Our foundation level courses are designed to provide just that … a foundation for writing Speculative Fiction. They will provide instruction on essential, fundamental skills in an e-learning environment that you can experience at your own pace as well as interaction with others in your course to help polish your skills.

All level 100 courses are are six-units long which you can take at your own pace and include one year of access to the secure website and forums.

Foundation Curriculum (100 Level):

Week 1: The Quest for Fire — Seizing the Creative Spark

• We begin with an exploration of Speculative Fiction in its many forms. Emphasis is on techniques for how and where one can search for and discover that ‘spark’ of an idea on which a Speculative Story is founded.

Week 2: Epic Story is Structure

• We take the epic journey of Joseph Cambells monomyth as it relates to Speculative Fiction … and the structural foundations on which story is classically formed.

Week 3: Eight Archetype Characters

• This week we take a look at basic characters … the building blocks of a complete story.

Week 4: Forging the World

• You say you have a universe where your story takes place? You say it doesn’t feel quite right? Well, help is on the way! Techniques and tools designed to help you whip your strange universe into shape and get it properly supporting your story.

Week 5: How are my Englush?

• We address the the art and practice of communicating your vision to the reader — the business of writing. The basic craft disciplines of spelling, grammar are touched on as well as the fundamental issues regarding the business of publishing such as contracts, agents, publishers, accounting, marketing and the changing face of publishing in the new media age.

Week 6: Evolutionary Publishing

• We finish our foundation work in Speculative Fiction by addressing the most important part … the creative partnership between the writer and the reader and why your writing matters.

Bonus: Why We Write

• Tracy Hickman’s speech about the impact of writing on the reader.

101: Foundations Seminar

An introduction to the writing craft of Speculative Fiction with an emphasis on Fantasy and Science-Fiction. This is a six-week course created by Tracy and Laura Hickman and includes a twelve-month subscription to the seminar secure website from the start date of your seminar course. Subscription to this course includes online video coursework presentation by the instructors, access to the general Scribe’s Forge writer forums and the downloaded course workbook.

Course Tuition: $459.00 US
Prerequisite: None

Availability: Enrollment Now Open / Seminars may be joined at any time.

Foundations Seminar Enrollment

Special Offers Only: Not required.