Plot and Structure: Novel Workshop for Manuscripts in Progress

A beautifully constructed book never happens by accident.

Bringing a novel to fruition requires a combination of creative improvisation and strategic planning.

Whether you are juggling points of view, trying to link stories, or stuck in the marshy middle of your novel, this course offers concrete tools for shaping your narrative.

Topics we will explore include plot and subplot, sequencing, and the handling of time and backstory.

In-class writing exercises and close reading of novels by Kaliane Bradley and Rita Bullwinkel will illuminate how to place characters in meaningful predicaments.

Each student may submit up to three selections from a novel in progress, totaling 5,000 words, for feedback.

By the end, you will have a clearer sense of your book’s unique structure and a plan for moving forward.

This course is open to anyone who has taken at least one creative writing workshop and has a novel in progress.