fullscreen background
Skip to main content

Winter Quarter

Winter Registration Opens Dec 02
shopping cart icon0

Courses


« Back to Creative Writing

CW 76 W — Mastering Subplot in Novels and Memoirs

Quarter: Winter
Instructor(s): Jeff Lyons
Duration: 8 weeks
Location: Online
Date(s): Jan 16—Mar 6
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Thursdays
 
Class Meeting Time: 12:00—1:00 pm (PT)
Tuition: $825
   
Refund Deadline: Jan 18
 
Unit(s): 2
   
Enrollment Limit: 18
  
Status: Registration opens Dec 2, 8:30 am (PT)
 
Quarter: Winter
Day: Thursdays
Duration: 8 weeks
Time: 12:00—1:00 pm (PT)
Date(s): Jan 16—Mar 6
Unit(s): 2
Location: Online
 
Tuition: $825
 
Refund Deadline: Jan 18
 
Instructor(s): Jeff Lyons
 
Enrollment Limit: 18
 
Recording Available: Yes
 
Status: Registration opens Dec 2, 8:30 am (PT)
 
Have you ever launched a novel or memoir with energy and excitement, only to find that your narrative ran out of gas and started to sputter halfway through the book (if not sooner)? Subplots are the key to maintaining urgency in the middle of any novel or memoir, and yet many writers barely give subplots a second thought, or they write with no real understanding of how to handle subplot, fingers crossed, just hoping for the best as they stumble forward. This course will show you how subplots can be consciously designed to support the mainline story so that it never lags or drags, keeping the reader (and you!) energized to the end of the book. We will begin by discussing what subplots are (and are not), why you need them, and how to build and masterfully integrate them into your own writing to avoid “the mushy middle” that plagues so many aspiring authors. Through weekly lectures, readings, and writing assignments, students will implement a set of proven tools for subplot development, constructing this essential element to strengthen their novels or memoirs.

Students should have a story in progress.

JEFF LYONS
Writer and Producer

Jeff Lyons is the author of Anatomy of a Premise Line: How to Master Premise and Story Development for Writing Success and Rapid Story Development: How to Use the Enneagram-Story Connection to Become a Master Storyteller. His forthcoming book is The Story-Subplot Connection: How to Master Subplots for Novelists and Screenwriters. His writing has appeared in numerous magazines, including Writer’s Digest, Script, The Writer, and Writing Magazine (UK). His feature film American Thunderbolt is being produced by Content Kings Films, UK, and he has several TV series in active development.

Textbooks for this course:

There are no required textbooks; however, some fee-based online readings may be assigned.