20 Tips for New Writers

Have you ever sat down to write a story, or perhaps to start the novel that’s been burning inside you for years, and you don’t quite know where to start? Then 20 Tips for New Writers is for you. 

Developed for new writers of long form narrative fiction (or intermediate writers just starting to take their craft seriously), 20 Tips will provide foundational advice to help you start and finish your manuscript. Pulling from best practices I’ve learned over the course of in my writing career, I’ll give you fun, bite-sized, actionable tips on: 

1. What to do before you start writing 
2. How to approach your first draft 
3. The rewriting/editing process 
4. What to do when you’re finished 

The course will help you create good writing habits, address the myth of writer's block, examine the “plotter vs. panster” argument, and provide real-world techniques --how to structure dialogue, identifying "word echoes,” and more --  to make your writing hum. 

Students will come away from the class with a good framework on how to approach writing, as well as real-word advice on how to make your work stand out. 

• 20 Tips: Introduction
• Class Projects
• Before You Start: Creating Good Habits
• Before You Start: Observing & Outlining
• Tips for Writing Your First Draft
• Revising: Cut THAT Out & More
• Revising: Word Echoes, Dialogue, & More
• What to Do When You're Done
• Thank You and Quick Reminders