OWC 304 B — Novel II: Plot and Structure
Quarter: Spring
Instructor(s): Lauren Kate
Date(s): Apr 3—Jun 5
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Fridays
Grade Restriction: Letter grade only
Class Meeting Time: 12:00—1:15 pm (PT)
Tuition: $1240
Refund Deadline: Apr 5
Unit(s): 2
Enrollment Limit: 15
Status: Registration opens Feb 23, 8:30 am (PT)
Quarter: Spring
Day: Fridays
Duration: 10 weeks
Time: 12:00—1:15 pm (PT)
Date(s): Apr 3—Jun 5
Unit(s): 2
Tuition: $1240
Refund Deadline: Apr 5
Instructor(s): Lauren Kate
Grade Restriction: Letter grade only
Enrollment Limit: 15
Recording Available: Yes
Status: Registration opens Feb 23, 8:30 am (PT)
This course is not open to the public, but rather by admission only. For more information on the Online Writing Certificate Program and its application process, please click here.
In this course, students will focus on how to create and sustain the “long middle” of their novels, continuing their journey toward the completion of their manuscript. The long middle is the area where plot and structure of the novel are most important, because we may have lost that burst of energy that propelled our beginnings, but the end is not yet in sight. This course will teach students how to continue building suspense and intensity past the inciting incident by alternating between different subplots and points of view, to ensure modulation; and framing scenes and chapters for maximum tension, to keep readers turning pages.
In this course, students will focus on how to create and sustain the “long middle” of their novels, continuing their journey toward the completion of their manuscript. The long middle is the area where plot and structure of the novel are most important, because we may have lost that burst of energy that propelled our beginnings, but the end is not yet in sight. This course will teach students how to continue building suspense and intensity past the inciting incident by alternating between different subplots and points of view, to ensure modulation; and framing scenes and chapters for maximum tension, to keep readers turning pages.
LAUREN KATE
Author
Lauren Kate is a New York Times bestselling author whose novels include the Fallen series, which was made into a major motion picture and an Emmy-nominated TV series. Her books have been featured on Jeopardy, parodied by The Simpsons, translated into more than 30 languages, and sold over 11 million copies. Her forthcoming series, White Lights, will be published in June 2026. She received an MA in creative writing from UC Davis and is a former acquiring editor at HarperCollins. Textbooks for this course:
(Required) Steven Koch, The Modern Library Writers Workshop: A Guide to the Craft of Fiction (ISBN 978-0375755583)
(Required) Sarah Langan, Good Neighbors (ISBN 978-1982144371)
(Required) Kevin Wilson, Nothing to See Here (ISBN 978-0062913494)
(Required) Sarah Langan, Good Neighbors (ISBN 978-1982144371)
(Required) Kevin Wilson, Nothing to See Here (ISBN 978-0062913494)