How do you write a captivating true story without sacrificing the integrity of factual accuracy? Writers of Memoir, Creative Non-Fiction, Historical Fiction, or any story based on true events often struggle to create captivating characters and a riveting plot without straying from the truth of what happened. Using advanced storytelling techniques and my own personal “Reverse Pyramid” method, I will teach you a step-by-step method which is easy to follow and will result in a fascinating true story your readers will love.

This four-week course will prepare you to write any type of story based on actual events. You will learn to make your real-life characters jump off the page and ensure that the setting and situation ring true for your readers while keeping them turning the pages feverishly. If you have read—or written—historical fiction that is as slow-paced and dry as a textbook, memoir that lacks the intensity of the experience, or any story “based on real events” that feels completely wrong for the times or strays so far from the facts that you have to add “very, very loosely based…” then this course is for you!

Option 1: Basic 4-week course (offered through WCDR)
Four 1.25 hours lecture with a brief Q&A at the end, held every Wednesday evening (beginning at 7:30pm) from March 22-April 12. You will receive unlimited access to a recording of each of these sessions for a full month after the course has ended. Also you will receive a worksheet in advance of each class to help you focus and make notes on the most significant ideas I will be discussing.
Cost for members: $130 +tax = $149.50

Cost for non-members: $150 +tax = $161.00

Option 2: Basic Course + Small Group Coaching (directly through Jane Ann McLachlan)

In addition to the basic course, add on small group coaching: 4 sessions (1 per week) of small group coaching (maximum 8 students) in which we will go into more detail on the basic concepts of that week’s lesson and discuss how to apply them to your particular story, answer your questions, and get group (and Jane Ann’s) response to short writing pieces.
You will also have unlimited email access to Jane Ann for any questions you may have during the course.
Payment of the basic course plus an additional payment directly to Jane Ann McLachlan of $80.00 for the four group sessions and unlimited email access for any questions you may have. Contact her at: jamclachlan@golden.net to add this option to your basic course.

Option 3: Basic Course + Small Group Coaching + One-on-One Mentoring Sessions (directly through Jane Ann McLachlan)
In addition to the basic course, add on the small group coaching plus individual 1-on-1 mentoring.
This includes everything mentioned in the small group coaching (4 coaching sessions and unlimited email access to Jane Ann during the course, $80.00 value) PLUS two half-hour private zoom sessions with Jane Ann ($100.00 value) to discuss your series, your writing, or any questions about the writing profession that you may have. On top of this, you get a one-hour mentoring session with Jane Ann ($200.00 value), which includes a full reading and written critique of one of your stories or chapters (up to 3,500 words) followed by a one-hour mentorship zoom call with Jane Ann to discuss your strengths as a writer, suggestions for improvement, and tips for how to make your story even better.
Payment of the basic course plus an additional payment directly to Jane Ann McLachlan of $210.00 for the four group sessions and unlimited email access for any questions you may have, as well as a full critique of your writing and three private zoom sessions to discuss your writing and your project with Jane Ann. Contact her at: jamclachlan@golden.net to add this option to your basic course.

Bio

Jane Ann McLachlan has her Masters in English Literature and was a college professor before she became a full-time writer and writing coach. She is the award-winning author of five novels spanning four genres: Walls of Wind (Science fiction); The Occasional Diamond Thief, and The Salarian Desert Game (YA); The Sorrow Stone, The Lode Stone, The Girl Who Would Be Queen, and The Girl Who Tempted Fortune, The Queen Who Sold Her Crown and The Girl Who Lost a Kingdom (medieval historical fiction); Impact (Memoir); and Downriver Writing: The Five-Step Process for Outlining a Novel, as well as two University textbooks on Professional Ethics (non-fiction). Jane Ann is a hybrid author, with some of her books traditionally published and others self-published. Three of her traditionally-published books have won awards; four of her self-published books have been Amazon #1 Bestsellers.

She lives in Waterloo, Ontario with her husband. When she isn’t writing, teaching creative writing, or talking about writing, she may be reading, researching or travelling to the location of her next novel.