Class Starts Wednesday, October 1st, 2025

This class will meet via Zoom on Wednesdays from 6:30PM - 8:30PM Eastern

Note: This class is limited to 12 writers.

Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button (lower left) to talk with us.

Instructor Carol Goodman is the New York Times Bestselling author of twenty-seven novels, including The Lake of Dead Languages, The Seduction of Water, which won the 2003 Hammett Prize, The Widow’s House, which won the 2018 Mary Higgins Clark Award, and The Night Visitors, which won the 2020 Mary Higgins Clark Award. She has twice been nominated for the Dublin IMPAC award and has been a Hawthornden fellow and an Essere Artist-in-Residence. Her books have been translated into over twenty languages. For over twenty years, she has taught creative writing at The New School and SUNY New Paltz. She combines her love of and long experience in reading, writing, and teaching to offer a supportive and constructive framework for writers at every level and stage of the writing process.

This eight-week class aims to help you launch the novel you’ve always meant to write.

Limited to just 12 students, we will begin with setting intentions, overcoming obstacles, and shaping the best habits to carry you through a long project.  We’ll consider the pros and cons of plotting versus pantsing and form strategies for both.  

Through examples and exercises, we will begin the work of establishing point of view, character, conflict, and setting through lively dialogue and active scenes, creating an inciting incident that will launch the action of your novel and establish internal and external conflicts, and assembling a cast of supporting characters.  

By the end of the eight weeks, you will have the first few chapters, a synopsis, and strategies for moving forward. 

COURSE OUTLINE:

Week 1 – Introductions, setting intentions, avoiding obstacles, good habits, establishing a working practice.  

Week 2 – Point of View—Who is telling your story?  1st person or 3rd?  One point-of-view or multiple.  How reliable are they What are their internal and external conflicts? What are their strengths and weaknesses?  

Week 3 – Setting, Time and Place—Where is your novel set?  What are the main locations?  What’s your protagonist’s relationship to their setting? How does setting effect the action?  What atmosphere are you looking for?  Making maps and taking field trips.  

Week 4 – Supporting Cast of Characters—Who are your protagonist’s friends and allies?  Family relationships?  Colleagues?  Who are their antagonists? Who are they in conflict with?    

Week 5 – Dialogue, Scene, Action—what is the inciting incident that sets off the action in your novel?  What are the main conflicts?  How will these events challenge your protagonist? What role do your supporting characters play?  

Week 6 – Plotting, Outlines, and Chronology—How much do you need to know to go forward? How to make a plan if you’re not a planner?  What is your protagonist’s emotional arc?  What do you want them to achieve by the end.  Strategies for keeping on track and what to do when you fall off the track.  

Week 7 – Complete first chapter (s) and meet one-on-one with instructor to receive feedback on first chapter(s) and synopsis and to discuss strategies for moving forward.

Week 8 – Final class to report and share plans and intentions and establish support networks for the rest of the journey.  

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

Complete opening chapters and synopsis - Students will have written their first few chapters in polished form along with a comprehensive synopsis that maps out their novel's trajectory, providing them with concrete foundation material to continue their writing journey.

Mastery of essential novel craft elements - Students will gain practical skills in establishing compelling point of view, developing authentic dialogue, creating vivid settings, and constructing strong supporting characters that serve the story's central conflicts.

Personalized writing strategies and sustainable habits - Through one-on-one instructor feedback and group work, students will develop individualized approaches to plotting versus pantsing, establish productive writing routines, and learn specific techniques for maintaining momentum on long-form projects.

Clear roadmap for novel completion - Students will leave with actionable strategies for moving forward, including methods for staying on track when motivation wanes, plus access to a supportive network of fellow writers to sustain accountability and encouragement beyond the workshop.

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:

This class meets weekly via Zoom. Come prepared for a super fun class with live interaction on Zoom each week and plenty of writing, reading, and talking!

PAYMENT OPTIONS:

Tuition is $595 USD. You can pay for the course in full or use Shop Pay or Affirm to pay over time with equal Monthly Payments. Both options are available at checkout.

• Instructor: Carol Goodman
• Class Starts Wednesday, October 1st, 2025
• This class will meet via Zoom on Wednesdays from 6:30PM - 8:30PM Eastern
  
• Tuition is $595 USD
• This class is limited to 12 students. 

Contact us HERE if you have any questions about this class.