The Story Beneath the Story:
Create an Emotional Journey Your Readers Can't Forget

March 2nd to May 2nd, 2026
Fiction • Online • Saturdays, 12pm–2pm ET

There is a deeper story underneath every story's plot, world, and characters. It’s an emotional story that keeps readers turning pages and lasts long after the plot ends. This “story beneath the story” is embedded in every aspect of your writing, and is the most powerful tool at your disposal.

To write the most powerful stories, we must reach into the most primary aspects of humanity, surprise the reader with the unexpected, and hold up a mirror to help them reflect. This course lays out techniques to bring forth this hidden journey, and enrich your novel no matter what stage it's at: revising, writing, or planning.

Each week of this course focuses on one key aspect of crafting this emotional journey, with lessons designed to give you an "aha" moment for every topic covered. (So you don't just "learn" the material, but actually use it to add depth to your writing.)

Your instructor, Erin Swann has been running similar live sessions for two years with a small group of writers. After seeing how every member of the group flourished with the lessons and advice presented in this course, she really wanted to share those writing sessions with others.

Erin designed this course with the goal of making participation easy, while also encouraging long-term friendships and connections to flourish between course participants. The goal isn't just to help you learn the craft of adding emotion to your stories, but to also help you sustain your writing long after the course is complete.

Please Note: The tuition for this course is significantly lower than most of our courses. Most of our workshops cost $575 for four weeks. The early bird tuition for this course is just $275 for eight weeks of expert instruction. That's twice the length of our normal courses and $300 less than the tuition for most of our courses.

For those interested in participating, you are encouraged to enroll right away.

Enroll Now for $375 $275 (Early Bird Tuition)

Get Eight Weeks of Craft Lessons and Inspiration So You Can Make Real Progress On Your Fiction – With Support From Experts and a Vibrant Community of Writers

The course is held entirely online, using our online community discussion platform, as well as Zoom for live interaction.

The course starts on March 2nd, and concludes on May 2nd, 2026. The live meetings will be on Saturdays, 10am-12pm ET. They will be recorded for those who cannot attend live.

The first live meeting will be on March 7th, 2026. Please note, there will be no live meeting on March 14th, with the regular schedule resuming the following week. (There will be 8 live meetings total.).

Outside of the live meetings, there will be one weekly discussion posted to the course community, the opportunity share your work with others, and the chance to connections and find potential long-term writing partners.

  • 8 weeks of live sessions designed to transform your ability to connect with readers on an emotional level

  • Meet an established literary agent from a successful agency

  • Weekly discussion prompts that get you thinking about your writing and engaging with peers

  • Opportunities to post work in a community space for sharing, support, or feedback

  • Lessons aimed to be practical and easy to apply immediately to your writing.

About Erin Swann

Erin Swann is a speculative fiction author, novelist, and writing instructor. She's been widely published in publications such as Andromeda Spaceways, Flash Fiction Online, and Factor Four Magazine.

Her work has also been longlisted or a finalist for many awards, including the Parsec Short Story Award, the Page Turner Award, and the Writers of the Future Award.

Erin lives and writes in Maryland.

A photo of Erin, with logos of the publications she has been featured in. Including Cloaked Press, Flash Fiction Online, Andromeda Spaceways, Brigids Gate Press, and Factor Four Magazine.

What Writers Are Saying About Working with Erin

“Every session, I nod along, thinking ‘Yeah, of course! We all know this.’ Then, we get to the application and I realize ‘Wow, I need to apply this.’”

Jill W.

“I have been stuck for months on my WIP and my sole new material comes from these sessions.”

Rob M.

Eight Weeks of Craft Lessons for Infusing Emotion Into Your Writing

Each week of the course gives you tools taking your readers on an emotional journey.

The curriculum was carefully designed based on the real-world feedback writers often get about their work. Each week gives you tools and tactics to address that feedback, so you can craft a story that shines.

Week 1: The Voice-Infused Scene: Using Character Voice to Connect with Readers

Problems / critiques addressed:

  • “Your character’s voice is weak.”

  • “I am losing [character’s] voice in this scene.”

Week 2: How Create Believable Emotions for Big Moments

Problems / critiques addressed:

  • “This climactic / big emotional moment fell flat for me.”

  • “I wasn’t feeling it.”

Week 3: How to Use Emotion to Prevent Skimming

Problems / critiques addressed:

  • “I started skimming.”

  • “This passage is hard to get through.”

Week 4: The Why in Everything: How to Make Every Moment Matter

Problems / critiques addressed:

  • “I don’t think [meaningful detail] is necessary here.”

  • “Embed this exposition, it sticks out.”

Week 5: How to Captivate Readers Between Major Plot Points

Problems / critiques addressed:

  • “This scene feels slow.”

  • “I don’t feel a sense of progress.”

  • “I couldn’t connect to the scene.”

Week 6: How to Develop Characters Your Readers Connect With

Problems / critiques addressed:

  • “I don’t really know who [your character] is.”

  • “[Your character] feels shallow.”

  • “I couldn’t connect to the characters.”

Week 7: How to Use Details to Create an Immersive World

Problems / critiques addressed:

  • “I don’t feel a strong sense of place.”

  • “This scene needs more grounding.”

Week 8: How to Infuse Worldbuilding with  Deep Emotions

Problems / critiques addressed:

  • “Cut some of the description. It’s too much. You lost me.”

  • “Let’s get back to the story.”

FAQ

  • Who is this course designed for?

    This course is designed for authors of fiction who want to learn how to create emotional depth with their stories.

    More specifically, this course is perfect for those working on a novel, or shorter fictional pieces, and want to enhance their ability to create emotions for their readers.

    The exercises, prompts, and lessons in this course are designed to benefit experienced writers, as well as those new to writing.

  • What if I can't make it to a live meeting?

    All of the meetings will be recorded, so you can participate "asynchronously" after the fact.

    In addition, lessons and discussions will be available in our community learning platform on your own time, outside of the live meetings.

  • When does the early bird tuition expire?

    To take advantage of the early bird tuition, please register before February 23rd.

Enroll Now

Early Bird Tuition is available until February 23rd, 2026..