A strong plot maintains momentum and provides structure, ensuring the story remains compelling while creating opportunities for character growth and thematic exploration.

Most writing programs separate technical manuals from imaginative fiction, treating one as “just the facts” and the other as pure flights of fancy.

Yet the habits you sharpened tightening a spec sheet or formal essay (audience awareness, clarity & precision, logical structure, and rock‑solid research) are the very ones that can make a story exceptional.

This course shows you how to redirect those instincts toward narrative "sparkle" while shedding the quirks that can hold a tale back.

This course explores the transformative power of honest storytelling through Ryan Gattis’s TEDx talk, “Pain & Art: Write What You Honestly Know.”

Through his five essentials of immersive storytelling, he challenges writers to confront their own pain, harness it authentically, and connect with readers on a deeply human level.

A course from the Authors Publish Lecture Series.

John Claude Bemis is an author and educator whose books have been published by Penguin Random House and Disney/Hyperion. A former award-winning elementary school teacher, John discovered his passion for writing through his love of sharing stories with students. Today, he visits schools as a guest author, inspiring young readers and writers across the country. He lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina with his wife and daughter.