Creative Writing: Write a Novel with YA Novelist Kim Purcell

This class will help you finish your novel, improve your writing skills, and build your creative confidence. My number one goal is to help you feel amazing about your creative work. As a published novelist with over twenty years of teaching experience, I've found this helps improve the quality of the writing more than any other element. 

This novel writing class is designed to work for intermediate to advanced writers. It is fun and inclusive with a lot of writing time. My goal is 25 minutes of writing in every class because that's what my students want. I'm available during that entire time to help you if you get stuck and I have extra prompts ready to keep the ideas flowing. I will help you finish your novel!

At the end, you can print or publish your book, and I show you how to do this. 

Writing a novel is an incredible way to explore creativity and achieve a huge and rare life accomplishment. For the rest of your life, you can say, "I wrote and finished a book!" It will not only improve your writing in every area, it'll make you a better storyteller. Even if you don't plan on becoming a novelist, most careers require some degree of storytelling. 

I recommend brainstorming your story idea before the first day of class. 

I'm attaching a video to this message to help you come up with your two line elevator pitch. This is what would be on the back on your book. Send it to me as soon as you can. 

-----What is the vibe of the class?-----
My style is kind and fun. I've taught novel writing to all levels and all types of learners, neurotypical and neurodivergent, shy kids and outgoing kids, homeschoolers, traditional schoolers. I design the class around the students' needs, teaching in an uplifting way and helping you see your incredible strengths as writers and as humans in this world. Writing is about capturing humanity. I'm a novelist for this age group, and this is why I teach this class - I care about each student and their very important creative life. 

-----What is the typical structure of each live class?-----
For the first part of the class, we talk, I give some examples about the skill of the day, we do some brainstorming on characters/plan, verbally or in the chat, whatever you prefer. You can also stay silent. I want you to feel totally comfortable. We discuss for the first ten minutes and then I give you a five minute sprint warm-up or brainstorming activity. Then we look at other elements for the topic of the day, and examples from your favorite books. After that, you write for 25 minutes straight, and I give some literary devices or challenges in the chat to help you. Most of the teens prefer this solid chunk of time to write. At the end, we have a game. During the writing time, I'm available to answer questions in the chat or jump into your document to help you brainstorm. 

-----The class has already started. Can I still join? -----
Yes! This is an ongoing class, which means you can start it at any time. For novel-writing, it really doesn't matter. Even if everyone started at the same time, very quickly one person would be in the middle of their book, another would still be at the beginning. You go at your own pace, follow the plot points in the guide, and write your entire first draft in the class. You can take a break at that point or start a new book or work on your second draft. 

-----I already started my book. Can I continue it? -----
Definitely! I can only read and give feedback on up to five double-spaced pages a week as a part of this class because obviously this takes a lot of time, but you can apply that feedback to your writing as you move forward. Usually, I find most students make the same mistakes throughout, and they also have the same strengths. My goal is to build on the strengths you already have and eliminate some of the problematic areas of your writing. If you have a hard time finishing a book, don't worry, you're not alone. I will help. 

------Do we share our writing with other students?------
Yes, if you want! Totally optional. We don't read aloud, but you have the chance to put your book in the classroom once a month and receive positive feedback from other students. The rule is that you can only give positive-only feedback to fellow students, but it should be real. You tell them what you like. But no "constructive" feedback. Peer editing is quite destructive to creative confidence, and I work hard to build up your confidence. If you tell each other what lines you love, or what elements you love, it's helpful in the next draft because the writer won't change it or get rid of that part. 

------Can I share my writing with you?------
Of course! I give you positive feedback and something to work on. Any time you'd like me to read something, you can send it to me in the direct messages. Copy and paste it in a message to me. Go to "message my teacher." I don't edit your book - that's up to you - but I will give you advice on how to edit it and I'll tell you what I love. Remember, it doesn't have to be perfect. If you want detailed editing help, for that you need to book 1:1 editing privates because that takes me a lot of time. I recommend working hard to finish this draft fast, and then revise it. Your first draft should not look like a published book - as a published author, I can tell you that most authors go through around 10 or more drafts. 

------Do you give us any material or extra workshops to do outside of class?------
You will get a guide along with extra videos to help you brainstorm and work on skills. By improving your skills and learning from what I teach you in class, you will improve your book!

------How long does my book have to be?------
I think it's good to aim for at least ten chapters. Don't aim for four-hundred pages for your first book. A novel or novella can be 50 double spaced pages. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton was  40 pages when she submitted it to publishers. If you plan to submit your book to the Scholastic Book Awards, it should be around 100 pages. Follow the guide and plan your book (even a little) before you start writing so that you can be sure it has legs. 

------What if I never finish my books? Will I finish one in your class?------
Most of my students finish, but of course, that's up to you. One thing that will help is a bit of planning. Send me your elevator pitch first so I can make sure it's solid. My weekly guide, if you actually follow it, has a very high success rate. In fact, a version of this guide will soon be published by Penguin: The Busy Writer's Guide to Finishing a Book in 100 Days. Writing a book takes far longer if you don't take the time to develop characters and think up a basic plan. I also recommend my intense class if you really want to finish - this way your attention won't wander. 

-----What is the weekly class topic schedule for March to August 2025?-----
(NOTE: this schedule repeats in September, but no class repeats for the entire year. I use different examples and discuss different aspects of each one of these topics.)


Mar 10-16: Love and Happiness, The Emotional Scar, Shock Reactions

Mar 17-23: Dramatization, Multi-sensory Writing

Mar 24-30: Action-Reaction, Motivation, Plot Complications, Goals

Mar 31-April 6:  Edit Your Book - Common Writing Mistakes

April 7-13: How to Get UNSTUCK, Exploring the Weird, Plot Twists, Show Don't Tell, Psychic Distance, Cures for Writer's Block

April 14-20: Tension: Mistakes, Twists, Subplot, Suffering, Mysterious Reactions

April 21-27: Character Growth: Trauma, Flashbacks, Misbelief, The Objective Correlative

April 28-May 4: Action Scenes: Physical Action, Verb choice, Crowd Scenes

May 5-11: Beautiful Language Devices & Emotion 

May 12-18: Planning Your Climax and Ending (Even if you’ve just started writing your book)

May 19-25: Edit Your Book - Common Writing Mistakes and How to Fix Them

May 26 -June 1: Celebration of your writing. 

MOST CLASSES WILL FINISH THIS WEEK AND RESTART IN THE FALL! MONDAY AND FRIDAY (PST) CLASS CONTINUE THROUGH THE SUMMER!

June 2-8 - 15: Dialogue

Jun 9-15: GOALS and OBSTACLES

Jun 16-22: DRAMATIZATION and MULTI-SENSORY WRITING

June 23-29: CHARACTERIZATION and YOUR SIDE CHARACTERS

June 30-July 6: Key Elements of Every Scene

July 7-13: Characterization - Details, Dialogue, Save the Cat, Humor, Wisdom

July 14-20: Motivation, Agency, Scene-Sequel, Reactions, Body Language

July 21-24: Tension, Anti-Tension, Hooks, Foreshadowing, Reveals, Scene Questions, Cliffhangers

July 25-July 31: NO CLASSES

Aug 1: Tension, Anti-Tension, Hooks, Foreshadowing, Reveals, Scene Questions

Aug 4-10: Dialogue - Core Rules, Subtext, Reveals

Aug 11-17:  Conflict - Antagonist, Internal vs External Conflict, Subplot, Conflicting Identity

Aug 18-24: Specificity and Details - Nouns, Verbs, Listing, Clincher details

Aug 25-31: Character Development - Trauma, Misbelief, Love, Power, Secondary Characters