Take Your Fiction Writing to the Next Level with an Odyssey Online Class!

 

Receive individual attention and in-depth feedback
with an Odyssey Online class!

Bestselling, award-winning instructors.

Only 3 classes per year.  Only 14 students per class.

Application deadline 11/22.  Don’t miss out!

Odyssey has been a pioneer in holding live online classes since 2010.  Live class meetings allow a virtual classroom experience, with students participating in discussions, asking questions, and learning from an instructor responsive to students’ concerns.  Between class meetings, students interact with each other and the instructor in an online group, complete assignments, and give and receive feedback.  Each student also has a one-on-one meeting with the instructor.

Graduates of Odyssey Online regularly praise the depth and value of the content provided in the courses; the challenging, skill-building assignments; and the in-depth critiques from instructors.

While Odyssey’s nonprofit mission is to help writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror, writers of any genre of fiction are welcome to apply.  Courses will also cover issues relevant to writers of adult, young adult, and middle grade fiction.

Odyssey’s classes will provide you with valuable tools and techniques that can help you make major improvements to your writing.  Become the writer you’ve always known you could be!

 

Classes:

 

Getting the Big Picture:  The Key to Revising Your Novel

Course Meets: January 7 – February 18, 2025

Instructor: Award-winning novelist Barbara Ashford

Level:  Intermediate

There are few things more difficult than revising a novel.  You’ve worked on it for months, or years, and you’re so immersed in it you can’t step back and see the big picture. You might polish the draft and make minor changes, but you don’t really know what to change to turn that rough draft into a powerful, unified novel. And chances are, major changes are necessary. In this course, Barbara Ashford, one of our most popular instructors, will guide you in a deep examination of the “big picture” elements of your novel–premise, promise, theme, world, character, plot.  Analyzing each of these building blocks and how well they are working together can give you new perspective on your novel, reveal weaknesses, and reveal the key to revisions that will help you make your novel as strong as possible.

Whether you’ve already completed your first draft, are still working on it, or are struggling with revisions, this course will provide invaluable insights into your novel through the lectures, assignments, and critiques. This course will be longer than the standard Odyssey online class, with four class meetings rather than our usual three, so you’ll be able to fully process and incorporate the important concepts discussed. If you’re planning to participate in #NaNoWriMo, this course can show you the path from rough draft to completed novel.

Award-winning novelist Barbara Ashford will discuss ways to infuse drama and emotion into every aspect of storytelling–from setting and description to character development and plot events–and create greater emotional resonance by weaving these building blocks of story together.  Barbara is an incredible resource for writers. Her students regularly praise the depth of her knowledge, the useful tools and techniques she provides, her friendly manner, and her insightful critiques.

“Barbara is supportive, knowledgeable, and kind. She has given me new tools to identify story problems and find innovative ways to fix them. The homework assignments challenged me and pushed me into new thinking; I’m no longer dreading the work of revision, but am excited to dig into it!” –Jessica Plumbley

Mix-Up, Mash-Up, Hybrid, Fusion:  How to Write a Blended-Genre Story

Course Meets: January 9 – February 6, 2025

Instructor: Best-selling novelist Gregory Ashe

Level:  Beginner to Intermediate

Are you writing stories that mix genres? Does your fantasy have some romance? Does your horror involve a mystery? Is your science fiction a cozy? Stories that mix genres have the challenge of meeting the demands and expectations of those different genres, and sometimes those may seem incompatible. To help writers caught in the cross-genre conundrum, bestselling author and Odyssey graduate Gregory Ashe will cover concepts and techniques that will help you write effective blended-genre stories, with a focus on combining fantastic fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror) with mystery, romance, and cozy (meaning, low-stakes, comforting stories). Greg will explain the core elements of genre, including tropes, story structures, character types, plot devices, and story turns. He’ll also discuss the important role of reader expectations and the emotional experience that is key to genre fiction, as well as genre considerations for successfully marketing your work. The course will cover techniques for combining different story structures, with an emphasis on controlling pacing, conflict, tension, and suspense in a way that is appropriate for the blended genres.

Gregory Ashe is a bestselling author and longtime Midwesterner. He has lived in Chicago, Bloomington (IN), and Saint Louis, his current home. He primarily writes contemporary mysteries, with forays into romance, fantasy, and horror. Predominantly, his stories feature LGBTQ protagonists. When not reading and writing, he is an educator. He is a graduate of the Odyssey workshop, taught at Odyssey 2021, and has taught for Odyssey Online since 2022. For more information, visit his website: www.gregoryashe.com.

Greg Ashe does a fantastic job making complex ideas understandable and actionable. His course assignments are comprehensive, he provides multiple examples that illuminate and broaden the concepts under consideration, and his provocative discussion questions further clarify the course content. All of this rich instruction is provided in a friendly and encouraging environment. I read lots of writing craft books, but Greg helps me apply writing techniques in real time. I also continue to deepen my understanding of his lessons long after the class has concluded. Similarly, I’ve taken many writing classes. Odyssey Online provides high-quality instruction that combines live video lecture, discussion boards, and in-depth critiques for a superior learning experience. If you’re looking for an excellent teacher, who is kind and fun, and who will help you take your writing to a deeper level, I strongly recommend you take a class from Greg Ashe at Odyssey Online. –Lyri Merrill

 

Bodies and Heartbeats: Crafting Character from the Inside Out

Course Meets: January 14 – February 11, 2025

Instructor: Historical fantasy author E. C. Ambrose

Level:  Intermediate

In her critiques as a guest lecturer at the Odyssey Writing Workshop and as a critiquer for the Odyssey Critique Service, Elaine Isaak, who writes as E. C. Ambrose, has become legendary for identifying weaknesses in character and suggesting brilliant yet simple ways to strengthen characters. This course will help you to develop a clearer sense of what makes a powerful character and will teach you the techniques you need to develop strong characters.

The first duty of a fiction writer is to make the reader care about people that don’t exist. Elaine will explain how to create the core of a sympathetic character, to build that character from the inside out, and to bring that character to life through words so that the reader invests in the dreams and challenges of your imagined people. The course will explore how backstory, point of view, subtext, secrets, and relationships can be used to enrich your character. The differences in developing a character for shorter works or longer works will be covered, as well as how to choose other characters for your story and how to derive plot from your character.

C. Ambrose writes knowledge-inspired adventure fiction including the five-volume Dark Apostle series about medieval surgery, The Singer’s Legacy fantasy series as by Elaine Isaak, and the Bone Guard international thrillers as by E. Chris Ambrose. The Dark Apostle started with Elisha Barber(DAW, 2013), described in a starred Library Journal review as, “beautifully told, painfully elegant.” Her latest releases are Conquistador’s Blood (Bone Guard 7) and her Young Adult science fiction novel, A Wreck of Dragons. Her superhero game, Skystrike: Wings of Justice, is available from Choice of Games.

Her short stories have appeared in Fireside, Warrior Women and Last-Ditch, among many others, and she has edited several volumes of New Hampshire Pulp Fiction.  In addition to fiction, she has written how-to articles for The Writer magazine, nonfiction at Clarkesworld, and authored the Lady Blade fantasy writing column at AlienSkin magazine for three years. Her speaking engagements have included local chapters of Romance Writers of America as well as other writing groups, the World Science Fiction and World Fantasy Conventions. Visit www.RocinanteBooks.com to find out more about Elaine’s many guises.

“Before my characters began their existence as plain-vanilla and I tried to develop them as the story progressed. Bodies and Heartbeats gave me the tools to create characters that engage from the moment they step on the page, characters ready for conflict, adventure, and suffering.” –Scott T. Barnes

Is Odyssey for you?

If you’re willing to work hard, hear about the weaknesses in your writing, move outside your comfort zone, and try new techniques, then Odyssey Online is for you.

Odyssey also offers many resources for writers, including a podcast, a blog, an online monthly discussion salon, a critique service, coaching, consultations, and Your Personal Odyssey Writing Workshop, an intensive, one-on-one online workshop, customized for you.

Become the writer you’ve always known you could be!

APPLY ONLINE

Questions? Email: jcavelos@odysseyworkshop.org