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Writing a story can be a complex task and it's easy to get off track. Dave Voda's method concentrates on teaching core concepts (present in every story) in an easily understood, step-by-step way. Fun challenges, cheat sheet handouts and community feedback help pave the way for your writing success.

Each course is organized around a single task, such as writing a short story or getting started with a novel. After a brief introduction, Dave explains key concepts and you are offered a variety of fun writing challenges to help you absorb the ideas. The challenges are cumulative, so by the end of the course you will have a complete piece of writing that you can share with the class or send to publishers. In addition, Dave provides various cheat sheets, reading lists and other resources so that what you've learned sticks with you.

No matter what you're writing, it will never hurt to review the basics of fiction writing with the existing Short Story and Advanced Short Story courses. New courses dealing with specific writing genres, forms and issues will be added frequently and will be automatically available to subscribers. Or add your name to the notification list to get information on new classes as soon as they are posted.

When you enroll in a course, you will be invited to participate in various Online Fiction Workshop social media groups, as well as a private forum where writers can post work-in-progress and give or receive feedback.

Each of Dave Voda's courses have individual reading lists consisting of various stories and articles--all readily available to download for free on the Internet. Each course will also present a series of fun challenges to help you try out concepts and improve your writing skills. Each challenge is relatively short and will help you create a longer work such as a short story or a section of your novel. There are no formal textbooks and no required "homework" assignments. You will write when you want and what you want--for your personal pleasure.

It is, of course, best to set aside time to write, but you work on your own schedule. Since the course is recorded, pause it and take as much time as you want to go through and absorb the material. Courses posted on the website don't expire so come back whenever you like.

Dave aims to empower you to be able to give yourself feedback as you work through the course. Along with other participants, Dave often comments on material posted in the private members forum. That said, Dave consults with a select number of writers to offer insight, suggestions and direction. His current rate is $100/hour with a four-hour minimum. Send Dave an email using the contact form to inquire.