Welcome to Creative Writing. You are about to learn a lot about writing—not just from a rulebook, but from great fiction taught by a master-teacher.
The first question we get from users of the course is “Do I need to read the book along with the course?”
The answer to that is…it depends.
For instance, Jonathan will present a passage of the book, and then analyze it from a writer’s perspective. He’ll provide the immediate context of the quotation, but won’t recap the whole plot of the books at any specific point.
If you’ve read one of the books in this series at some point in the past, then Jonathan’s selection of passages and themes in the work will bring the plot to your mind. You should be able to enjoy the course and maybe dip back into chapters that are referenced in specific lessons.
If you are using this course to supplement an English credit, you could (re-)read the book and maybe keep a journal while you watch the videos. Then, complete the Supplemental Writing Exercise. That way you get the benefit of the literary study alongside the creative writing class.
To keep up with the videos while you read the novel, we have reading plans in each of the individual course Introductions when you make a purchase.
All to say, there are a couple of ways to enjoy this content. Now get started on your sample!