So you’ve written a novel—congratulations! Your manuscript is a labor of love and represents a huge investment of time. You’re eager to send your new baby out into the world, to find a publisher who will turn that manuscript into a book. You’re ready to call yourself an author.

But before you start submitting that manuscript to publishers, you need to make sure it is as polished as possible. You may have the most original plot and engaging characters in the world, but if your opening is weak, it’ll be in the slush pile before the publisher gets to page three.

What about your dialogue? Is it strong? Is it compelling? Are your taglines appropriate? Poorly written dialogue and misused taglines will kill a novel before the end of the first chapter.

How is your story told? Is it linear? Did you use flashbacks and foreshadowing in an appropriate manner that enhance your story? Or did you avoid such techniques because you don’t know how to use them correctly?

Then there is the matter of who is telling your story. Think of how different To Kill a Mockingbird would have been if the story had been told from Boo Radley’s perspective instead of Scout’s. Do you have the right characters telling your story? Would it be stronger if you chose a different character/narrator?

            In this nine-week online workshop, you will learn the basic elements of fiction writing, including characterization, point of view, setting, and dialogue. You’ll learn the different techniques for writing an attention-grabbing opening, pacing techniques to establish mood and build suspense, how to most effectively write your story’s climax scene, and different techniques for ending the story. We’ll discuss how to most effectively use the advanced fiction techniques of foreshadowing and flashback. Finally, you will learn how to put this knowledge to use editing and rewriting your novel manuscript. You’ll receive feedback and guidance from instructor Smoky Trudeau as well as from your peers through our online critique group.

Smoky Trudeau has been a writing coach and editor for the past ten years. Along the way, she has helped hundreds of aspiring authors achieve their dreams of becoming published writers. Her book, Front-Word, Back-Word, Insight-Out: Lessons on Writing the Novel Lurking Inside You from Start to Finish (ISBN 978-0-9796545-8-9, Vanilla Heart Publishing, 2008) is the first in her series of Writer’s Workshop books and tools. And, beginning July 1, 2009, Smoky will be live on Books with Heart Radio, chatting with listeners about the nitty gritty of writing well, including tips and hints, exercises to free creativity and develop skills that can help writers improve and enjoy writing, question and answer periods, and more…