Well, aren’t you lucky? This is a three for the price of one review, i.e., you don’t have to slog through three of my posts to get the lowdown on these three core classes. I took NWI, II, and III back-to-back and decided not to write any reviews until they were all completed because they aren’t stand alone courses. You don’t have to take these classes over three subsequent semesters, and there are pros and cons with that choice. If you do what I did, then you’ll have the same instructor (and many of the same students) all the way along, and if you stagger them, you can choose a different teacher (and get different students) each time.

TL;DR – Class mantra: Keep Moving Forward. If you’re interested in novel writing you can’t beat these three classes. You’ll end up with at least 100 pages and enough feedback to do hours of revisions afterwards. The instructor was excellent. I enjoyed having the same one throughout, and I enjoyed having the same group of fellow students with me along the way. Awesome class, awesome teacher, awesome end result. If you’re thinking about it, don’t hesitate. You’re welcome.

The Detailed Version:

First, these are mandatory for the UCLA Fiction Writing Certificate, but I recommend them to anyone interested in, or struggling with, writing a book. They focus on writing your novel, and at the end you’ll have completed at least one hundred pages with ample notes and feedback for revisions. The pace is fast because you’re required to produce around 14 pages of your draft every two weeks, which means you don’t have time to linger or worry about perfecting and tweaking. It forces you to keep moving forward, which is something many of us struggle with when trying to write our magnum opus. Continue reading →