Flex Creative Writing: Write a Novel With Published Novelist Kim Purcell
In this 20 Week flex class, students will receive 100 lessons to help them finish a novel, along with feedback from me, Kim Purcell, novelist and author of the upcoming book: The Busy Writer's Guide to Finishing a Book in 100 Days
Kim Purcell MFA
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4.9
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What's included
98 pre-recorded lessons
20 weeks
of teacher support1 year access
to the contentHomework
2-4 hours per week. Learners will be watching the videos and completing the lessons in the weekly guide. I would like students to write for at least two hours a week, but my hope is that they'll be so inspired, they will write even more. Each week, they will write at least one chapter.Assessment
I give encouraging feedback on up to five double spaced, 12 font pages of their writing every week. They will need to do a spelling and grammar check on it before sending it. I focus on storytelling and writing craft, and I give mostly positive feedback with the goal of building their creative confidence and inspiring them to write enthusiastically to the end.Class Experience
US Grade 8 - 11
Intermediate Level
Hello future novelist! Are you ready to finish a novel? This flex class will guide you from brainstorming to writing your book at every stage. I'll be right here with you. You'll send chapters every week, and I'll encourage you and give you feedback and ideas any time you're stuck. I give feedback on up to five double-spaced pages per week - a total of 100 double-spaced pages. Note: if writing on your own is hard for you, join one of my live classes. At the end, I'll give you videos on how to revise and publish it. Yes you can publish your book on Lulu.com or Amazon.com! It's so exciting when you receive your very own book in the mail. I've written and traditionally published two acclaimed novels, Trafficked (Penguin) and This Is Not a Love Letter (Disney-Hyperion), and I have more on the way. My first non-fiction book is also being published by Penguin: The Busy Writer's Guide to Finishing a Book in 100 Days. Many of these lessons are part of this guide. I've helped many kids, teens, and adults finish novels, so I know you can do it! For this class, I recommend writing a shorter novel. I read and give feedback on up to 100 double-spaced pages, but don't worry, you don't need to write that much! Many published books are shorter. In fact, the classic, The Outsiders by SE Hinton, was 40 pages when she sold it...and she was just sixteen when she wrote it. If you want feedback on more than 100 double-spaced pages, you can pay my editor 1:1 rate, which is 100 dollars for 45 minutes. This is also a very good rate compared to what you'd pay for a top novelist with my experience to look at your work. I can usually read and give feedback on 25 pages in 45 minutes, so, you see, this class is quite a good deal. You get 100 pages plus videos and instruction and answers to your questions. I do not give line edits. I read and tell you what's strong, so that you do more of it, and then I also give you something to work on. I expect you to do a grammar/spelling check using technology before you send it to me using Grammarly Premium or Google Doc Spelling/Grammar check. I am not your editor for grammar/spelling. Technology does a great job of this. I will help you improve your storytelling and actual writing abilities. I am here to help bring you closer to your dreams of being a published author. I will be with you the entire time, guiding you through each step. The goal is to finish an entire book, at least 20 chapters. Yes, you can write more, but each week, I know everyone can write a chapter of five double-spaced pages. If you write fast, that can take you an hour. Read the guide, watch the videos, and brainstorm: this will take about 30 minutes. So, you'll need to schedule at least an hour and a half per week if you want to finish a book in 20 weeks. In these short videos, I will give you examples from popular middle-grade and teen books: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Divergent by Veronica Roth, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, Ghost by Jason Reynolds and many more. I'll also give some examples from literary adult books, and I'll help you use examples from your own favorite novels. Your novel can be as long as you want it to be. Every week, I suggest writing at least one short chapter. I give you my Teen Author's Guide to Writing a Book, exclusive for my students. This guide gives you lessons for each week and videos to accompany them. Here's what we'll talk about each week in terms of subjects: Before the class starts or in the first week, Brainstorm story ideas, characters, worlds, and plots. You will receive brainstorming videos as soon as you sign up. Look for the email! On the first weekend of the class, I meet individually with students to discuss their story ideas, answer questions, and help them create a good plan. Week 1: Brainstorm and Write Chapter One Skills: Act One of a Four Act Structure, Brainstorm your chapter, hook the reader, POV, Verbs, Multi-Sensory Details, Humor, Kindness, Theme Week 2: Write Chapter One Skills: Foreshadowing, Dialogue, Voice, External/Internal Conflict Week 3: Write Chapter Three Skills: Use Specific Nouns, Reactions: Thoughts/Action, Desire Line – Want & Need, Characterization Week 4: Write Chapter Four Skills: The Sense of Touch, Create an Opposite Scene, Obstacles & Problems, Scene-Sequel Week 5: Write Chapter Five Skills: Act Two of a Four Act Structure, Scene Questions, Dilemmas and Decisions, Body Language of Comfort, The Antagonist Week 6: Write Chapter Six Skills: Similes/Metaphors, Strong Verbs, Power Body Language, Reveal the Subplot Week 7: Write Chapter Seven Skills: Hook with smell and sound, character challenges, objects and emotions, tension in dialogue Week 8: Write Chapter Eight Skills: Hook with Dialogue, Conflicting Identities, Fears, Flaws, Failures, Reveals Week 9: Write Chapter Nine Skills: Foreshadow the Turn, A Happy Scene + Love, Subtext in Dialogue, Sentence Structures Week 10: Write Chapter Ten Skills: The Midpoint or Turn, Hook with Sound, A Changed Setting, Stakes & the Turn, Unnecessary Words Week 11: Write Chapter Eleven Skills: Act Three of a Four Act Structure, Reaction to the Turn, Character Growth, Desire Line After the Turn Week 12: Write Chapter Twelve Skills: Listing, The Bad Plan, Playing In The Mud, Physical Needs Week 13: Write Chapter Thirteen Skills: Personification, Losing Safety, Plot Complications, Clincher Details Week 14: Write Chapter Fourteen Skills: Color = Emotion, Character Arcs, The Muddy Middle & Allies, Hidden Fear and Needs 152 Week 15: Write Chapter Fifteen Skills: The All Is Lost Plot Point, Imagery and Rhythm, YES/NO Scene Ideas, Mistakes, The Subplot Complications Week 16: Write Chapter Sixteen Skills: Act Four in a Four Act Structure, Putting Love on the Line, Physical Difficulty, Patterns of Thought Week 17: Write Chapter Seventeen Skills: Past Trauma, Overcoming the Flaw, Preparing for “Battle," Repetition in Stress Week 18: Write Chapter Eighteen Skills: Short Sentences. Crowd and Action Scenes, Writing the Climax/Battle, Physical Action Week 19: Write Chapter Nineteen Skills: Hook with Contrast, the Falling Action, Hidden Sides, A Long Sentence Week 20: Write Chapter Twenty Skills: Your Ending, A Repeat Object, Theme & the End, Character Growth I want you to feel encouraged, optimistic, and confident about your writing. When you finish, it will be a wonderful feeling. You can create a hardcover book online, and you'll very likely keep it forever. Please ask me any questions you might have.
Learning Goals
Students will develop storytelling and writing skills through the process of writing a novel. See the specific focus for each week: we will cover every element of storytelling.
Syllabus
Curriculum
Follows Teacher-Created CurriculumStandards
Aligned with Advanced Placement (AP) Standards5 Units
98 Lessons
over 20 WeeksUnit 1: How Do you Start? Brainstorming Your Book!
Lesson 1:
Welcome to My Flex Class
Start here! This explains what this class is all about and what you need to do each week. Lesson 2:
The MASTER LIST OF VIDEOS
In this lesson, I give you all of the videos for the class so that you can find them all in one place. Lesson 3:
Brainstorming Your Story
Brainstorm key elements of your story. Lesson 4:
Brainstorming Your Characters
Brainstorm key elements of your characters. Other Details
Learning Needs
This class is particularly good for any kids with ADHD, ASD, Dyslexia, and Anxiety because there are no social pressures. My video classes use visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning styles with an extensive written curriculum.
Parental Guidance
In the workshops, I'll be sharing slides on Canva, sometimes using excerpts from middle grade and teen novels such as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling, Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, and Divergent by Veronica Roth. They can also use any books they love to find examples. I will share some appropriate examples from literary adult books, like the ones many kids are assigned in high school.
Students can either share their Google or Word Docs with me or they can copy and paste their writing on the Outschool messaging. I do not edit, of course...I am keeping this class inexpensive so that more people can do it...however, I will give them very encouraging feedback so they actually finish their books. I will also teach them how to edit their own books.
In the final video, I'll teach them how to prepare their books so that they can be printed out on Lulu.com or Amazon.com. This part of the class is optional, it will just be part of the last video so that you have this information should you choose to do it. The first part of that day will be on prepping their book to print no matter what format you choose. If you want a hardcover book from Lulu.com, copies range in cost from 5-15 dollars plus shipping. There are other book printing sites, I've just found this one the easiest and cheapest. Parents will need to help their teens set up the account, upload their work and purchase copies. It's really amazing for them to get their own hardcover book, so I wanted to show you how to do this as part of this class.
Pre-Requisites
They should have time to write every week and love writing and reading since, of course, they're writing a book!
Joined January, 2022
4.9
248reviews
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Teacher expertise and credentials
Master's Degree from Vermont College of Fine Arts
I'm a writing teacher with over twenty years of teaching experience and also a young adult novelist with two acclaimed young adult novels, Trafficked and This Is Not a Love Letter, published by big 5 publishers. Trafficked made Columbia's Bank Street Best Books list and top lists for several states. This Is Not a Love Letter was one of NPR's top books of 2018 and a Twirly Girl Book of 2018. Both books have received starred reviews from top reviewers and made top lists for books.
My writer's guide is being published by Penguin. It's called The Busy Writer's Guide to Finishing a Novel in 100 Days. I have put many years of teaching experience into this guide. Much of what students learn in this class is also in this guide.
I'm here on Outschool because my other passion is helping kids and teens write books. I think writing a book can be transformative. I'm here to help kids and teens grow and feel more confident about themselves and their skills, to become better storytellers, which will help them in many areas of life, whether or not they become novelists. I specialize in helping people FINISH their books. If you follow the program, you will finish your book.
I have over twenty years of teaching experience, teaching creative writing, novel writing and ESL. I've taught writing to homeschooled kids in both New York City and Los Angeles, many of whom have been in private classes for several years. I was the first curriculum director of the famous non-profit, WriteGirl in Los Angeles, and I helped build it into the multi-sensory interactive writing program it is today. I have a journalism degree and a Masters in Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults from VCFA. I also teach writing at a public Waldorf-inspired K-8 school in the Los Angeles Unified School District. I really love teens and I have so much fun with them. My goal is to make them feel confident about their writing and themselves, and help them achieve their dreams. Reviews
Self-Paced Course
$18
weekly or $350 for all content98 pre-recorded lessons
20 weeks of teacher support
Choose your start date
1 year of access to the content
Completed by 24 learners
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Ages: 10-18
