In this course aspiring writers will be introduced to perhaps the most elemental and often the most challenging element of story: plot. We will learn what keeps it moving, how it manipulates our feelings, expectations, and desires. We will examine the choices storytellers make to snag our imaginations, drag them into a fictional world, and keep them there. We will learn how to outline and structure a plot, discuss narrative arc, pacing and reversals and reveal the inevitable surprise: connecting the beginning, middle and end.
This course is part of the Creative Writing Specialization
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About this Course
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Try Coursera for BusinessSkills you will gain
- Short Story Writing
- Fiction Writing
- Creativity
- Copy Editing
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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Plotting a Course
The Power of Structure
A Scene in Motion
Cut It Out
Reviews
- 5 stars76.72%
- 4 stars17.65%
- 3 stars3.64%
- 2 stars0.92%
- 1 star1.05%
TOP REVIEWS FROM CREATIVE WRITING: THE CRAFT OF PLOT
I really enjoyed this course. It had a lot of concrete advice, and motivated me to start writing again. The assignments made sense, and gave me a list of things to look for when editing the draft.
Extremely helpful! I'm rethinking a lot of my previous approach to writing, especially when it comes to creating interesting scenes and ensuring my characters each have a clear desire while I write.
Love the clear direct explanations. Would have enjoyed more examples, more robust practice examples and a longer class overall, to l earn more plotting, but love the prof. Brandon knows how to teach!!
The course was informative on how to build, structure and develop the plot of our own stories. It was also very helpful in guiding us through the editing process. A useful course for aspiring writers.
About the Creative Writing Specialization

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