The Nuts and Bolts of Novel Planning: Story Beats - Remote!

Class Description

A great premise or the spark of an idea can set the writer mind whirling. But often that initial excitement and energy fades as it comes up against the need to turn that nugget of inspiration into a plot that can span the length of a novel. Fortunately, all stories are built upon the same foundation: story beats. This lecture-driven seminar focuses on what these story beats are, how they serve your story, and how you can begin employing them to develop a well-paced, purposeful first draft. This course will provide students with the tools they need to plot to their level of comfort: anything from a short synopsis to a scene-by-scene outline. By presenting an overview of several different plotting models, students will leave with the knowledge they need to turn that spark of an idea into a well-paced, purposefully plotted novel.

This course can be taken alone or in conjunction with the seminar: The Nuts and Bolts of Novel Planning: Character Goals.

Part of GrubStreet's Novel Planning Series, led by Lori Goldstein and designed for those who are at the beginning stages of their novel. Take every class in the series or simply choose the craft topics that are relevant to the challenges you face with your novel in progress. Summer classes include:

• The Nuts and Bolts of Novel Planning: Character Goals
• The Nuts and Bolts of Novel Planning: Story Beats

This class will be hosted using live Zoom meetings! You will be able to participate in class via Zoom videoconference from wherever you’re most comfortable. All you’ll need is a laptop or a phone! About 15 minutes before your class is scheduled to begin, you'll receive an email from your instructor with a link to join the class meeting via Zoom–no need to download anything or sign up for Zoom in advance! If you have questions about remote learning, please feel free to reach out to [email protected] for more information.

For a glimpse at how remote learning works, look no further than the deep Zoom discussion of writing and literature below:

Scholarship Information

Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.

For more more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.