The Foundations of Fiction

1. What to Expect from This Course

• Welcome and what to expect
• How this course works

2. Foundation Block 1: Character

• Appearance (foundation)
• Mini lecture: Too much information (foundation)
• Thought (foundation)
• Action (foundation)
• Goals (foundation)
• Mini lecture: What do they want (foundation)
• Uniqueness (advanced)
• Mini lecture: Five surprises (advanced)
• Flaws (advanced)
• Mini lecture: What needs fixing (advanced)
• Change (advanced)

3. Foundation Block 2: Dialogue

• Too realistic or too fake (foundation)
• Mini lecture: A very bad conversation (foundation)
• The two types of dialogue (foundation)
• Mini lecture: Zoom in and zoom out (foundation)
• Dialogue tags (foundation)
• Characterizing dialogue (advanced)
• Mini lecture: Guess who's talking (advanced)
• Subtext (advanced)
• Dialect (advanced)

4. Foundation Block 3: Point of View

• Who is telling the the story? (foundation)
• Third person (foundation)
• Mini lecture: Two characters, one point of view (foundation)
• First person (foundation)
• Multiple first and third (advanced)
• Second person (advanced)
• Mini lecture: You should listen to me (advanced)
• Unreliable narrator (advanced)
• Mini lecture: Trust me, I'm lying (advanced)

5. Foundation Block 4: Narrative Style

• Tense (foundation)
• Show and tell (foundation)
• Mini lecture: Slow it down (foundation)
• Flashbacks (advanced)
• Mini lecture: I remember when (advanced)
• Different formats (advanced)
• Mini lecture: Not your average story (advanced)

6. Foundation Block 5: Setting

• Why we need a setting (foundation)
• Familiar settings (foundation)
• Mini lecture: Build a living room (foundation)
• Unfamiliar settings (foundation)
• Mini lecture: Instant scene (foundation)
• Mood, atmosphere, and emotion (advanced)
• Mini lecture: Singing (or crying) in the rain (advanced)
• Time period (advanced)

7. Foundation Block 6: Plot

• The story skeleton (foundation)
• Act 1: Set up (foundation)
• Act 2: Journey and conflict (foundation)
• Act 3: Resolution (foundation)
• Putting it all together (foundation)

Final Farewell

• Wrapping up