The Classic
Storytelling Class
Your writing journey starts here
Suitable for writers at all stages who want to master the foundations of fiction writing. But perfect for beginners wishing to explore the art of storytelling, discover their voice and find their big idea.
The secret to being a writer?
It’s not innate talent. It’s not fancy words. It’s a story.
Because what readers want is a story they can’t put down.
Even better? A good story (almost) writes itself.
It all starts (and ends) with the story, and this class will help you find it.
Reasons to NOT get started
There are so many reasons why potentially brilliant writers never fulfill their dream of capturing that story, or publishing that novel.
Which are yours?
But I don’t have a story!
Then you’re in the right place. The Classic Storytelling Class is designed precisely to kindle your ideas, and ignite your voice.
You don’t need to have all the answers—or come to think of it, any of them. Stories are about questions. One question after another.
We’ll have you asking the right questions, in the right order.
And taking the right steps, in the right direction on your journey to becoming a writer.
But I’m not sure I have any talent!
Not all writers suffer from imposter syndrome. Only the good ones.
But can we let you in on a little secret?
Storytelling can be learned.
Writing is not a God-given gift. It’s not something you are born with, or can or can’t do. It’s something you learn, because you want to learn it.
The story doesn’t happen to you. You happen to the story.
But what if I don’t have the time?
A lot can happen in one hour…
With our Classic Storytelling Class, you have a year to complete 55 lessons.
Each lesson is around 30 minutes long. But let’s add an extra 30 minutes for thinking time. One hour.
Should you want to immerse yourself in the craft, we recommend setting aside one hour a day just for you and your writing. (You deserve it.)
One hour per day or one hour per week. However you choose to use your one hour, the power contained within it will be nothing less than transformative.
But I don’t have a story!
Then you’re in the right place. The Classic Storytelling Class is designed precisely to kindle your ideas, and ignite your voice.
You don’t need to have all the answers—or come to think of it, any of them. Stories are about questions. One question after another.
We’ll have you asking the right questions, in the right order.
And taking the right steps, in the right direction on your journey to becoming a writer.
But I’m not sure I have any talent!
Not all writers suffer from imposter syndrome. Only the good ones.
But can we let you in on a little secret?
Storytelling can be learned.
Writing is not a God-given gift. It’s not something you are born with, or can or can’t do. It’s something you learn, because you want to learn it.
The story doesn’t happen to you. You happen to the story.
But what if I don’t have the time?
A lot can happen in one hour…
With our Classic Storytelling Class, you have a year to complete 55 lessons.
Each lesson is around 30 minutes long. But let’s add an extra 30 minutes for thinking time. One hour.
Should you want to immerse yourself in the craft, we recommend setting aside one hour a day just for you and your writing. (You deserve it.)
One hour per day or one hour per week. However you choose to use your one hour, the power contained within it will be nothing less than transformative.
‘The Novelry—from the twinkling of an idea through to a publishing-ready novel.’
‘Recommended by leading literary agencies.’
‘All aboard a different kind of writing school.’
At the heart of The Novelry is a warm, welcoming writing community. We offer a collaborative environment, not a competitive one.
Delve into your unique experiences to stir your deepest emotions and come up with the story only you can write...
Your class includes a personalized coaching session from a published, bestselling and award-winning author of your choice.
Every one an expert in their genre. Each trained in our Positive Coaching Method™. All rooting for you, ready to breathe life into your story so you can get writing with confidence and joy.
Where do ideas come from? How to think like an author
Discover how stories work and choose your ingredients
Compose the world of your story with high-stakes drama
Prepare and submit the storyline for your novel or memoir
Schedule a session with an author coach to bring it to life
The Classic Storytelling Class
Learn the foundations of fiction writing
Come up with a fantastic idea for a page-turner. Plan a storyline that excites you and learn how to bring to life complex main characters. Outline and develop the world of your tale to capture the reader’s imagination page after page.
Find the Idea
You’ll learn how to create the space and time for your writing, and prepare your mindset for creative thinking.
You’ll discover the key features of a bestseller, where ideas (really) come from, and what makes a book a classic.
Lesson 1: Let’s begin
Discover the ingredients for a great story.
Lesson 2: Your space, your time, your mind
Organize your life to find the space and time you need to write and discover the fast track to creative thinking in fiction. You will have the subject of your story and a broad idea of the first half and second half by the end of the lesson.
Lesson 3: What makes a classic?
The biggest bestselling books of all time—the classics—have been crossover books, appealing to readers of many different backgrounds and ages. We’ll look at the three elements you need for a classic story.
Lesson 4: Where do ideas come from?
The formula for a big idea and how to create high-concept fiction. Learn what single element of a plot drives a page-turning story.
Lesson 5: Creative thinking
Dig into the richest sources of inspiration for an author according to a global bestselling writer, and get started creating material.
Once Upon a Time
Move beyond the conventional three-act structure to discover the great story structure that lies beneath long-form storytelling, and discover how big stories come from very small seeds.
We’ll guide you to where to find the source for your story. Clue? It’s behind you!
Lesson 6: The great story structure
Discover the five-part structure behind the classics and use it as a tool to develop your plot.
Lesson 7: The small story
How the best-loved stories of childhood can shape and inspire the long-form novel, why you have everything you need inside of you, and where to find it.
Lesson 8: Books based on myths and fairy tales
How these story-starters have been the kindling for so many famous books.
Lesson 9: A story as unique as you
Which parts of you and your life to bring to your story.
Lesson 10: A working model
See the great story structure at work in a famous short tale.
Lesson 11: The long shadow of the little story
Where your idea begins to gather flesh, and finding your theme as an author.
Lesson 12: Fairy tale ideas for very adult novels
A bestselling author explains how fairy tale archetypes help her create psychological thrillers.
Lesson 13: Walk in my shoes
A Booker Prize-winning author explains how to tell your story honestly and humbly to enchant your reader.
Lesson 14: Making ideas happen
Taking your idea to the novel form with our ‘Once Upon a Time’ tool.
The Process
You’ll find the hero, locate the narrative, and scope out the arc of the story. You’ll be looking for the hero’s problem, blindspot or flaw and we’ll be adding the antagonist for conflict.
You’ll discover how every part of who you are can serve your story. No wonder so many writers describe the course as deeply therapeutic.
Lesson 15: Why
Why we write. Using the flaws and failings of humankind, and your very own, to create memorable characters.
Lesson 16: Who
Stories start with who wants what. Someone special (fortunate or unfortunate) or a specialist (someone with unique talents, powers or expertise) wants something they should not have.
Lesson 17: What
When you know who or what’s truly important to your character, the next question for your story development is what should happen if they should lose it or them?
World-building
You’ll discover the deeper archetypal elements of page-turning stories.
You’ll browse a rich buffet of possibilities to feed your plot as you begin to compose and outline your novel. Writer’s block? A thing of the past with these ideas at your fingertips.
Lesson 18: Wonder
Our forgotten desires and the ingredients for creating wonderment in fiction.
Lesson 19: The numinous
How the main character’s yearning expands the world of a story.
Lesson 20: The feeling
Your hero in their leadership role and their ability to experience heightened states of emotion.
Lesson 21: The recipe with two ingredients
The double act for the creation of ‘delightful horror’ in fiction.
Lesson 22: Mysterium tremendum
Using techniques like foreboding to get ahead of the inciting incident to grow the size of the story.
Lesson 23: Fascinans
Why bestselling fiction requires more than an improvement of fortunes.
Lesson 24: The crucial transformation
Finding the genre of fiction you’re meant to write.
Lesson 25: A cozy start
Immersive storytelling skills for high-stakes stories.
Lesson 26: The Harry Potter spell
What made the all-time bestselling series a multi-million global phenomenon?
Lesson 27: The portal
Using a powerful device that takes us from the known world to the story world in all genres of fiction.
Lesson 28: The garden
How the setting of your story offers different possibilities for each individual character’s development.
Lesson 29: The homely guide
The qualities readers require from the character guiding them through the story.
Lesson 30: The surreal
Creating an original breakout fiction premise.
Lesson 31: The familiar
Using aspects of your life to begin world-building your story.
Lesson 32: The cast
Creating lifelike originals as people, not characters in fiction.
Lesson 33: Temptation
The irresistible force that drives pain-free plotting.
Lesson 34: The battle
How conflict between two opposing forces is the grand design behind your theme.
Lesson 35: Deeper magic: time
Strategies for telling your story a different way, with additional pace.
Lesson 36: Deeper magic: space
Covering the narrative terrain at speed for reader engagement.
Lesson 37: Treasure
The secret quest of every work of fiction in which author, hero and reader share the spoils, and when and where to hide it in your story.
Heroes and Villains
Your reader craves character development and your hero’s moral growth.
It takes a villain to drive that change, and to bring the required conflict, creating the light and shade of drama. Deliver proper justice via your narrative arc for a deeply satisfying reader experience.
Lesson 38: The villain
Learn how the ‘charisma’ of the villain lends strong messaging to your story and how they deliver certain truths to the reader, albeit less palatable than those conveyed by the hero.
Lesson 39: The hero
The hero resists. Learn the six identifying signs of a hero and how to test and demonstrate their strengths.
Lesson 40: Decency
Understand how to use the justice system of storytelling to give your readers a highly satisfying story.
The Reader
For a bold story beautifully told, you need to engage your readers in your hero’s plight.
Learn how the best-loved authors befriend their readers, along with storytelling techniques to help you earn the reader’s trust. We’ll show you how to write with unaffected and appealing honesty.
Lesson 41: Hello you, it’s me
Bring to mind the reader you are writing for to help you find a natural voice with which to tell your story.
Lesson 42: Little god
Learn how to bring your reader into your world. The stakes must be as high as you can make them and apply to others, not just the story’s hero.
Lesson 43: The older reader
The older reader adds to the power of imagination another superpower—empathy. Learn to create empathy using the writer’s most important prose tool: observation.
The Author
Understand what moves a bestselling author to write their book and gain the confidence to bring your whole self to the page. Create major scenes that will resonate with readers long after they’re written.
Lesson 44: The authors as individuals
Walk in the footsteps of some literary giants. Understand that their works were not ‘given things,’ born whole and glistening and intact. They were worked upon, often over years, and occasionally in collaboration.
Lesson 45: Mother god or his master’s voice?
Consider the ins and outs of the treatment, or how you’ll tell your story, by exploring the third-person versus the first-person.
Lesson 46: Idealism
Discover why Tolkien and Lewis became second homes for readers. Find your ideal, find your mythology, shape your theme!
Lesson 47: The impact of the classics
A look at the publishing sensations of the all-time classic bestselling books, and the rewards your writing can bring you sooner rather than later.
Lesson 48: My hero
Who was the greatest of them all? Find your author-hero as the lighthouse to guide your writing career.
Lesson 49: On the shoulders of giants
All writers borrow from each other. Have no shame. Find out who stole from whom and why.
Lesson 50: The source
Revealed! The secret source of most of the famous classic books of all time.
Lesson 51: The remnants
The mistakes to avoid in story planning when developing your idea to the novel form.
Farewell
Here’s where it all comes together. You’ll have all the ingredients to start writing a book, including a few surprises. Plus you will be invited to book in a session with one of our author writing-coaches to talk through your idea.
Lesson 52: The Five Fs at work
Structuring your ideas with the classic story structure.
Lesson 53: Ready for take-off!
Checking you have all the essentials for your story in your plan.
Lesson 54: Planning for success
Your story-building checklist assessment tool.
Lesson 55: Last words
Closing inspiration to get you started writing. We can’t wait to meet you and your story.
Your course certificate
Receive recognition of your achievement.
‘And you ask: “What if I fall?”
Oh but my darling, what if you fly?’
‘As a result of The Classic, I now have a clearer view of my story than I thought possible. Prior to the course, I never considered myself an outliner. I had figured that thinking about my story beforehand was beyond me. I realize now that this is because I had no clear concept of story structure and no idea of how to go about considering my story. What I needed was a guiding hand, and The Classic provided that! The Classic was an absolutely fantastic experience. Having completed it, I feel my imagination fired up, and I’m ready to begin writing my novel.’
Why The Classic Storytelling Class?
Progress at your own pace
55 lessons. One year to do them all.
Stay a little longer
Life. It happens to the best of us.
Money-back policy
Our Happy Writing guarantee.
Access to one-on-one coaching from bestselling authors
The brightest lights are at The Novelry.
40+ workshops a month
In addition to your class.
Story First Method™
Discover if your story has commercial value before you begin writing.
Genre expertise
What’s your style?
Video masterclasses
From the likes of Kristin Hannah and Yann Martel.
A supportive writing community
Find your people.
More 5-star reviews
Than any other writing course. The Novelry is the world’s top-rated online writing school.
A clear path to publishing
Yours if you want it. Fine if you don’t.
Created by a Booker Prize-listed author
We don’t just talk the talk.
Ready to begin?
The Classic Storytelling Class
- Membership (1 Year)
- The Classic Storytelling Class
- A Coaching Session
- A Year’s Access
The Novel Kickstarter Course
- Membership (1 Year)
- The Classic Storytelling Class
- The Ninety Day Novel Class
- 6 Coaching Sessions
The Finished Novel Course
- Welcome Call
- Membership (1 Year)
- The Classic Storytelling Class
- The Ninety Day Novel Class
- 6 Coaching Sessions
- The Big Edit Class
- 2 Editorial Sessions
- The Ultimate Manuscript Assessment
- Course Completion Certificate
From creating your story then writing a polished draft, to publishing your bestselling book. Our classes and courses support you across the whole journey.
View all classesFAQs
If you’re bursting with questions we haven’t answered here, check out our full FAQS page or feel free to get in touch.
Yes. You’ll be itching to write within days of starting the course. (Just let anyone try stopping you!)
We believe a great story makes for easy writing, so we want to focus on your story from the start at The Novelry. So whether you’re taking the class to enrich your reading or writing, whether you’re planning to write a bestseller or write for family or friends, these lessons will help you write a bigger story, one your readers will love.
We have an onward journey for graduates of The Classic Class all mapped out. And we’re standing by to help you write your amazing novel with the next class, The Ninety Day Novel Class. But for now, relax and let the magic do its work!
You’ll need a notebook, a pen and an internet connection for the online lessons. That’s it. Our online learning platform is easy to use, even for the less tech-savvy among us!
Writing a novel is not so much about the writing, or at least not in the way you think. Nobody ever stayed glued to a book for the complexity of its vocabulary.
Writing is about storytelling, and readers and publishers alike want great stories. And here’s a secret—storytelling can be learned. Hey, guess what, you might just be very good at it. Why not find out?
Writing is not a God-given gift or innate talent. It’s not something you are born with, or can or can’t do. It’s something you learn, because you want to learn it.
Sure, you’re going to need to read some books. And here’s another secret. Writers learn from other writers. Just like with any craft or trade, they take apprenticeships or courses and work with published writers.
The story doesn’t happen to you, you happen to the story.
You don’t need to be wise and have all the answers. Stories are about questions. One question after another. What happens next? Why did she do that? What will he do to escape? How come there’s no door to the house? Will they work out that guy’s a villain?
We’ll get you asking the right questions, in the right order, to invite your reader into your wonderful world.
This is a self-paced class served on our beautiful online platform by video and text which will relax you into beginning to write your story. It will certainly get you thinking. We suggest a lesson a day. You have immediate access to all lessons. Enjoy the lessons on any internet-connected device. Watch the video, read the text and use the ‘speak aloud’ feature to listen. You’ll need 30–60 minutes for each lesson and probably some thinking time to capture your thoughts and ideas as you start writing. This might be a good opportunity to start to set aside an hour a day just for you and your writing, and you’ll come to love this special time. One hour? You deserve it.
Our courses are suitable for people with visual or auditory impairment, dyslexia, and for those with English as a second language. We offer an app which translates the course into 99 languages and a speak-aloud option too.
‘I’ve taken writing courses with several other writing schools. They were helpful, but I knew when I found The Novelry, I’d found my forever writing home.’