Narrative Writing Class: The Arc of the Story (Winter 2025)

The Arc of the Story: Winter Creative Writing Class

Readers crave stories. Structuring a piece of writing in terms of a story is the single most effective way of holding an audience’s attention. It’s the secret behind compelling short story and nonfiction writers as well as popular novelists like Stephen King or John Grisham and popular nonfiction like Eric Larson’s Devil in the White City or Lauren Hillenbrand’s Unbroken. These authors sell millions of books because they tell a good, suspenseful story. They make readers wonder, “What will happen next?”

My winter class, The Arc of the Story, will teach you how to tell a great story or book chapter. We’ll do this in the following way:

• Write a sketch of your story.
• Write a dramatic scene for your story.
• Complete a point of view exercise to add psychological dimension to story.
• Write a draft of story of book chapter.
• Revise the draft in the light of my comments and those of workshop.
• Complete publication report to identify the appropriate publishing home for your story or book, greatly enhancing your chance of publication.

The course will run on Wednesday evenings Jan. 8, 15, 22, 29,  Feb. 5, 12, 19, 26 from 7 to 9 p.m. via Zoom and with a hybrid in person option.

There will be six assignments, including a 150-word story sketch, a 250-word dramatic scene, a 250-word point of view exercise, a 1500- to 2500-word story or book chapter, a revised story or chapter, and a 250- to 500-word publication report. In addition to the classroom work, I will schedule individual conferences with each student. This will give me a chance to go over your work with you one-on-one and suggest ways to improve it.

Texts: Story Craft by Jack Hart, available at the Elliott Bay Book Company or other bookstore.

The class usually fills several weeks before the starting date. For more information, contact me at nick@Thewritersworkshop.net or 206-284-7121.

To enroll, please send me check for $675 to 201 Newell St., Seattle, WA 98109 or you can pay with a credit card through the PayPal link on my website, www.thewritersworkshop.net.   Enrollment is limited to 15. The class usually fills several weeks before the starting date. For more information, contact me at nick@Thewritersworkshop.net or 206-284-7121.