Fall 2026: Hooked on Fiction: Story Structure for Plotters, Planners, and Pansters
Welcome to Hooked on Fiction: Story Structure for Plotters, Planners, and Pansters! We’re so glad you’re here.
This course explores the essential building blocks of compelling storytelling! Through self-paced lessons, you will examine story structure, plot development, pacing, character arcs, and narrative tension, while gaining practical strategies to outline, revise, and strengthen your story at any stage of the writing process.
Course material and lesson plans are curated and developed by the teaching artists, Mentor, Jennifer L. Brown & Mentee, Christiane Calixte!
Learning Objectives
- Story Structure Foundations: Understand the core components of narrative structure, including how a beginning, middle, and end work together to create a cohesive story.
- Character-Driven Storytelling: Develop characters whose goals, choices, and transformations naturally shape and drive the progression of the narrative.
- Navigating the Middle of a Story: Apply strategies to overcome common challenges in drafting, especially when a story feels stuck or unclear in its development.
- Crafting Satisfying Endings: Build and revise story endings that resolve central conflicts and provide a meaningful sense of closure for both character and reader.
Requirements
- 2 pair sessions per month
- Attend all live Journey Meetings (see the Engagement Dates section below)
- Complete all lessons provided in the course Fall 2026: Hooked on Fiction: Story Structure for Plotters, Planners, and Pansters
- Write, edit, and present the first chapter of your novel (see the Submissions section below)
Asynchronous Coursework
Complete each lesson in the the following course. As you progress through each lesson, make sure to press complete before moving on to the next.
- Hooked on Fiction: Story Structure for Plotters, Planners, and Pansters
In this course, you will examine story structure, plot development, pacing, character arcs, and narrative tension while gaining practical strategies to outline, revise, and strengthen stories at any stage of the writing process.
Engagement Dates
Mentees and mentors must attend one Journey Live Meetings each month.
Fall Cycle Journey Meetings:
- Saturday, November 14, 2026 | 2-4 PM ET
- Saturday, December 12, 2026 | 2-4 PM ET
- Saturday, January 9, 2027 | 2-4 PM ET
Hooked on Fiction Feedback Workshop
- January 26, 2027 | 4:30-6:30 PM ET
If you’re unable to attend a Journey meeting, you must notify your Staff Lead in advance and attend a community event to make up for it—recommended options for this journey include Community Studios and Career Chats.
Submissions
The final assignment consists of three parts.
You will submit the completed “Arc” worksheet, a 1,000-word synopsis and a 1,000–4,000-word short story OR a 1,000–4,000-word excerpt from a longer work.
Submissions should be shared via Google Docs and formatted in Times New Roman, 12-point font, and double-spaced. Final submission due by January 31, 2027
Submission instructions are within each course.
Curriculum
- 5 Sections
- 27 Lessons
- 10 Weeks
- Introduction3 Items
- Section 1: Creating an Opening with a Hook!8 Items
- 2.1Journey Meeting 1: Recording (11.14.26)
- 2.2Learning Objectives and Opening Lines
- 2.3Lesson 1: The Importance of Story Structure
- 2.4Lesson 2: The Opening Pages, or Establishing the Status Quo (approximately 0-10% of your story)
- 2.5Lesson 3: Inciting Incident (10% of a story’s narrative)
- 2.6Lesson 4: Decisions, Decisions, Decisions or the Final Stretch of Act One (Inciting incident – 25%)
- 2.7Writing Exercise 1
- 2.8Conclusion, Takeaway Exercise, & Resources
- Section 2: Navigating the Mushy Middle7 Items
- 3.1Journey Meeting 2: Recording (12.12.26)
- 3.2Learning Objectives and Opening Lines
- 3.3Lesson 1: The Beginning of the Middle, the opening of Act Two
- 3.4Lesson 2: The Climb to the Midpoint or Act Two, Part One
- 3.5Lesson 3: The Midpoint and Act Two, Part Two: Racing to Act Three!
- 3.6Writing Exercise 2
- 3.7Conclusion, Takeaway Exercise, & Resources
- Section 3: Let’s Wrap It Up! Story Structures That End Your Work With a Bang8 Items
- 4.1Journey Meeting 3: Recording (01.09.27)
- 4.2Learning Objectives and Opening Lines
- 4.3Lesson 1: All Is Lost (approximately the 75% mark of your story)
- 4.4Lesson 2: Break into 3 (80% mark of your story)
- 4.5Lesson 3: The Climax (80%-95% of your story)
- 4.6Lesson 4: Denouement (95% mark of your story)
- 4.7Writing Exercise 3
- 4.8Conclusion, Takeaway Exercise, & Resources
- Final Assignment1 Item
Instructor
