You can write, but can you tell a story?
Writing comes in many forms. Essays, editorials, journalism, poems, how-to articles, manifestos, listicles. Stories are unique. They have some key elements that other forms of writing don't necessarily have. This free course offers an introduction to what makes a story a story. Check out this video explaining what this course is about:
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What you get in this course
Learn the minimal necessary elements
Stories have these minimal necessary components. Leave out one of them and you no longer have a story at all.
Understand how to ramp up the elements
All stories have the elements; good stories use those elements to best effect. Learn how you can intensify each element.
Self assess with focused questions
Be better equipped to see what may be missing from your own work and others'. A workbook is supplied to help guide you.
Meet the instructor
TD Storm
TD Storm is an award-winning writer and teacher whose stories have appeared in a number of journals. His passion for storytelling and its inner workings inform his teaching, editing, and mentoring. He has worked with countless writers on personal essays, novels, short stories, and more. And he's been teaching since 1999.
Want to know more about TD Storm? Check out the About page for the school.
Want to know more about his approach toward writing and teaching writing? Look at this post on the "Core Tenets of Storm Writing School."
Patrick Jones - Course author
Course Lessons
Frequently asked questions
Will this course actually benefit my writing?
The only thing that can truly benefit your writing is you, working at it. But this course discusses some very important concepts—things I see many writers, both novice and seasoned, get wrong. And hey, at the end of the class, there's a free workbook.
Who is this class for?
Both beginning and seasoned storytellers can benefit from a deeper understanding of story. You'll get more from the class if you have a draft of a story you can work with, but none is required.
Where did this class come from?
It came from years of my obsessing over stories and their power and wanting to know what made a story a story. And then I put together a week-long retreat class on Story Momentum (a course I've adapted here as Story Momentum Mastery). This Key Elements class was the first day of that week-long class, and it serves as a foundation for a lot of what I discuss in my courses.
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