Introduction

Welcome to Writing With the Bog Owl. You are about to learn a lot about writing—not just from a rulebook, but from a beloved work of contemporary fiction taught by its author, 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 The Bark of the Bog Owl at some point in the past, 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 recommend the following plan:

• ​Lesson 1: Chapters 1-2
• ​Lesson 2: Chapter 3
• ​Lesson 3: Chapter 4
• ​Lesson 4: Chapters 5-6
• ​Lesson 5: Chapters 7-8
• ​Lesson 6: Chapter 9
• ​​Lesson 7: Chapters 10-11
• ​Lesson 8: Chapters 12-13
• ​Lesson 9: Chapter 14
• ​​Lesson 10: Chapters 15-16
• ​Lesson 11: Chapters 17-18
• Lesson 12: Chapter 19
• ​Lesson 13: Chapters 20-21
• ​Lesson 14: Chapter 22
• ​Lesson 15: Chapter 23
• ​Lesson 16: Chapter 24-25
• ​Lesson 17: Chapters 26-27
• Lesson 18: Epilogue

All to say, there are a couple of ways to enjoy this content. Now get started!