The Writewell Academy, Part Two
Lani and I had lunch and talked about the Writewell Academy idea in more detail, then read the feedback we've been getting and talked again tonight, and here's where we are tentatively.
The 100 level lectures would go up first:
The first one describes the overall approach of the lecture series and gives people a chance to experience the format we're using. It's free so that people can find out what they're getting into without spending money.
The second one is the only lecture that we recommend before you have your story draft done. It's about finding your story in the mass of ideas, different ways of accessing the girls in the basement, etc.
The third one is about the essence of story: protagonist/goal/antagonist/goal/conflict/crucible.
You should know the stuff in the 100 level courses before you try 200 level courses:
The 200 level is a closer look at the different basic components of story. The first column is character, the second is structure (two different approaches to classic linear structure) and scene, and the third is everything else. (I just checked the third column and the numbering is all off there because we were moving stuff around. Ignore the course numbers in the third column. They are wrong.)
The 300 level is stuff from the 200 level taken to a more abstract and in-depth level. It's a good idea to take whatever 200 level course comes before the the 300 level you want because we're going to assume you know that stuff, unless you already know that stuff, of course.
Then there's the 400 level, but it's going to take a year to write and record these, so later for that.
Tuition: All classes are $10. We're not going to get fancy with the pricing. You want a lecture, that'll be ten bucks, thank you. Hit that PayPal button.
Forums: None to begin with. We're both swamped as it is, and while we're really enthusiastic about this project, the enthusiasm is limited to the lectures at the moment.
Certificates: Sure. They'll be fabulous certificates, too. Lani suggests a certificate for each section, so a 100 level certificate, a 200 level character certificate, a 200 level structure certificate, etc.
Merchandise: Clearly there's an interest in merchandising, so sure you can have V-neck T-shirts. It's going to take some research because we want good quality stuff–I like Skreened for t-shirts but that's all they sell, so maybe not–but we're designing the website as I type this, so merchandise design can go right along with that.
Okay, opinions, questions, complaints, suggestions?
