This 10-workshop course takes beginning writers all the way through the first draft of a full-length novel. Each workshop is 4 weeks long with a week-long break week between workshops. The course covers how to identify basic story ideas that can sustain a whole story, define the premise of the story, add the right mix of characters and design the progression of events that resolves the premise. The course includes drafting, crafting, revising, editing, writing a synopsis, and writing a query letter.

Participants are supported with a weekly lecture and additional mini-lessons as needed, as well as practice exercises and downloadable worksheets and templates. The first lecture of each workshop will also include an outside reading assignment. Participants will begin drafting right away and will be given word-count goals for each workshop so that they have a completed and polished draft at the end of the course. In addition to time spent drafting, participants can expect to spend an average of 2 hours per week reading lectures, trying out techniques and responding to homework assignments.

To broaden the scope of review and teach critique-partnering, participants will be partnered to exchange formalized peer reviews. In addition, there will be opportunities each week to share work in progress with the group and to receive personal feedback from the instructor. The course includes two monthly group chats with the instructor as well as a private, hour long chat, phone call or skype with the instructor to go over progress, goals, or whatever you need once each quarter.

Click here to read entire course syllabus

Kat Duncan obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry and German from Regis College in Weston, MA. She is a Fulbright Scholar who spent a year in West Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall. She recently obtained her Master's Degree in Special Education from Gordon College in Wenham, MA. She is a full-time tutor to students from elementary through college and beyond in reading, writing and math. An active member of the New England Chapter of RWA, and RWA-PRO, she has written a series of popular newsletter articles on grammar and style. She has presented a grammar and writing workshops for beginning writers both locally and online. With seven completed manuscripts and numerous short stories she uses a spreadsheet to keep track of her multiple submissions to agents and editors. Her debut book, a romantic suspense novella, titled Fifty-eight Faces, is due out January 12, 2011 from The Wild Rose Press.

www.katduncan.net