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eClass: 12-Week Novelist

Draft Your Novel in 3 Months!

Course is closed.

DURATION/TIME
12 weeks
September 11 - December 11
Online chats: Sundays, 9-10 pm EST

LEVEL
Intermediate/advanced

ONLINE CLASS INFO
See on our eClasses info page. 

PRICE
$610 ($575 for )
more info

Course Details

You want to write a novel. So what's the big deal? Well, it's a daunting task. What's the actual writing process? Do you need an outline? How can you stop procrastinating and improve your self-discipline? How can you better manage your time and work when you feel defeated and uninspired?

Join 11 fellow writers in your pursuit of a first draft, under the guidance of a novelist who knows what she's doing -- and what you need to do. You'll learn the lost art of craft, the power of the outline, and how to find the "hook" that will sell your novel.

You'll get weekly lessons on such topics as characterization, point of view, style, dialogue, plot, and silencing your inner critic. Students will share their work with the class at least three times during the course and will be encouraged to discuss the progress of their novels on a weekly basis, if time permits.

In this class, you can expect to learn:

  • How to write a strong outline -- and when to change it
  • How to create believable characters
  • How to create a consistent tone and point of view
  • The secret to dynamic dialogue
  • How to develop effective work habits that will serve you long after this class ends

By the end of class, you can expect to:

Be well on your way to completing the first draft of a novel.

Admission requirements:
Please submit a letter of interest (including a brief work history) and a fiction writing sample (less than 2,000 words).

The online classroom has several interactive components:

  • Instructors post lectures once a week. You can read them online, print them, or download them at your convenience.
  • Students post completed assignments for feedback and discussion by the instructor and class.
  • Weekly chats allow your class to get together via instant message. Transcripts are available for review if you can't attend. 
  • Technical support is available from mediabistro staff.

Instructor Bio

Nicole Bokat's Courses

Novel Writing – (Class starts September 3)

Nicole Bokat
Nicole Bokat is the author of What Matters Most (New American Library, October 2006). Her first novel, Redeeming Eve, received strong reviews here and abroad, including praise from Publisher's Weekly, Kirkus, McCall's, and The Bloomsbury Review . It is currently scheduled to be published in Greece by Editions George Vassiliou. Redeeming Eve was nominated for the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award and the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for Fiction. Nicole Bokat is also the author of an academic book, The Novels of Margaret Drabble, with Peter Lang (1998). She's written for a variety of magazines and newspapers, including Parents, Expecting Parents Magazine, Z Magazine, Troika, On the Issues: The Progressive Woman's Quarterly, Iris: A Journal about Women (University of Virginia), and The Forward. She has a Masters in Creative Writing and a Ph.D. in Literature from NYU. She has also worked as a ghostwriter. You can read more about her on her website, www.nicolebokat.com.

Testimonials


I took the 12-Week Novelist eClass with Nicole Bokat in the fall of 2004. I'd wanted to write a novel for some time. The class gave me the much-needed deadlines to get novel writing on my to-do list. And once it was on the to-do list, it actually got done. During the 12 weeks, I cranked out a draft of a YA novel. I then spent the spring revising the manuscript. Having proven to myself I can write a novel when I make time to do it, I signed up for another 12-week novelist eClass in 2005! -- Laura Vanderkam, Reader's Digest contributing editor

"Nicole's a kook! In the best sense. You'll want to steal all her stories for your own fiction, she's that hilarious. More importantly she is very supportive, and gives lengthy feedback in class, including brainstorming things that you can do plotwise, with characters, etc. [. . .] I feel that non-fiction is hard enough, but writing fiction, to me at least, is terrifying. A teacher such as Nicole, as well as my fellow students, made the process so much easier. Trust me, she's good." -- Gini Sikes, freelance broadcast and print journalist, author of 8 Ball Chicks: A Year in the Violent World of Girl Gangs

"I've just finished Nicole Bokat's 'The 12 Week Novelist' class online and wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed it, and what a great teacher Nicole is. Over the years I've taken classes in many places, including NYU and the New School, but found Nicole's class unusually effective. I loved her humor and intelligence and insight, but her generosity and honesty about the business of novel writing was unexpected. Published novelists don't always have time to put their heart into teaching, but Nicole was compassionate, thoughtful and thorough. I learned a lot, made great progress on my novel, made some writing buddies and had fun. What could be better?" -- Tessa Smith-McGovern, former student

"When I was about halfway through my first novel, I took mediabistro's online novel class with Nicole Bokat. During the next 12 weeks I got
the direction I needed to revise what I had and finish. Having regular deadlines was a huge help, but Nicole's input was invaluable. I recently sent out my manuscript and am currently trying to decide which one of the five interested agents I'll go with! It's a great dilemma to have. I know that my novel generated a lot of interest among agents because it was in pitch-perfect shape!" -- Kathy McCleary

"Nicole Bokat is wonderfully diplomatic, encouraging and knowledgeable. She always has something positive to say, even while showing you errors. I have learned a tremendous amount with her to guide me. Nicole excelled in her reading of our material and her critiques. -- Meg Dobson

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