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Novel 1

Online Feb 16, Feb 23, Mar 2, Mar 9, Mar 16 (5 Sunday Mornings)10:30am - 1:30pm Pacific$425Limited Spots

10 Spots Left

Is it your dream to write the great American novel? In this 5 week Online intro novel writing class, successful novelist Gretchen McNeil will teach you the fundamentals of long form fiction! She’ll also teach you techniques for creating a thrilling story arc, irresistible dialogue, characters and conflict. If you like, you can even bring in up to 1000 words of your novel for targeted feedback every session!

With the aid of fun, hands-on exercises and balanced workshopping sessions, you’ll have completed a chapter outline of your book, and will have written some scenes to boot. Before you know it, Random House will be banging on your door! Topics include: character, description, plot, POV, dialogue, revision, setting, voice, theme and query.

Before you know it, you will be ready to join the ranks of the 37 students who have published books after after taking class with us.

If you’ve never taken a novel class before, we suggest you take Novel 101 in addition to this class.

Gretchen McNeil

13 novels sold, Get Even (Netflix), 2 movie adaptations

Gretchen McNeil has sold 13 novels including DIG TWO GRAVES (April 2022), THREE DROPS OF BLOOD (2023), both for Disney-Hyperion. She’s also the author of the novel series #MURDERTRENDING (2018), #MURDERFUNDING (2019), #NOESCAPE (2020) all for Disney/Freeform. Gretchen’s novels GET EVEN and GET DIRTY have been adapted as the series Get Even for BBC and Netflix. Season 1 of Get Even premiered in 2020 and season 2 will stream on Netflix in fall 2022. Ten: Murder Island, the film adaptation of Gretchen’s novel TEN starring China Anne McClain (Descendants 2, Black Lightning) premiered on Lifetime in 2017. #MURDERTRENDING was selected for the Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2018 list, the International Literacy Association’s 2019 Young Adults’ Choices Reading list, YALSA’s 2019 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers list, and it was voted the #1 choice on YALSA’s 2019 Teens’ Top Ten list. #MURDERFUNDING was also a YALSA 2020 Teen’s Top pick and #NOESCAPE was a YALSA 2021 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers. Gretchen is also the author of POSSESS, 3:59, RELIC, GET EVEN, GET DIRTY, and TEN (a YALSA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, a Romantic Times Top Pick, and a Booklist Top Ten Horror Fiction for Youth), and I’M NOT YOUR MANIC PIXIE DREAM GIRL all with Balzer + Bray for HarperCollins. She has a BA from UCLA and a Masters Degree from the University of Maryland College Park. MORE