Write Your Novel in a Year

Before writing a single scene, students build the bedrock of their novel: a premise worth spending a year on. This module ensures every writer leaves with a story concept that is specific, emotionally resonant, and structurally viable — not just a vague idea, but a launchable novel.

Plot happens because characters want things and collide with each other. This module moves students past surface-level character sheets to build protagonists, antagonists, and key supporting characters who are psychologically complex, vocally distinct, and architecturally necessary to the story.

The goal of this module is a scene-by-scene outline that is detailed enough to guide daily writing sessions but flexible enough to accommodate discovery. Students choose a structural approach that fits their story type, plot all major beats, and stress-test the outline before writing begins.

This is the engine room of the whole year. Students establish a personalized, sustainable writing system, set realistic word-count targets, and develop the professional habits and mindset shifts needed to protect drafting time and move the manuscript forward week after week.

Every novelist, without exception, gets stuck. This module treats 'being stuck' not as a personal failing but as a diagnostic signal — and gives students a toolkit of specific interventions for the most common forms of mid-novel stalls, from creative blocks to structural collapse.

The final module covers the three stages that turn a year of work into a real, submittable manuscript: completing the first draft with intention, letting it rest properly, and performing a structured self-revision pass that prepares the novel for outside readers. Students finish this module holding a polished, presentable draft.