Course info

Imagine, design, outline, and finish your own science fiction or fantasy short story
in this how-to high-interest writing course -- and
grow your writing skills with a dynamic, fun adventure that can
make your writing engaging and exciting!

Instructor Access is available for this Fiction Writing course.
Please see the right-hand column for more information and to sign up!

Read what a student has to say about the course...
This class has been so amazing; the support and constructive criticism have been really effective in teaching me the ins and outs of writing a great story. You [Professor Brown] and Professor Davis were great teachers! Thank you for the awesome class, and God bless! - William M. (Student, Spring 2021)

YOUR SPECIAL GUEST CO-TEACHER...
Multi-book author Russell Davis -- who is also the former Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America President, former Director of the Western Colorado University Creative Writing Genre Fiction program, and international speaker on science fiction and fantasy -- joins us each week to share his wealth of knowledge on craft!

RUSSELL DAVIS has written and sold numerous novels and short stories in virtually every genre of fiction, under at least a half-dozen pseudonyms. His writing has encompassed media tie-in work in the Transformers universe to action adventure in The Executioner series to original novels. He’s published short fiction in anthology titles like Under Cover of Darkness, Law of the Gun, and In the Shadow of Evil. In addition to his work as a writer, he has worked as an editor and book packager, and created original anthology titles ranging from westerns like Lost Trails to fantasy like Courts of the Fey. 

He was the president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) from 2008–2010, and has been a member of numerous other writing organization including the Western Writers of America (WWA), Mystery Writers of America (MWA), and the Romance Writers of America (RWA).

His most recent releases are a re-issue of the four-book Jenna Solitaire series (WordFire Press), and he’s currently working on a new collection, Written in the Scars on Our Hearts, and a middle-grade novel with Fran Wilde.

How to get the most out of Write Your Own Science Fiction/Fantasy Short Story (X-19) with Erin M. Brown, MA, MFA:

• Have a notebook ready and available for class notes each live session.

• Each week, your course work will be listed. Simply complete the assignments, quizzes, and any extra work assigned for that week by following the course page from top to bottom.

• If you'd like to review information from the LIVE session, simply watch the week’s recording.

• Once the course is completed to the parent's and professor’s satisfaction, there is a Certificate of Completion at the end to be filled in for your records.

Special Note: This course only takes 12 students, so make sure to register early.

Total Classes: 6

Duration: 55 minutes

Prerequisite: HS 9-1. Suggested HS 9-2 and the HS 11-7 Short Story course.

Suggested Grade Level: High School and Professional/Continuing Education

Suggested Credit: One-half semester Writing or English; additional resources are provided, to create a full semester’s credit. 

Instructor: Erin M. Brown, MA, MFA (aka author EB Conroy/Erin Brown Conroy)

Instructor Email: ebconroy@homeschoolconnections.com

Course Description: Do you want to write a science fiction or fantasy short story? Then this is the course for you! With science fiction and fantasy author Erin M. Brown, learn what makes a great short story in the high-adventure genres of science fiction and fantasy! You’ll read, analyze, and discover the magic of famous short stories, while you create your own short story with all of its essential, gripping elements -- including a heart-thumping plot, memorable characters, a wild world with compelling landscape and details, and a twist that makes your reader want more. Become a writer of clear, compelling text through storytelling. Writing has never been so much fun! 

Course Outline:

• Class 1:  What Defines Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Stories? Famous Short Stories -- and Why They’re Famous; Outlining your Short Story -- What it Needs to Succeed; Beginning your Worldbuilding and Setting

• Class 2: Refining Your Story’s Plot Points; The Different types of plots and how they can advance the story; Writing How-To’s; Your Voice, including mimicry, voice, and the challenge young writers face (and how to avoid the obvious problems)

• Class 3: Refining Your Story’s Characters; Writing How-To’s; The Advantages of Jungian Archetypes and How to Handle Villains and Antiheroes

• Class 4: Your Story’s Details: Crafting Amazing Worldbuilding and Details; How to Know the End of the Story

• Class 5: Your Story’s Details: Crafting Dialogue; adding description and detail for vividness

• Class 6: Your Story’s Twist: How to Make your Reader Love your Story

Course Materials: All materials are provided FREE by the instructor. Students must have the ability to turn in assignments in Microsoft Word format (either through purchasing Word or using Google Docs (free) or another format, then downloading the document into Word format before uploading it into the grading system).

Homework: Written assignments are given each week. The average weekly time estimate for homework (including both brainstorming and writing time) is one to four hours, depending on the student’s abilities and commitment.