Course Catalog
I teach a suite of creative writing courses online. Learn more and enroll today at Courses.BarbaraVance.com.
Character Arc Mastery
Character Arc Mastery shows you exactly how to design captivating, realistic character transformations that drive the plot and develop themes . . . for all of your characters.
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Plot Essentials
Discover the foundations of plot development and set the groundwork for how to structure a dramatic narrative.
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Dramatizing Inner Conflict
Write your characters’ internal struggles with powerful emotions that keep the reader wondering what happens next.
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Authorial Voice
Discover who you are as a writer and the writer you want to be. Through a series of exercises, examine your unique authorial attributes, what you love about others’ works, and how to blend these things into a magical voice that only you can have.
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Point of View
Maximize drama, suspense, and connection with characters by choosing and leveraging the right narrative perspective.
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Write Vivid Narration
Discover how to brainstorm and write strong, unique metaphors and similes that will bring beauty and power to your work. Master crafting imagery so that readers better understand and connect with your characters and story.
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Character Values and Beliefs
Plan the deeply-rooted beliefs that drive all of your character’s thoughts and actions. Learn the strategy to choosing traits that ensure realistic character development that influences every other trait.
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Design Character Flaws
Learn to strategically choose flaws for your character that grow out of her values and drive her toward meaningful change. Design flaws that create plot roadblocks for the character, thereby also developing your storyline.
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Design Character Strengths
Craft character strengths that balance her flaws, push the plot forward and make her likable but not perfect. Learn to choose deeply-rooted virtues that result in consistency of behavior and a nuanced personality.
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The Great Scenes MegaCourse
Learn to write powerful scenes, each of which has its own drama and character development, contributes to the overarching story, and strategically connects to all other story events. Write with variety, purpose, and attention to pacing and mood.
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Write a Great Antagonist
Write an antagonist who is a serious threat. Create a three-dimensional villain that is specifically designed to play off the protagonist, advance the plot, and add depth to the story.
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Write an Exciting Story Middle
Learn to design a substantive, dramatic, well-paced middle to your story without overwhelm. Discover how to break your story into ever-smaller sections that result in a list of what needs to be written so you don’t face writer’s block.
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Develop Story Themes
Design perceptive story themes and learn to weave them into your plot and intertwine them with your character design. Learn to articulate not only what themes your story needs, but also the message they send.
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Write Dramatic Character Relationships
Design profound relationships between characters that heighten the drama and further define each person. Craft all of your characters so that they play off of one another, fleshing out the story and themes.
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Write Great Subplots
Construct creative, meaningful subplots. Learn how to choose and design the subplot skeleton, and how to weave it into the primary plot.
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Write a Compelling First Chapter
Learn to write a first chapter that instantly draws the reader into the story, connects him with the characters, and has him asking story questions that keep him reading.
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Write Dramatic Action Scenes
Write fast-paced action scenes that advance the plot and define your characters. Discover both how to design the structure of an action scene and how to realize it in words.
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Write Vivid Character Descriptions
Bring characters to life with focused, sensory descriptions that address both their internal and external personalities. Learn how to blend character description with plot for stories that always move forward.
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Writing Child Characters
Write realistic child characters whose intellect and emotional development create depth to her personality and room for her to grow. Learn to see through a child’s eyes.
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Writing Death Scenes and Grief
Write impactful, emotional death scenes that push the plot forward and maximize character development. Discover how to convey the stages of grief and the loss of a loved one with sensitivity and power.
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Dramatizing the Emotion 'Fear'
Bring your characters’ emotions to life. Learn the nuances of the emotion fear, how it is manifested, and how to write it into your characters’ experiences.
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Write an Intimate Personal Essay
Write descriptive, vivid accounts of life and observations of the world that draw readers into your mind and past.
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