Specialization in novel writing

Introduction

The novel is an extensive narrative form that demands planning and coherence: each chapter contributes to the whole, and each character fulfills a function within the plot. The need to narrate is part of the human condition, and over time the novel established itself as the format capable of developing broad and complex stories, thanks to authors such as Flaubert, Dostoevsky, and Virginia Woolf. Today, writing a novel involves combining creativity with method. It's not improvised: it's built with patience, vision, and narrative judgment. That's the true craft of the novelist, and in this specialization, you'll begin to develop yours step by step.

2m

Influences | Gustavo Rodríguez

I will introduce you to three legendary characters who, in their respective trades, knew how to use the mechanisms of narration and who have inspired me in my different facets.

4m

Influences | Abril Posas

Of course reading influences are a pillar of my work as a writer, but I would be lying if I told you that they are the only ones. Any creative activity is nourished by other disciplines, and writing is no exception, so I also include movies, cartoons, and music.

3m

Influences | Cristina López Barrio 1

I will tell you which writers have most influenced my personal and professional life. How I fell in love with the poet Luis Cernuda and discovered, thanks to my school literature teacher, the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. Our readings are usually present in our writing, especially at the beginning.

9m

Influences | Cristina López Barrio 2

I would like to share with you the literary characters that have most influenced me as a person and as a writer. Reading, in addition to being fundamental if we want to write, is a constant source of inspiration. We always drink from other authors and learn from them.

6m

Influences | Charlie Becerra

I will tell you about the writers and books that have inspired me the most when writing my own stories. You will surely find valuable aspects in each of them.

7m

Why is writing an art?

In this lesson you will learn the difference between writing to inform and writing creatively. I'll also tell you about how fiction writing is similar to the illusionism of magicians.

3m

Writing as a process

I want to share with you some essential advice and some tools to keep in mind before you start writing.

4m

Inspiration and choosing a story

Here you will know what is the raw material that writers use to create their stories. Later, I will tell you how I came up with the idea that I will develop in this project.

2m

Story basics

In this lesson you will learn the two key notions that every story carries inside: the difference between author, narrator and character, and the importance of conflict.

3m

Story basics 1

I will begin by teaching you the two elementary pillars that support a story: the type of narrator and the choice of time in the story.

15m

Story basics 2

Now, I will apply what I have just taught you in my own story. Join me to see how I decide my narrator and the ideal time for my story.

9m

Character building

In this lesson you will understand the importance of characters in a story. I will share some questions that you can ask yourself to develop them in a plausible way.

5m

The creation of the written artifice

Here you will learn how descriptions and data hiding work, as well as how to use dialogue to make your story more vivid.

11m

Sensory elements that provide

Finally, I will teach you how to create effective atmospheres that involve your reader in the story.

7m

The correction

In this lesson I will share some aspects to take into account when correcting your text.

8m

Publication of your text

Congratulations, you finished your text! And now, what's next? Here I give you some clues.

3m

Why Do We Tell Stories?

In this lesson I will tell you where stories are born, when a person decides they want to write one, and the inspiration that ignites it.

3m

The Shape of Stories

I will talk about the differences between a novel and a short story to begin to discern why a story works better in one and not in the other, and vice versa.

6m

The Seed of Storytelling and the Map of the Greenhouse

Now I will talk to you about how to start recording a story, from the moment it occurs to you until you take materials for its first shoots.

9m

History, History, Are You There?

Where do the stories come from and what can you do to give them a good birth? The world is full of stories, you don't necessarily have to make one up from scratch, but you can start with what's at hand.

8m

Narrator, Journey, and Creation of a World

In this lesson I am going to explain how and why it is important that you define what your protagonist is like, the characters that will accompany him and the space and time in which the story will unfold.

7m

Action and Structure

What will happen to your protagonist and other characters? Where will you start the narrative? In this lesson you will learn to break down your story into actions and the main parts of any narrative: beginning, middle and end.

6m

The Story Test

You already have the elements of your story, so enough of beating around the bush and let's answer the most important question: is your story a short story or a novel?

5m

If Your Result Is a Story, It's Time to Write It Down!

It's time to sit in front of the computer with your rundown or story guide and write that story that already has a skeleton.

10m

If Your Result Is Novel, What Do You Expect?

Wow, wow. The test tells you that the story can be a novel. So, to get down to work, here I will give you some tips to start it.

10m

The Writer's Routine: Write, Correct, Publish, and Write Again

What is it like to live from writing? Wait: is it possible to live from writing? Does a person write and the contracts to publish fall from the sky?

7m

Materials 1

In this lesson I will tell you about the materials that I propose to use in the course. There will be two notebooks, one to exercise your creativity and go hunting for new ideas, and the other where you will work on the structural elements of a novel.

14m

Materials 2

In this second part of the lesson, I will explain the importance of the rituals that you can create to help you cross the threshold from the everyday world to the world of creation.

6m

Imagination 1

We are going to let go of the crazy woman in the house who is our imagination. To do this, we will try to get rid of the blocks that affect our creativity and hinder the development of all the potential that we carry within. It is time to shut up our critical and censorious side, to enjoy and have fun in this first phase of creation, where we can overcome our limits and censorship, it also allows us to create original ideas related to ourselves.

20m

Imagination 2

Now what I propose to do is an exercise to unlock creativity, to try to take away what we have seen: fear, need, usefulness and leave everything behind. I'm going to tell you what works for me, what works for me and what I like to do, is to make a transition between the everyday world and the creative. I suggest you join me and try these exercises.

12m

Looking for Us 1

It is time to access our unconscious, our child self, to use divergent thinking instead of convergent. It is time to have fun, to play, to meet up, to decide what we are going to write about, what interests us, what excites us or terrifies us. It is time to go in search of our inner world.

11m

Looking for Us 2

I will show you the process I go through to access my unconscious. Also, I will share with you some of the things that are on my wish and wish list that were the result of the method I used.

9m

Theme, Idea and Plot 1

In this lesson we will travel from the theme to the idea and from the idea to the plot of the novel. We will see where ideas can come from and how the connection of two or more of them, the more disparate the better, is a good alternative to specify an original plot. You will see how to analyze some plot models that can serve as inspiration for the internal order of the story, such as the fascinating Greek tragedy.

13m

Theme, Idea and Plot 2

One of the things that I like to use is frame models, so now I will explain how these models work. That will help your idea to grow little by little. Also, I will give you certain ideas to turn into an argument.

17m

Theme, Idea and Plot 3

To conclude this lesson, I am now going to tell you about another plot model that is a model that I am passionate about and that I used to write my novel Tierra de brumas . I will explain everything you need to know about the stories of rise and fall.

8m

Characters: Construction or Possession 1

Now I will explain the keys to creating characters and discovering those that we carry inside. Our goal is for them to live by themselves and not be a simple replica of the author. We will also see the distinction between the flat and round characters of the writer EM Foster.

10m

Characters: Construction or Possession 2

What can add more to your characters? One of the fundamental elements that you can use to characterize your characters more is the time, in addition, I will tell you about "the momentum" that will keep your character on his journey.

11m

The Conflict

The conflict is a direct route to the heart and mind of the character. If we know his conflicts and the strategies he decides to follow in each of them, we will know him. Also, the conflict is essential to specify the plot of the novel, since all its dramatic force will reside in the conflict.

14m

Of Narrators and Gods 1

I will tell you about the importance of the narrator in a novel, since it is essential. The narrator is the voice that tells the story and never matches the author.

18m

Of Narrators and Gods 2

Now you will see the different types of narrators that you can find by their relationship with what is narrated.

11m

Objects

Objects are magical material in a text. They have an important symbolic value and serve a dramatic function. They are very useful narrative and aesthetic links for the construction of a novel. We can characterize characters and places through them

14m

Space

Space is a very useful tool to enrich a novel. We can characterize characters through him even make him one more character in the story. We will also explore exciting territories such as frontier spaces.

12m

Time

At the time of writing we become gods who manage time at will to tell a story, since a prose text involves the narration of events in a temporal sequence. The objective time that we live is very different from the subjective time that is that of fiction.

11m

Time Jumps: Narrative Form and Tension

In this lesson I am going to talk to you about time management, fundamental when building our novel. It is necessary to be very clear about the novel's focus of greatest interest - the main event - and to build the timeline from it, the order in which the events will unfold. I show you!

8m

Our Novel Scheme

We are going to review all the elements that you have learned and that will help us to embark on the adventure of writing a novel.

3m

A Good Start

Starting to write a text is fascinating. We had the world at our disposal and we have already made a first choice of what we want to tell, among the infinite possibilities that existed. The beginning is also the gateway to the world we have created. Do we want the reader to enter smoothly or with a claw?

17m

Everything Is Possible If You Fit Into the Created World

The main rule for writing a novel is that there are no rules. It is only necessary that both the facts of fiction and the structural elements are coherent in the created world. The persuasive power of a novel is essential so that its truth is not broken, and the reader discovers the author pulling the strings of fiction. For this, the laws of the novel that we have created for our history must be respected.

3m

What is a character?

In this lesson I will talk about the character as a structural element of every story. Its construction starts from us, from our emotions, until it becomes a being with its own life. To do this, we have to trust him and us as writers, and surrender to the mystery.

11m

Where can a character come from?

A character can be the spark from which our story starts. It can be inspired by someone we know, a historical figure, or even an invented character. In both cases, we will see what to do so as not to turn it into a simple puppet at our service.

10m

Character Creation 1

The characterization of a character is the sum of attributes, traits and qualities that make him unique and original. In this lesson I will explain how to define a character based on their physical, social and family characteristics, as well as the difference between character and personality. I will also teach you how to translate your weaknesses, fears or desires into actions that will become scenes within a story.

16m

Character Creation 2

I continue characterizing my character, in this case defining his family and social context, and his relationship with the rest of the attributes.

15m

Objective and conflict

In this lesson we are going to investigate what needs our character has, according to the pyramid of the psychologist Abraham Maslow, and how these become his objectives.

8m

Character introduction

In this lesson I will explain the differences between direct and indirect characterization when introducing the character in the text.

15m

Dramatic Roles and Archetypes

Next, I will tell you what dramatic functions are and why it is important to know which one the character plays in a text. In addition, we will see different archetypes with examples of famous people to inspire you in the creation of yours.

18m

Characters in action

Now we will see how the characters relate to each other and make sense depending on whether they are complementary or opposite. I will talk to you about the concept of protagonist, antagonist, secondary character and collective character.

14m

The place and the object 1

In this lesson we will see how to characterize characters through spaces and objects to enrich our story and give it more depth by connecting various elements of it.

13m

The place and the object 2

Now I am going to tell you several cases in which I have used an object to define or represent a characteristic of my character.

11m

The point of view

Now is the time to decide from which point of view you are going to tell your story. In this lesson we will talk about total, half and partial immersion.

5m

Seriality: second lives of the characters or sequels

Finally, I want to tell you what are the characteristics that a serial character must have, as well as the most common themes that series and sequels deal with, such as family or love.

6m

What is a detective novel?

You will learn to recognize a crime novel and what makes it different from other types of novels.

8m

The storyline

Here begins the work of everything you will do throughout the course. To do this, I will teach you everything you need to know about the importance of being clear about the subject of your crime novel.

5m

The "detective"

Now I will introduce you to the main character of your crime novel: the detective. This person will be in charge of leading your reader by the hand to the story you are writing. I will tell you about the best known detectives in literature and you will also discover the various types that exist. You will surely be inspired to create yours!

10m

The enigma

You will see how to recognize and define what is the central question of the novel and how it will define the plot of it.

8m

The suspects and the clues

I'll tell you about the other characters that a crime novel needs. You will also learn to identify and use the clues that will help to solve - or perhaps not - the riddle.

7m

The timeline

Here you will learn to point out the most important events in history, which will be the skeleton of your novel.

7m

Subplots

There are secondary stories that accompany the main one, the one that tells the resolution of the enigma. In this lesson you will learn their function and I will show you how to use them in favor of your novel.

3m

The title of your novel

You are already in the final and funniest points, it is time to give your novel a title. Here I will tell you about some keys that will help you do it.

4m

The first scene

It's time to start! Now, I will explain to you how to write the first scene or chapter of your crime novel. Are you ready?

5m

The investigation

Documentation is important. Therefore, I will tell you about the research process that you must follow before embarking fully on writing.

6m

The last fifty pages

I will tell you everything you need to know about one of the most important sections of the novel: the end. The novel must climax as all the pieces finally come together.

7m

Keep focus

During this lesson, I will explain how important it is to keep an eye on solving the puzzle.

2m

The creative block

The great fear of writers is running out of ideas. I'll help you get rid of this myth.

4m