The Writer’s Journey is a practical, beginner-friendly creative writing course designed for anyone who wants to start writing—or return to it with confidence. Over eight focused modules, you’ll learn the essential tools of storytelling: character, setting, plot, point of view, dialogue, genre, and revision. Each session combines clear teaching with guided exercises and take-home work, so you’re not just inspired—you’re actually writing. The course is fully modular: sign up for a single class or commit to the full journey. No prior experience required, just curiosity and a willingness to try.

Date: Jan 3, 10, 17, 24, 2026

Time: 10 am–1pm; 1:30pm–5:30pm

(3 hours a module, 2 modules per Saturday)

How much:

RM100/module

RM720/8 modules

RM194/2 modules on the same day

RM380/any 4 modules

Where:
Petaling jaya (exact location TBC)

✅ Minimum 4 participants to run each module

✅ Maximum 10 participants per module

Register here.

 

The Modules

1. The Writer’s Toolbox: An Introduction

Objective: To demystify the writing process and introduce the core elements of all storytelling.

• Key Topics:
• Dispelling the ‘Muse’ Myth: Writing as a craft, not just inspiration.
• The Core Elements: A high-level overview of Character, Plot, Setting, and Point of View.
• Show, Don’t Tell: The golden rule. Using sensory details and action.
• Establishing a Writing Habit: Tips for finding time, overcoming the blank page, and setting achievable goals.
• In-Class Exercise: “The Object Lesson” – Describe a common object (a key, a mug, a shoe) without naming it, using only sensory details.
• Takeaway Assignment: Keep a “Sensory Detail Journal” for one week.

2. Breathing Life into Characters

Objective: To teach students how to create believable, compelling characters that drive the story.

• Key Topics:
• Character vs. Caricature: Moving beyond a list of traits.
• Internal vs. External: Goals, motivations, conflicts, and flaws.
• Characterization Techniques: Revealing character through dialogue, action, appearance, and thought.
• The Character Sketch: A practical tool for building a character from the ground up.
• In-Class Exercise: ‘The Interview’—Pair up and “interview” your character, then introduce them to the class.
• Takeaway Assignment: Write a 500-word scene where a character’s personality is revealed solely through their actions in a mundane situation (e.g., cleaning a room, waiting in a long line).

3. Building Your World

Objective: To show how setting is more than just a backdrop; it’s a dynamic element that influences mood, plot, and character.

• Key Topics:
• Setting as Atmosphere: Using weather, time of day, and sensory details to create mood.
• Setting as Character: How a place can actively shape the story (e.g., a haunted house, a bustling city).
• The Rule of ‘Specificity’: ‘A car’ vs. ‘A rusted 1989 Ford Pinto’.
• Weaving Setting into Narrative: Avoiding the ‘info-dump’.
• In-Class Exercise: ‘The Emotional Place’—Describe the same location (e.g., a park, a café) twice: once as a happy character sees it, and once as a heartbroken character sees it.
• Takeaway Assignment: Describe a character entering a place they’ve never been before. The reader should be able to feel the character’s emotion (fear, wonder, nostalgia) through the description of the setting.

4. The Engine of Story: Plot and Structure

Objective: To introduce simple, effective structures for building a narrative.

• Key Topics:
• What is Conflict? The essential ingredient of plot (Internal, External, Interpersonal) … or is it?
• The Narrative Arc: A beginner-friendly version (Introduction, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution, but wait, how about Kishotenketsu (Ki (Introduction), Shō (Development), Ten (Twist), and Ketsu (Conclusion)?
• The ‘What If?’ Premise: Generating story ideas.
• Scenes vs. Summaries: Understanding the building blocks of a plot.
• In-Class Exercise: ‘The Story Spine’—a collaborative, fill-in-the-blanks exercise to build a story as a group using a proven structure (Once upon a time … Every day … But one day …).
• Takeaway Assignment: Outline a short story (just a paragraph or a list of beats) using the narrative arc structure or Kishoenketsu.

5. Finding a Voice: Point of View and Narrative Personality

Objective: To explore the different perspectives from which a story can be told and how they affect the reader’s experience.

• Key Topics:
• First Person (‘I’): Intimacy and limitation.
• Third Person Limited (‘He/She/They’): Flexibility and focus.
• A Note on Third Person Omniscient & Second Person: What they are and why they are tricky for beginners.
• Consistency is Key: How to avoid ‘head-hopping’.
• In-Class Exercise: ‘POV Switch’—rewrite a short paragraph from a different point of view (e.g., from First to Third Limited or vice versa).
• Takeaway Assignment: Write the same pivotal story moment from two different characters’ points of view.

6. The Art of Conversation: Writing Dialogue

Objective: To teach students how to write dialogue that sounds natural, reveals character, and advances the plot.

• Key Topics:
• How People Really Talk: Subtext, interruptions, and fragments.
  • Dialogue Mechanics: Punctuation and paragraphing rules.
  • The Functions of Dialogue: To reveal character, provide information, and create conflict/tension.
  • Dialogue Tags: Using ‘said’ vs. ‘fancy’ tags and using action beats instead.
• In-Class Exercise: ‘Eavesdropping & Crafting’—listen to a real conversation (or provided transcript) and rewrite it as effective fictional dialogue.
• Takeaway Assignment: Write a scene between two characters where the subtext (what they’re really talking about) is clear to the reader, but not directly stated.

7. The Writer’s Lab: Playing with Genre and Form

Objective: To briefly expose students to different creative writing genres and forms to help them find what they enjoy.

• Key Topics:
  • Flash Fiction: The power of extreme brevity.
  • Poetry for Prose Writers: Using imagery, metaphor, and rhythm.
  • Creative Nonfiction/Memoir: Finding the story in your own life.
  • Genre Fiction (e.g., Speculative, Mystery): The fun of playing with conventions.
• In-Class Exercise: ‘Six-Word Stories’ or ‘Blackout Poetry’—quick, fun exercises to unlock creativity.
• Takeaway Assignment: Choose one of the forms discussed and write a short piece (a 100-word flash fiction, a poem, a 300-word memoir vignette).

8. The Writing Life: Revision and Next Steps!

Objective: To equip students with practical revision techniques and inspire them to continue their writing journey.

• Key Topics:
  • The Drafting Mindset: All first drafts are imperfect.
  • The Two-Pass Revision: First for ‘Big Picture’ (plot, character, structure), then for ‘Line Edits’ (prose, grammar, spelling).
  • Reading Your Work Aloud: The best tool for catching clunky prose.
  • Resources & Community: Where to find writing prompts, books on craft, writing groups, and opportunities to submit work.
• In-Class Exercise: ‘Revision in Action’—the instructor leads a live-revision of an anonymous student paragraph (with permission).
• Final Takeaway Assignment: Submit a revised version of one of the pieces written during the course, along with a short note explaining the changes made.