The Art of Creative Writing: Learn Storytelling Techniques
A course by Reneé Bibby, Writer
Explore fundamental writing structures to create a compelling narrative roadmap through storytelling devices and character development
A good story is defined by its ability to keep readers engaged—either turning pages or scrolling paragraphs until the last sentence. In order to do that, writer Reneé Bibby believes in creating a solid framework to allow the spark of an idea to grow into an immersive story. As the director of the Writers Studio Tucson, she guides her students to develop their narrative voice.
In this course, Reneé teaches you how to hone your writing skills and lay the foundation for a compelling story. Take that great idea you have and transform into a literary piece that captivates readers.
What will you learn in this online course?
13 lessons & 27 downloads
What's included in this course?
Begin by getting to know Reneé. Hear about her creative journey from a young fantasy writer scribbling in journals, to a published author. She shares some of her sources of inspiration, the themes of her writing, and the people who have influenced her.
Delve into four fundamentals of narrative technique. Explore how to create an immersive experience for readers, before looking at the pros and cons of framing your story in chronological versus nonlinear order. Dive deeper into the finer details of grammar and word choice to define tone and narrative tension. Reneé then walks you through the seven different ways you can reveal to a reader what is most important about your character.
Discover how to build a path for your story by choosing a central idea and examining how the story intertwines with concepts like time, voice, setting, and character development. Reneé shares with you a familiar fairy tale as well as a story of her own to illustrate the importance of the direction your story takes.
With the narrative roadmap developed throughout the course, bring your ideas to life by writing the rest of your story. Reneé wraps up the course by sharing tips and tricks for setting a writing routine, and how to further use your craft map to make your story blossom.
- 96% positive reviews (189)
- 9,127 students
- 13 lessons (52m)
- 27 additional resources (5 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English, Spanish (Latam), French, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish
- English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch · Turkish
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Create a narrative roadmap with a complete story summary and character development plan.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for writers, authors, or anyone with an idea they want to transform into a complete literary piece.
Requirements and materials
No previous experience is necessary.
To take this course, you simply need writing materials, whether it be pen and paper, or a word-processing software.
Reviews
Reneé Bibby
A course by Reneé Bibby
Reneé Bibby is an American speculative fiction writer and director of the Writers Studio Tucson, where she teaches beginner and advanced creative writing workshops. Her writing is often grounded in the uniqueness of the climate and culture of the Western United States. She explores concepts like grief, loneliness, heartache but also human connection, nature and comedy.
Reneé’s work has appeared in PRISM International, Luna Station Quarterly, Third Point Press, The Worcester Review, and Wildness. Her stories have been nominated for Pushcart Prizes and Best Small Fictions. Reneé is also involved in the writing community as the coordinator of Rejection Competition and Tucson-based weekly writing meetup Write Wednesday.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
Introduction to Creative Writing
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The Spectrum of Scenes
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The Movement of Time
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The Way You Speak (And Write)
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Showing Your Character
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U3
The Map of Your Story
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What Is Your Story?
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How Will You Use Scenes?
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How Will You Move through Time?
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How Will Your Narrator Sound?
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How Will You Show Your Character?
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U4
Using Your Map and More!
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Writing a Story from a Craft Map
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My Personal Routine
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FP
Final project
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The Art of Creative Writing: Learn Storytelling Techniques
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
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Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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Certificates
PlusIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
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Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
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Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
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Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
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Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
Yes, this course is designed for intermediate writers seeking to deepen their skills in speculative and creative fiction, including topics like genre blending, symbolism, and narrative structure.
You should have basic creative writing experience or familiarity with fiction writing concepts. The course builds on foundational skills to explore advanced techniques.
You’ll learn how to use symbolism, craft complex characters, manipulate narrative time, design immersive scenes, and blend genres to create original, impactful stories.
Yes, the course explores using metaphors and symbolism to add thematic depth and emotional resonance to your stories.
Yes, you will study how to incorporate magical realism and weird fiction techniques, including blending the fantastical with the ordinary.
The course teaches effective strategies for mapping, outlining, and summarizing story ideas to streamline your creative process and writing workflow.
Yes, you’ll learn how to create multidimensional characters and write from multiple viewpoints to enrich your narratives.
This was a bit short but an amazing course, i loved her teaching style, so creative. Extra resources were really good.
Dettagliato, ma anche semplice e chiaro da seguire. Per principianti.
Reneé is an excellent teacher. I really enjoyed how she used visual aids to help make the ideas easy to digest – not only does it make it easy to understand, it also makes the information much easier to recall later on. I've been feeling in a bit of a slump with writing, but with this course, I feel like I have a good process for not only planning my story but also how to put pen to paper and start writing it.
Thanks, Reneé!
Foi uma experiência muito gostosa, poder criar de forma intencional, ter a criatividade aguçada. Só gostaria de pontuar algumas coisas em relação a tradução para o português, são raras vezes que ocorrem, mas pode confundir a experiência. Exemplo: unidade 3, na tradução lemos "Como você mostrará seu caráter?" quando o que o original se referia era ao personagem "character".
Recomendo muito o curso.
It was an interesting and enjoyable learning experience.