Jump-start your creativity with a selection of fun exercises, including “What-If Moments” and “The First-Line Game.” Mr. Bell cites best-selling authors such as Alice Sebold and Mickey Spillane to demonstrate the importance of creating unique elements: a twist, a character, a setting, a relationship. Find out how to create the ever-important elevator pitch.

Take an international journey starting in early 20th century Japan with Taro Hirai to modern Japanese suspense writers such as Natsuo Kirino. Then, travel to Africa and discover the lesser-known Darko Dawson series. In Latin America, you’ll look in depth at two influential contributors: Leonardo Padura Fuentes and Paco Ignacio Taibo II.

Understanding where your fiction book falls in the general categories of literature is an essential step to getting published, as there is a plethora of genre-specific publishing houses. Differentiate between the various categories of fiction writing, including defining commercial and literary fiction, and examine the various types of children’s books..

The non-fiction world is also broken into categories including memoir, education, creative or narrative non-fiction, and practical or self-help. Delve into the various genres of non-fiction writing, and learn how to determine which publishing house best aligns with your non-fiction manuscript..

Professor Cognard-Black guides you through Aristotle’s process of inventio or invention, which is that period of discovery as you write your first draft. You’ll examine openings from a number of published works, gaining a powerful toolkit that can help you craft the first sentence of your first draft. From there, Professor Cognard-Black provides a multitude of invaluable tools for revising, editing, and reviewing your writing until you’ve reached...

Dive into the writing styles of “pantsers” versus “plotters” and get a better understanding of whether you want to aim for a plot-driven or a character-driven story. And using the writings of John Grisham, Ernest Hemingway, Lee Child, and others, evaluate the traditional mythical structure of a three-act story.

With the French and Italian versions of "Cinderella," Dr. Harvey presented a classic "rise" tale, but "Cinderella" is the one of the world's oldest "magic tales" with many versions, interpretations, and morals. Vasilisa the Fair" follows the traditional "Cinderella" story, but with many twists and offers the idea that there can be ambiguity in folklore characters.

Dive deeper into the use of transformation in stories as Dr. Harvey presents a version of "Beauty and the Beast." Compare that version to the German story by Ludwig Bechstein in 1847 called "Beauty's Stone Sisters." Dr. Harvey concludes this lesson with an Ancient Greek tale called "Cupid and Pysche," which demonstrates how bravery can be the root of transformations.

Often confused with “the detective,” the private eye is different from the classical version of the detective in terms of motivation, methods, lifestyle, and beliefs, and is the major contribution of American hard-boiled fiction. Comparing a vast selection of stories across history, you’ll isolate the differences between the two crime-solvers and understand the different impacts each had.

Continuing with the theme of transformation, Dr. Harvey introduces you to a variety of interpretations of the classic story "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," starting with a composition known as a "symphonic poem" by Paul Dukas and notes Goethe's poem. She provides the original story from the first century Egypt and treats you a story from France, with insights why we enjoy transformation stories.