The Virginia G. Piper
Center for Creative Writing

At the edge of our collective imagination sits a single thought: I want to write my novel. It waits there in the shadows cast by the frenetic pace of daily life. It waits, hidden by thoughts like how can we make time? How can we stick to our goal when we hit a roadblock? How can we make something that is interesting enough to want to read? It all starts with a plan. Together we are going to go through the stages of a plan that moves your novel from informal idea to a tightly woven outline enriched with subplot, character development, and a satisfying finish. In this three-week workshop, you will learn how to develop a timeline for writing your novel and stick to it. A series of discussions, worksheets, and presentations will help you develop that characters and pivotal story moments that define your story. From there we will build the connection points between the chapters and fill in the story beats that keep a reader engaged from start to finish. Perhaps most importantly, you will figure what that novel is lurking at the edge of your imagination, and design a plan to finish it.