Write Your First Stories: Creative Writing from Zero

What's inside

1. Level 1: Finding Ideas and Building a Writing HabitFree
   You'll learn where story ideas come from and how to set up a small, regular writing routine you can keep going.
2. Level 2: Showing and Telling: When Each WorksFree
   We'll look at the difference between showing and telling, and how to choose the right one for each moment in your writing.
3. Level 3: Character: Wants, Fears and Change
   You'll learn to build characters around what they want, what they fear and how they change.
4. Level 4: Point of View and Tense
   We'll explore first, second and third person, close and distant narration, and past versus present tense, so you can choose the right lens for your story.
5. Level 5: Dialogue That Sounds Real
   You'll learn to write dialogue that sounds natural, shows character, carries subtext and is laid out correctly on the page.
6. Level 6: Setting and Sensory Detail
   We'll use all five senses and carefully chosen details to build settings that set the mood and shape what your characters do.
7. Level 7: Plot and Structure: Three Acts, Story Circle and More
   You'll learn the basics of three-act structure, the story circle and a few other models for shaping a plot.
8. Level 8: Scenes, Summary and Pacing
   We'll learn when to slow down into a full scene and when to speed up with summary, so your story moves at the right pace.
9. Level 9: Openings and Endings That Land
   You'll learn how to open a story so readers want to keep going, and how to end it in a way that feels earned.
10. Level 10: The Short Story, Start to Finish
    We'll put character, structure, scene and pacing together to plan, draft and complete a short story.
11. Level 11: Flash Fiction: Big Stories in Few Words
    You'll learn how flash fiction tells a complete story in a very small space by using compression, implication and a sharp final turn.
12. Level 12: Memoir, Personal Essay and Real People
    We'll learn to shape true experience into memoir and personal essay, and to write about real people honestly and fairly.
13. Level 13: Poetry Basics: Image, Line and Form
    You'll learn the building blocks of poetry: vivid images, line breaks that do work, and a few simple forms to try.
14. Level 14: Editing in Rounds
    We'll learn to revise in separate passes, starting with the big picture, then scenes, then sentences, and finally proofreading.
15. Level 15: Feedback and Writing Groups
    You'll learn how to ask for, give and use feedback, and how to find or start a writing group that helps you grow.
16. Level 16: Using AI Tools Without Losing Your Voice
    We'll look at sensible ways to use AI writing tools for brainstorming and checking your work while keeping the writing truly yours.
17. Level 17: Sharing Work: Competitions, Magazines, Self-Publishing
    You'll learn the basics of sharing your writing through competitions, literary magazines and self-publishing, and how to prepare a submission.
18. Level 18: Final Challenge: Your Story, Start to Share Exam
    In this final challenge, we'll review the whole course as you take one piece from idea through drafting, revision and feedback to a submission-ready version.

Access

The first 2 levels are free with a free account. Every level, the podcast edition and the AI tutor come with All Access at £4.99/month or any Creator plan — see pricing.

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