’s soul without overwhelming you. As with most LWA classes, this […]