Don't forget about the podcast universe! There are so many dedicated to genre writing. 'Writing Excuses' is a masterclass in itself – short, focused episodes by professional SFF authors covering every technique imaginable, from 'hard magic systems' to 'writing the other.' The 'Dead Robots' Society' is great for general genre talk, and 'The Worried Writer' is good for the psychological side of producing commercial fiction. Listening to working pros discuss their craft in real-time is a form of free, ongoing education. You absorb the mindset and the tricks of the trade just by having it on in the background.
I wonder if the focus should be less on 'genre fiction techniques' and more on 'storytelling techniques.' The core of any good genre novel is still character, conflict, and change. The genre elements—the magic, the spaceships, the dead bodies—are just the setting and the tools for exploring that core. Maybe a solid foundation in general narrative craft from a source like Robert McKee's 'Story' (though it's screenwriting-focused) or John Truby's 'The Anatomy of Story' is more important first. Then, layer the genre-specific tricks on top of that solid foundation. A course in general story structure might be a better first step before a deep dive into genre.
2026-07-25 06:54:24
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Eclipse Academy
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Angela has spent her entire life believing she’s human. Raised in an orphanage with no memory of her parents, she earns a rare academic scholarship to Eclipse Academy, a prestigious school where the world’s most powerful supernatural races learn to control their gifts. Surrounded by dragons, wolves, vampires, witches, fairies, and fae, she is convinced she’s the only ordinary student on campus. But when a mysterious curse begins to awaken, bringing with it unbearable pain and impossible abilities, Angela discovers her entire life has been built on a lie. Hunted for a bloodline she never knew she possessed and forced into the path of Xavier Blackwood, the arrogant Dragon Prince she can’t stand, she must uncover the truth her parents died protecting before an ancient enemy finds her first. Some bloodlines were meant to disappear. Hers refused to die.
Isadora didn’t want to come to Ashwyck Academy.
It wasn’t the haunting towers or the iron gates that unnerved her. It wasn’t the students—dark, beautiful, terrifying things cloaked in magic and menace. It was what it meant.
Coming here was a last resort. A whispered admission from her parents that something was wrong with her. That despite being born of a temptress and a mind-bending killer, despite all the bloodlines and rituals and whispered prophecies—Isadora was still painfully, tragically human.
She was quiet, clever, and careful. Not powerful. Not wicked. Not like the others.
Her parents called it “late blooming.” The High Table called it “defective.” But no one said it out loud. Instead, they tucked her into Ashwyck like a final gamble and hoped the academy could awaken whatever dark inheritance slumbered beneath her skin.
She hadn’t wanted to come. She still doesn’t belong.
But Ashwyck has its own secrets.
And Isadora is about to discover that the parts of her she’s most afraid of are the ones they’ve been waiting for.
Ren Bordelon has never quite had a fitting place in this world. She has always wondered why her life could never just be normal? Why did she have to be the missing piece in the equation? Well,
there might just be an answer to her question.
Maybe she has never really had a fitting place in our world because she has had another waiting for her.
Ren Bordelon is a timid, seventeen year old girl who activates her Supernatural Abilities on her Birthday. She discovers she is the daughter of a Warlock and Mermaid. The story will follow her journey of adapting to her new life at a school for young Supernatural beings ranging from Witches, Warlocks, Merfolk, Fae, Vampires, and Werewolves. Ren leaves her home of Sunny San Diego to head to Washington State where she will learn to master her abilities and discover the darkest parts of herself.
This is a brochure containing a collection of PROMPT IDEAS from our one and only GOOD NOVEL WORKSHOP. Every PROMPT is a thrilling idea that might inspire you and can be the foundation of your next book! If interested, Please send your summary to: workshop@goodnovel.com, and note which prompt is based on. Our editors will get back to you as soon as possible.
One simple boyfriend spell. One ancient book of magic. What could go wrong? At eighteen, I'm thrown from my normal life into the supernatural world. One moment I'm planning prom and the next, I'm on a one-way bus ride to Hollowheaven's Supernatural Academy where I won't be allowed to see my friends or interact with the rest of the world until I control my power.Whatever.This place is weird and I can't help feeling this is a mistake.But a dare at an initiation goes too far, I get in over my head.Who knew that I could conjure ghosts?I can't fall in love with guys who aren't even real— or alive. I've got to figure out a way to get them back into the afterlife before I can't walk away from them. Before I can't stand not to have them in my life.One thing I'm learning is that magic is never simple.**Sex scenes/explicit content, violence and gore. Suggested age range - 18+**Supernatural Academy Series is created by Autumn Gray, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.
Avery's life as a dedicated student shatters when a reckless one-night stand reveals her dark, commanding lover is her new literature professor, Draco Thorne. Their illicit affair plunges her into a world of forbidden desires and his undeniable, dangerous possessiveness. Can she resist the pull of his darkness, or will her sinful syllabus consume her entirely?
Look beyond writing-centric courses. A free marketing or social media course from HubSpot Academy or Google Digital Garage is incredibly useful. Building an audience for your serial is half the battle. Learning how to craft a compelling update post, create fan art teasers, or analyze your release schedule's engagement metrics are skills that directly translate to Patreon subscribers. Your story can be amazing, but if no one finds it, the craft alone won't sustain a serial.
Theme is the secret weapon of structure. A course that taught me to outline my theme first was a revelation. What's the argument your story is making? 'Power corrupts' or 'Love requires sacrifice.' Then, each major structural beat is an point in that argument. The inciting incident poses the thematic question. The midpoint confronts the protagonist with a thematic contradiction. The climax is where they prove the theme true or false through action. This makes your story feel profound and cohesive.
We'd take a simple fable like 'The Tortoise and the Hare' and break down its thematic structure. Then we'd apply that to our complex novel plots. It ensured every subplot was arguing the same central point, just from a different angle. The structure became a persuasive essay written in events, not words.