Writing the Paranormal Novel Writing a paranormal novel takes more than casting an alluring vampire or arming your hero with a magic wand. It takes an original idea, believable characters, a compelling plot, and surprising twists, not to mention great writing. This course will give you everything you need to successfully introduce supernatural elements into any story without shattering the believability of your fictional world or falling victim to common clichés. You’ll also learn techniques for researching your novel and strategies for getting published. Writing the Paranormal Novel gives you everything you need to craft a novel where even the most unusual twist is not only possible—it’s believable. Required Book: Writing the Paranormal Novel by Steven Harper Workshop Length: 6 weeks Tuition: $295.00 ($265.50 for VIP) Start Date: View Writing the Paranormal Novel Schedule. Course Structure This workshop will consist of six one-week sessions. Each session will include an online lecture, along with a writing assignment that will be submitted to the instructor for private review. Student work will also be posted for group review and feedback. Throughout the workshop you will be able to participate in asynchronous lecture discussion and encouraged to take advantage of ongoing informal discussions and posted self-directed writing exercises. In this course you will learn how to: Choose supernatural elements and decide what impact the supernatural will have on your fictional world Create engaging and relatable characters—from supernatural protagonists and antagonists to supporting players (both human and non-human) Develop strong plots and complementary subplots Write believable fight scenes Create realistic dialogue Who should attend: Short story writers and novelists who love the paranormal genre Graduates of other beginner-level workshops who now want to focus on their passion for writing paranormal stories Students of any level who want to explore the paranormal novel in more depth and gain key insights from a published author Workshop Outline Session One: Introduction to the Paranormal Novel The paranormal in the real world: real or myth? What constitutes a paranormal novel? A working definition and recent trends. How do I get an idea for a novel? Techniques for getting started. The novel as somebody’s story. Focusing your novel. Avoiding clichés. Assignment: Summarize your novel in 500 words. If you only have an idea, but no middle or end, just describe the idea or the beginning of the story. If you don’t have an idea, describe the kind of novel you envision writing, e.g., “I want to write about ghosts who help people solve crimes, and my story will possibly involve…” or “I want to write a novel about vampires, and it should be a romance as well.” Session Two: Characterization & Point of View Characters living, dead, and otherwise. How do I make a paranormal character (spirit, vampire, demon, etc.) convincing? Heroes and heroines. Sidekicks and “character roles.” Villains and nasty critters. What’s an antagonist? What if my “hero” isn’t such a good guy? Heroes and anti-heroes. Defining Point of View, Voice, First Person, and Third Person. Assignment: Using no more than 500 words, describe your main characters and at least one minor one. List things like body build, hair and eye color. Tell who they are and/or what they do, e.g., she’s a black college student, he’s a former navy officer turned teacher, she is a single mother who runs a web company. You have 500 words, so stick to essentials and be concise. Session Three: Realistic Dialogue How people talk in the everyday world The importance of format. Punctuation please! Paragraphing dialogue Dialogue as a give-and-take exchange. Assignment: Take 500 words to create a scene of verbal conflict between your main character and the antagonist. Include action and description if the scene needs it. Session Four: Plots and Stories, Structures and Stratagems Basic dramatic structure. The “three-act drama” A story as a series of events, not talk or description Characters and plot. Plot as problem-solving. Increments of plot development. Prologues and other delays. Getting to the story immediately. Keep the paranormal element in your story. The paranormal must figure into the middle and ending as well as the beginning. Climax and resolution of the plot conflicts is essential. The actions of the main character must determine the outcome. Assignment: Still don’t have a middle or end? Write 500 words of any scene at any point in your story. Have a complete plot? Summarize it as completely as possible, and provide an ending if you have one. Have nothing? Don’t give up: Write 500 words about what you think should happen in your novel. Session Five: Exciting Scenes Make an Exciting Story How much physical action is too much? Violence and bad stuff. Constructing high-impact scenes. Executing the scene with taut writing. Advancing the plot via surprises, twists, and turns (the unexpected is essential). Assignment: Write a scene (word limit: 750) near the beginning of your story that draws the reader in and does not let go. Make it as exciting as you can. Don’t be afraid of violence or physical jeopardy. Session Six: “Our Story Begins …” The all-important first chapter: does it engage the reader? How do you accomplish that? Getting into the story immediately. Avoiding “dead pages,” i.e., chatty or descriptive pages that do not advance the story. Letting the story tell itself. Do you have to know where you’re going? When a novel is finished. Selling and promoting your novel. Resources for the paranormal novelist. The secrets of writing success and some rules to follow. Assignment: Take 2,500 words (about ten pages double-spaced) to start or complete your first chapter. End with a cliffhanger or a lead-in to further the plot development.