Your instructor

Laurie Scheer is a published author, her book Creative Careers In Hollywood and her DVD How To Pitch and Sell Your Screenplay have helped mentor the next generation of media professionals for nearly a decade. Laurie has been an instructor at various universities across the U. S. and she is a professional media speaker. She is currently researching and navigating the landscape of writing for the Web and creating a number of new courses for writers who are migrating from print to web-based platforms.

Who this course is for

All writers who are interested in adapting mythic story structure within their projects.
Writers-fiction and nonfiction—who are having difficulty with the structure of their projects.
Memoirists and other nonfiction writers who are adapting real-life material and do not know where to begin with the structure of their stories.

How to register

Online: Register now online with our secure server.

Mail: Print and mail our registration form.

Telephone: Call 608-262-2451 or toll-free 800-725-9692 to register. Our phone is answered M-F, 7:00 am-4:30 pm Central Time. At other times please leave a message, and we will return your call.

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This is a noncredit, online writing classes through UW-Madison Continuing Studies.

The Writer's Journey Workshop

Mythic Structure for Writers

The essentials of mythic storytelling are outlined in this course with the use of Christopher Vogler’s text The Writer’s Journey. This text, based on the work of Joseph Campbell, illustrates the 12 steps of storytelling. The course is for all types of writers—novelists, short story writers, screenwriters, playwrights, and creative nonfiction writers—essentially anyone who is telling a story.

Analyze in detail the 12 steps of storytelling and apply these laurels to your own novel, script, or fiction selections. These steps bring clarity to plot construction and you discover keys to making your overall storytelling more effective.

In 7 lessons we’ll cover:

Introduction to Mythic Storytelling and Archetypes
The Ordinary World and the Call to Adventure
Refusing the Call, Meeting the Mentor and Crossing the Threshold
The Special World
The Supreme Ordeal
The Reward, the Road Back and the Resurrection
The Return with the Elixir and Looking Back

Each lesson guides you through the steps as you apply and/or edit the chapters, scenes, paragraphs of your work. Your instructor provides feedback regarding the steps of your story throughout the eight lessons. The final assignment helps you create a clear 12-step outline of the story you are telling.

Throughout the course, you may discover a different way to tell your story. You may uncover and strengthen your subplots. You may also understand how to get past a roadblock. The end result is a stronger story that motivates and resonates with your audience.

The Writer’s Journey Workshop provides tools you can use for future writing projects. It is an essential element that should be a part of every writer’s toolbox.

How it works

You can start our workshops anytime, and there are no required hours to log on. It's all done with one-on-one correspondence with the instructor using email. You can read and print course materials in the course Web site, which you can access at your leisure with a password that we will give you. We have writers from around the world participating in our workshops, and we have success stories. A lot of great writing gets accomplished via email. Because of the one-on-one nature of our workshops, you'll find them an excellent "coaching" or mentoring situation that will keep you going. And if you want to just work on your own–hey, that's fine too. Of course you can do the suggested exercises on your own without the feedback if you'd rather do that. We're also here throughout the year if you have questions.

Review the current technical requirements for students in Learn@UW online courses.

Costs

$175 for the full 7-lecture course. You will earn 1.8 CEUs. (Continuing Education Units.) Register any time.

Contact

Your contact for more information about The Writer's Journey Workshop is Laurie Scheer, 608-265-3972, lscheer@dcs.wisc.edu.

For more information about online learning contact Lori O'Neill at 608-263-6322 or toll-free 877-336-7836 or email LSAonline@dcs.wisc.edu.

Also of interest

Explore other online writing classes.

The same writing staff that bring you these great online classes also provide individualized writing critique services. Learn more by visiting our writing critique services web page.

Subscribe to the Writing News, our free e-mail newsletter and 3-4 times a year you will receive a detailed e-mail with information about our upcoming writing programs, and news about student achievements or opportunities for writers. To subscribe send a blank join-writing-news@lists.wisc.edu.