The Story Beneath the Story
Crafting Change & Transformation in Your Characters

September 6th to October 11th, 2025
Fiction • Online • Saturdays, 12pm–2pm ET

The best stories don’t just move from plot-point to plot-point. They evoke deep feelings in their readers as the story progresses. This happens through the depiction of real transformation in your characters, which in turn, evokes those same feelings of transformation in the reader.

This course gives you the time (and tools) to hone your ability to evoke strong emotions in your readers, with a focus on weaving together the struggle to change, character interactions, and story pacing.

Each week of this course focuses on one key aspect of crafting compelling compelling stories, 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.)

These sessions don’t just present you with information, they guide you through applying craft techniques to your own writing. As one participant wrote: “Your step-by-step approach broke it down into an interactive experience that enabled me to actually apply these techniques.”

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 connect you with others in the writing community, so you can form lasting relationships that extend past the class.

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 $225 for six weeks of expert instruction. That's two weeks longer than our normal courses, and $350 less than the tuition for most of our courses.

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

Enroll Now for $300 $225 (Early Bird Tuition)

Get Six Weeks of Craft Lessons and Inspiration So You Can Make Real Progress On Your Fiction – With Support From 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 September 6th, and concludes on October 11th, 2025. The live meetings will be on Saturdays, 12pm-2pm ET. They will be recorded for those who cannot attend live.

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. The first live meeting is on Saturday, September 6th, and the last one is on Saturday, October 11th.

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

  • 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

“I loved the live sessions and recordings, the Monday discussions and polls and I loved sharing work with the community. I also loved the feedback I got from Erin and the other students. I learned so much about how to create an emotional response from readers, and because of what I have learned in this course, I even got a short story that applied what I have learned in this class, published.”

Kelly D.

“This has been an amazing class and Erin is an INCREDIBLE TEACHER! She is generous, supportive, engaged, and so knowledgeable. To be one of these things is great, but all of them? Rare. I would literally take any class she taught. I went to bed excited every Sunday night in anticipation of Monday’s poll. I loved the breakout groups where I connected with some wonderful humans.”

Rachel H.

“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.

“The weekly sessions were clear, concise, and actionable. The last being what takes this course to heights way above any other courses or workshops I have taken. It is not merely making suggestions or asking questions but laying groundwork for how to approach writing in a different manner. It is within these times that even if a participant isn’t very interactive they could feel as if they were seen or understood because of the openness of the structure and Erin’s willingness to engage with everyone.”

Yvonne R.

“The live sessions felt very “hands-on” with Erin's explanations and exercises, which were fun and very helpful to me. I learned a lot. Both her wisdom and enthusiasm added so much to the sessions. Erin is a talented teacher with the gift of connecting and presenting information in a way that is easily digestible! And the topic was absolutely fascinating to me. And because of our breakout room time,I find myself in a writing group with three other neat and talented women! Because of this class, I have begun to edit my first draft manuscript and am enjoying i”

Jeanne M.

“I have learned so much from this course! The live sessions have been well-planned and organized, the application exercises were interesting and a good balance of challenging-but-not-overwhelming, the weekly discussions and polls were fun and focused. I could go on. Also, I appreciate how Erin organized our breakout times at the end of each class. I was nervous before each breakout session, but so glad I stayed for them afterward. The time hearing the perspectives and work of fellow writers was fascinating, encouraging, and enjoyable. I'm so impressed at the sense of community, motivation, and dedication you cultivated (by example!) within the timeframe of this class.”

Melissa W.

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 August 30th.

Enroll Now

Early Bird Tuition is available until August 30th, 2025.