What Should You Learn at a Book Writing Class?

Posted by Barry Walls on October 1, 2009

The mark of a great book writing class is one that will help you to write a great book but not make the joins conspicuous to your readers. You shouldn’t be surprised to learn that not all classes are going to be exactly the same as each other.

The very first thing that you should be aware of is that not all classes are the same. Books come in varieties and it is important that you know the sort of book you want to produce before you decide on a class to go to. There is no point at all in going to a class about writing fiction if you want to learn how to write autobiographies. Some aspects will be the same, research, for example, but you cannot apply the same process of writing to these two types of books.

Most people thinking about writing a book are thinking about writing fiction. While it is possible to simply sit down and make up a story based in a made up location, there are aspects of writing a book that can make the process more logical, easier and faster.

For most authors, the first thing about a new book is the plot. They decide what is going to happen, how it is going to happen, where it is going to happen and when it is going to happen. Within the plot they will add or develop sub plots. Learning how to create a credible plot and sub plots is very important because these are the foundations upon which the book is built.

The location can often be an important part of the early book planning as well. If a real location is used for the setting of the book, it is possible that some of the plot or sub plots will need to be changed in order to fit in with the location. A real advantage of an actual location is that it can be visited and the real possibilities and limitations worked out on the ground, so to speak. A real location also enables continuity to be maintained by ensuring that, for example, what is a steep track for the characters in one scene does not become a footpath in another.

Character development becomes a little easier when an author uses a real location because they can base the characters loosely on the actual people who live and work in that place or people who happen to catch their attention. Character development is a very important aspect to writing a book that must be done well to have a successful book.

As well as teaching you how to build your plot, find your location and create your characters, a good book writing class will show you how to build the story on the plot, within the location and using your characters. At the same time it will teach you how to get your readers involved with the characters – maybe even identify with them. It will teach you how to build suspense and how to introduce unexpected twists to keep your story moving forward.

Being able to keep your story moving and using plot twists are also assets to any fiction book author.