Beware: the following sounds like like a commercial, but it’s only because I liked the “product” so much.
Now that I’m wrapping up the second draft of my WIP, I wanted to share my thoughts about an online course I took called Write a Bestselling Novel in 15 Steps, which I’ll refer to as WABNI15S for the rest of this post. I’ve decided to approach my next draft through what I’ve learned in this course.
This course was created by author Jessica Brody, whom I have not heard of until I found WABNI15S online. WABNI15S is based on her book Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, which in turn is based on Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need. I have read Snyder’s book. I am currently reading Brody’s Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, but I confess I have not read any of her fiction. Her new young adult, space opera novel, Sky Without Stars, looks interesting.
The course is available through Udemy.com. I happened to find it on my city’s public library website under its free Lynda.com courses. I would recommend it to anyone who needs some clarification on writing a novel for the following reasons:
- The online course is only three and a half hours long, so I was able to knock it out in one afternoon
- Despite only being three and a half hours long, the course is packed full of useful information
- Brody breaks down each of the 15 steps with short lectures, familiar examples, and inspiring exercises. This is a great way to assimilate information quickly
- She presents the lectures, or explanations, in down-to-earth language in short video segments
- For the examples of each step, Brody uses familiar movies and novels
- During each of the exercise segments, Brody discusses how she applied that step to one of her young adult novels. This possibly engages the student as they plan their own WIP
- The course includes several downloadable resources for the student to use in planning his or her own novel
- Brody seems fun and personable which makes the course enjoyable.
Like I said earlier, I am using what I learned to rewrite the third draft of my WIP. I made my own version of some of her resources to suit my style.
I highly recommend this course if you are interested. I know I found it informative and inspiring.
Andrew M. Friday 