VIDEO COURSE

How to Write a Novel

Your story matters. Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 101 days.

Days

Hrs

Mins

Secs

Upcoming classes: May 20 | Jul 01

Claim your spot now Sign in with Google

April enrollment ends at 1pm UTC, Apr 08.

Learn

Daily video lessons

You can achieve a lot in 3 months. Learn the foundations of writing and storytelling through daily video master classes with Tom Bromley.

Write

Finish your first draft

Structure that supports you as you write your first draft. Stay accountable, get feedback, and apply what you learn as you write.

Engage

Forum & live webinars

Meet and chat with your fellow classmates, and join expert writing coaches and authors for weekly webinars in our members’ forum.

Claim your spot

Enroll to access the learning dashboard and watch the first lesson for free, no upfront payment required.

Days

Hrs

Mins

Secs

Upcoming classes: May 20 | Jul 01

Tuition Fee

Not charged until start date

$1249

April enrollment ends at 1pm UTC, Apr 08.

Course overview

Support that empowers you to finish writing your first draft in just 3 months.

101 days

Before the start date

Prep sessions Available today

Get ready to write before the course starts with 5 video prep sessions. Tom will go over the “5 P’s” you need to consider before embarking on 101 days of writing.

Pitch

Protagonist

Plotting

Point-of-view

Place

Course start date

A great book grabs the reader from the get-go. This course begins at the beginning, then guides you through the writing process, right to the closing sentence. It’s everything you need to write your novel, except the coffee (we haven’t worked out how to digitize that yet).

Week One

Beginnings

We start with the start. What is the best way to begin your novel and hook the reader’s attention? How do you introduce elements like character and backstory?

Session Topics: Beginnings, Starting Again, Introducing Character, Backstory, Grounding the Reader.

Week Two

Secret Sauce

In this week’s sessions, we’ll look at the magic ingredients that you need to sprinkle into your story to make your characters and narrative come alive.

Session Topics: Movement, Change, Space, Peril, Voice.

Week Three

Character

Character and Plot are both crucial for your story. But thinking about character first often helps to answer any plot questions you might have.

Session Topics: Caring and Liking, Flaws, Inner Tension, Change, Feeling.

Week Four

Plot Skills 1

Plot and structure is a theme interweaved throughout the course. In this first week of plot skills, we’ll focus in on some of the principles of plotting to help you tell your story.

Session Topics: Story DNA, Scene Versus Summary, Revealing Information, Flashbacks, Mystery and Surprise.

Week Five

Description

A good story has a good place at its heart. But how do you bring your settings to life? We’ll analyse some of the key techniques to help you write dynamic description.

Session Topics: Senses, Movement, Colour, Small Details, People and the Past.

Week Six

Dialogue

Speech is central to good fiction: get it right and you’ll add voice, pace, and tension into your telling. We’ll show you how.

Session Topics: Voice, Conflict, Rhythm, Real Speech, Body Language.

Week Seven

Texture

Dialogue and Description are two key textures in writing a story. This week, we’ll look at additional textures, and how to mix them to compelling effect.

Session Topics: Action, Thought, Dialogue Vs Description, Dialogue Description, Pace, Mixing Together.

Week Eight

Middles

The halfway point of the course (and hopefully in your writing journey as well). We’ll spend this week studying the challenges of writing effective middles, stress testing your narratives so far and thinking ahead to the second half.

Session Topics: Soggy Middles, The Midpoint, Wants and Needs, Links, Thinking Forwards.

Week Nine

Writing Skills

We begin the second half of the course with a fortnight’s focus on writing skills and techniques. We’ll start by taking your writing back to basics, and exploring some of the tools at your fingertips.

Session Topics: Words, Verbs, Sounds, Sentences, Paragraphs.

Week Ten

Writing Techniques

In this second week of writing skills, we focus in on some key techniques for emphasis, and how you can make the most of the most important moments in your book.

Session Topics: Rule of Three, Repetition, Build, Contrast, Imagery.

Week Eleven

Chapters

Chapters and chapter structure give shape to your story and create signposts for your reader. This week, we’ll look at how you make the most of these building blocks, from beginnings and ends to chapter lengths and pacing.

Session Topics: Chapters Overview, Beginnings and Ends, Lengths, Chapter Structure, Pulling Together.

Week Twelve

Plot Skills 2

A second full plot week where we focus in on some further skills to boost your writing.

Session Topics: Foreshadowing, Group Scenes, Dovetailing, Time, Punctuating a Scene.

Week Thirteen

Doubling Up

This week we’ll look at making your writing work twice as hard, delivering on not just one element, but two at the same time.

Session Topics: Action and Story, Aciton and Character, Description and Story, Description and Character, Dialogue and Story.

Week Fourteen

Endings

In the final full week of the course, it’s all about thinking about your endings. How do you finish your story in a way that leaves the reader fully satisfied?

Session Topics: Resolution, Bookending, Imagery, Movement, Possibility.

Week Fifteen

Next Steps

As we approach the end of our 101 days together, we’ll think about the next steps to take with your first draft. How do you go about editing? What’s next?

Session Topics: Editing Plan, Editing, The End.

Learning Dashboard

Support your writing with daily master classes

Join Tom for video lessons and exercises that unlock daily, then apply what you learn as you write.

MEMBERS FORUM

Meet your writing crew and get instant feedback

Our members’ hub is the perfect place to discuss the lesson of the day, share feedback, and learn from other students in your genre.

YOU CAN DO IT

Write your first draft in 3 months

With Tom’s expert guidance and a supportive community around you, this course will help you write the first draft of your novel in just 3 months. It's designed for writers of all levels, backgrounds, and genres.

Meet your instructor

I’m Tom Bromley, your instructor. Over the past 25 years I’ve published ten books under my own name, fifteen as a bestselling and prize-winning ghost (not the scary kind), edited over a hundred titles, and taught novel writing to thousands of students around the world. Now it’s your turn!

Read Tom's Bio →

Learn from professional authors and writing coaches

live
Webinars

Participate in two live webinars each week. Engage with Tom, expert writing coaches, and your classmates. Access future webinars for 12 months after you start the course.

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS

As you progress through the course, you'll unlock interviews with incredible authors who share their story — and their tips and tricks — with you.

Claim your spot

Enroll to access the learning dashboard and watch the first lesson for free, no upfront payment required.

Days

Hrs

Mins

Secs

Upcoming classes: May 20 | Jul 01

Tuition Fee

Not charged until start date

$1249

April enrollment ends at 1pm UTC, Apr 08.

Frequently asked questions

Who should take this course?

This course is appropriate for writers of all levels and backgrounds. Whatever your previous experience and whatever genre you are writing in, it can help you finish your novel.

How does the course work?

The course gives you time to learn and time to write. Each week, you’ll access six video lessons and one live webinar. How you choose to structure your writing time is up to you. Throughout, you can turn to our vibrant online community to discuss your work and find support.

What does the course cover?

In short, everything you need to know to write a novel. The themed weeks focus in-depth on the following topics: Preparation, Beginnings, Secret Sauce, Character, Plot Skills, Description, Dialogue, Texture, Middles, Writing Skills, Writing Techniques, Chapters, Doubling Up, Endings, and Next Steps.

How long is the course?

The course lasts for 101 days — that’s fourteen and a half weeks. Upon enrolling, you’ll also access five preparation sessions that will help you get ready to write.

What do the lessons look like?

Each weekday, you’ll get access to a new video lesson on a specific writing topic, along with optional reading and exercises. On Saturdays, you'll get further videos with our panel of guest writers; some reinforce the week’s writing theme, while others cover the challenges of writing more generally.

How long will each session lesson take?

Each video master class is 10-15 minutes long, so you can complete your lessons and start writing in as little as 90 minutes per week. If you'd rather take a deep dive, completing the optional readings and exercises will take an additional 45 minutes (totaling one hour of study per weekday session).

How much writing do I need to do each day?

You’ll need to write around 5,000 words a week to complete a 75,000-word manuscript. Writing 1,000 words a day, Monday to Friday, will keep you on track, but how you structure your writing is up to you.

It’s worth saying that over the course of the novel, your weekly word count may well change. Some writing weeks will be more productive than others, so this is an average to aim for. We’ll give you a word count calculator so you can update how much you’ve written and how far you have left to go.

How much time should I set aside per week to complete the course properly?

It’s up to you, but you’ll generally need at least 10 hours per week to watch the video lessons and complete your writing. If you'd like to complete all exercises and readings, expect to spend closer to 15 hours per week. If you've opted into feedback, expect to spend a further hour of time reading and responding to your partner.

Can I unlock the material more quickly? What if I’m going away?

Lessons are unlocked in weekly batches, which can help you get ahead. However, we recommend sticking to the daily rhythm, as the course is designed to help you establish a writing routine.

How do the live sessions work?

Weekly live sessions include a mixture of interviews with guest authors, further master classes on various topics, and live editing sessions. Once you enroll, you’ll see the calendar of live events in the Learning Dashboard. All live sessions will be recorded, so you’ll be able to watch any that you miss.

How does feedback work?

Each week, we’ll run Feedback Friday, where you can share a section of work for review. We’ll pair you up with someone else so you can offer detailed feedback on their work in return. This should be completed by the end of the weekend (before the start of the next week’s sessions). If you don’t want to give feedback and prefer to concentrate on your work, that’s fine too.

Is feedback also available from the instructor?

Although the work of many students will be critiqued in the live editing sessions, individual instructor feedback is not currently available. There are, however, a number of wonderful book coaches and editors on Reedsy should you want further feedback on your first draft.

What are the preparation sessions?

Before the course officially starts, we'll give you access to a week of prep sessions. These will help you assess your ideas and make sure you're ready to start drafting your novel.

What happens if I sign up but realize I'm not ready to write?

Don't worry! You'll only be charged on the first day of the course. If you sign up and realize you need more time after completing the prep sessions, you can cancel or defer your enrollment to a future start date.

What happens if I don’t finish my draft by the end of the course?

You can continue writing the novel on your own timeline. You’ll keep access to the course material, so you can return to it at any point. To help you across the finish line, you’ll also have access to the community hub for another 9 months.

Can I buy the course as a gift?

Help a writer in your life turn their ideas into a finished book by gifting them this course. When you buy a gift card, you’ll receive a PDF containing the gift card that you can print or share with the recipient.

How can I redeem my gift card?

If you’ve received this course as a gift, visit reedsy.com/learning. To redeem your course, choose a start date and enter your unique gift code on the payment page.

Do you offer split payments?

You have the option to pay for the course in monthly instalments (4 x $349). The first payment will be taken as a deposit when you enrol in the course.
Learning | Free Lesson — Archer | 2024-01

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