A great idea for a story has been floating around in your head for years. Or you suspect a manuscript is lurking among the scribbled notes stored in the shoebox in your closet. But you just don't know how to put pen to paper to get started. In the Write Stuff Fiction Writing Chancellor's Certificate Program, published authors give you expert guidance through all the steps necessary to make your dream a reality.
Complete 50 hours of classroom work in this program to earn a Chancellor's Certificate in Fiction Writing. Or simply take the courses and workshops that interest you.
You also have the option of earning a Chancellor's Certificate in Writing by taking a total of 50 hours of courses and workshops from any of our Write Stuff offerings. So feel free to explore different genres and styles. Please visit the
catalog for specific information on course and workshop offerings.
- Introduction to Fiction Writing
- This course focuses on the elements that make up the heart of any story: character and scene development. Students will engage in readings, creative writing exercises, and workshopping, all aimed toward using dialogue, point of view, and other traditional creative writing techniques to create vivid, memorable scenes and characters. This course will also cover submission how-tos.
- Advanced Fiction Writing
- Have you written a story or begun a novel but don't know what to do next to improve your work? This 8-week advanced fiction-writing course will bring you valuable feedback on your work, including suggestions for revision and ideas about what to do next. Whether you plan to submit to publishing markets or are writing for personal satisfaction, this class will move your writing to the next level.
- Following a workshop format, each participant will submit a completed draft of a piece of fiction (a short story or novel chapter) to be read by other participants and instructors and discussed in class. This is an opportunity to receive personalized, detailed feedback, including suggestions for revising and submitting.
- This is not a lecture-based course on fiction technique but a workshop that incorporates discussion of techniques appropriate for specific stories, to help you refine your fiction and advance your skills. Published fiction may be assigned as readings to illustrate writing techniques that may be of use to writers, but the focus will be on participants' work. All information will be tailored to fit the writer's specific needs.
- Techniques for improvement will be offered, along with practical information such as formatting and submitting stories for publication, writing cover letters, finding appropriate markets and contests, and resources for further learning
- This is a great opportunity to have knowledgeable readers and writers closely examine your fiction and offer feedback, and to gain information about fiction markets hungry for the type of story you write.
- The Business of Writing
- Writing’s the easy part. As your writing grows into a business, you need to develop a bit of business acumen to appropriately handle the details. Get the truth about advances and royalties, taxes, tax write-offs, paying an agent, and making a living as a writer.
- Finding a Literary Agent
- Spend your time doing what you do best—writing. Let an expert do the legwork of finding a publisher for your book. Learn how to find the right agent for you and your work. Get expert advice on networking with agents and checking their credentials. Learn how agents work, how not to approach them, and how to maintain a productive relationship.
- Living as a Writer
- Having trouble keeping all the balls in the air as you juggle your responsibilities and try to fit in time to write? Get expert advice on working your writing into your life schedule, developing productive writing habits, staying motivated, dealing with family and friends, and setting realistic goals
- Making Every Word Matter
- When it comes to writing, sometimes less really is more. Learn how to clarify your writing by choosing the active voice over the passive, eliminating unnecessary words, and writing concisely.
- Poetry Pleasures
- Do you swoon over a superb sonnet? Relish an elegant epic? Delight in a quaint quatrain? Whatever your pleasure, in this workshop you’ll learn to channel your poetic muse. Please bring a copy of one of your original poems to this workshop. You will read and discuss poems written by each student, and then focus on various elements of poetry by engaging in writing exercises designed to serve as springboards for new poems.
- Secrets to Publishing Success
- Are you ready to see your byline on a book jacket? Become the published author you always knew you could be. Get tips on the best strategies for getting your book published. Includes advice on targeting your manuscript, finding an agent, and approaching publishers.
- Unlocking Your Creativity
- The words you want to write are inside you, just waiting to be released. Unlock your creativity, and watch them spill out onto the page. Find and expand your creative voice, silence your inner critic, and free the words that are crying out to be heard!
- Writing Inspirational Fiction
- Explore the mysteries of the spiritual dimension of life in inspirational fiction. Find out about the publishers of this fast-growing genre and what they’re looking for. Get advice on story ideas and rules to follow when writing for this market.
- Writing Mysteries & Thrillers
- Murder, mayhem, edge-of-your-seat suspense. What’s the difference between a mystery and a thriller? Get the answer to that question and a wealth of others about two of today’s most popular genres. This workshop will give you the tools necessary to take your idea and construct characters, scenes, and clues—building tension all the while—into a marketable story.
- Writing Romance
- Romance is the hottest genre in publishing, read by more people than any other kind of book. Want to cash in on this phenomenon and write your own best-selling romance novel? Learn all the inside secrets to success from a published author. Explore various subgenres, including historical, contemporary, romantic suspense, romantic comedy, and more.
- Writing Your Book Proposal
- Before you can sell your book to the public, you have to sell it to an editor. Get the essential tools you’ll need to put together a proposal that says just what it needs to say to get the results you want—a book contract.
The Write Stuff 
