This course—open to those who have yet to start writing, and those who are revising full-length drafts—guides you in developing a complete story structure for your novel. You’ll leave with fresh insight into your projects, and tools for jumpstarting and revising your novel drafts.

Week 1: Your Protagonist: Identify the dramatic potential in your character’s desires and weaknesses

Week 2: Action: Generate and categorize the challenges your character faces and the choices they make in order to reach their ultimate moment of transformation.

Week 3: Plot structure: Develop the five major turning points in your character’s journey.

Week 4: Outline: Explore motifs, symbolism, and nonlinear structures, expand your story plan into a detailed synopsis or plot outline.

What to expect:

example stories
written guides
generative exercises
class discussion
instructor and peer feedback

About the Instructor

Stephanie Feldman is the author of the novels Saturnalia, a Locus Award finalist for Best Horror, and The Angel of Losses, a B&N Discover Great New Writers Selection, Crawford Award winner, and Mythopoeic Award finalist. Her literary horror collection The Night Parade and Other Stories is forthcoming in 2026. She teaches fiction writing at Arcadia University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Student Testimonials

“Stephanie’s incredible class helped me home in on my novel’s structure—articulating the character arcs, finding new ways to challenge my heroes, and building everything to a more satisfying resolution. (I hope). Now I have a book deal with my novel coming out in January!” —Stephen Fishbach, author of Escape!

“Stephanie Feldman is not only a smart, perceptive, and spell-binding writer, she brings all of that to her approach as an editor. She's a generous yet astute reader who offers invaluable insight into language, character, tone, plot, and the overall structure of a novel. Her elegant, concrete suggestions will make you wonder Why didn't I think of that? and help you get where you want to go.” — Deborah Shapiro, author of Consolation and The Summer Demands

“Stephanie’s “Unlock Your Novel’s Plot” class offered lots of useful and practical advice for ways to enhance my work in progress. I took lots of notes based on her talk & found the worksheets generative. I’m very glad I took this class and would recommend it it to others.” — former “Unlock Your Novel’s Plot” Co-Lab student

“This course is a treasure trove of plot-focused riches. I came wanting to approach my work and writing practice differently for a new novel, and in need of some wisdom and new methods to make outlining and planning a story structure come through earlier than I’m used to doing in a first draft. Through generous presentations and examples from her own work, Stephanie more than delivered and left me with strategies and prompts I’ve taken with me and already used to get deeper into a new novel idea. Grateful and thrilled!” — former “Unlock Your Novel’s Plot” Co-Lab student

Fix Your Novel’s Plot: Four Sessions on Character and Structure with Stephanie Feldman