Second Chances Fall 2025 – Building Blocks of Fiction & Nonfiction

Welcome to the WLT Second Chances sale! From now until 11:59 PM CT December 31, 2025, all of our Fall 2025 class recordings AND our 2025 Agents Symposium recordings are available to purchase by WLT members. Become a member here. Members, log in to your account see the ticket options.

From outlining to nailing your ending, from getting your nonfiction fundamentals down to learning the art of the interview, and so much more, these classes are fundamental building blocks for any writer’s craft.

PLEASE NOTE: This is not a live class registration. When you register, you’ll receive access to previously recorded classes taught for a live audience. Registration includes access to any handouts, readings, and slides the instructor originally shared with students. The videos will be available for viewing immediately upon purchase, and will expire on January 31, 2026.

Descriptions for each class recording can be found below. To purchase access to the recordings, all you need to do is add your preferred tickets to your cart and check out. You’ll then receive an email containing the receipt for your purchase along with a link to the class recordings and any class materials.

To find our Get Your Work Out There recordings, click here.

To find our Genre Deep Dives recordings, click here.

“Write Before You Write: Outlining, Planning, and Plotting”
with Jennifer Ziegler

Before getting too far into a project, make sure you have a plan — a plan that’s right for the way YOU write.

Do you ever start a manuscript and end up lost in your own story? Or perhaps you know what is supposed to happen but still find that your writing is blocked? Or are you having problems getting started in the first place?

Before launching into writing that exciting new book idea, it’s important to take key first steps that will help prevent project-killing situations. If you tend to get overwhelmed by your own story, find yourself written into logistical corners, or get told that your book is too “thin” or has “unrelatable characters,” this is the class for you. This class will identify common problems, prescribe remedies, practice helpful exercises, and discuss how you can keep going until “The End.” Discover the pre-writing steps you should take depending on you and your project.

Participants will walk away with a clearer idea of what kinds of writers they are and how they need to approach and prepare for new writing projects, plus tips and tricks they can use before launching into a manuscript.

What students had to say about the class:

• “I learned new things and have renewed energy to work on my projects! The exercises were very helpful.”
• “Excellent class! Jennifer was a delight, super informative and fun!”

“The Truth Told Slant: Personal Experience Turned into Fiction”
with Nan Cuba

Do you have personal stories you want to fictionalize? 

People we’ve known, moments we’ve witnessed, conversations we’ve overheard, places we’ve been: these influence aspects of our fiction. Sometimes, a whole experience is so profound, we decide to use that memory as inspiration for a story. But how does a writer free herself from the restrictions of facts in order to follow craft requirements for producing meaningful art? This class will introduce techniques for identifying appropriate material and then adapting it for fiction. Personal examples will be shared and participants will be guided through a sample exercise.

What students had to say about the class:

• “Nan Cuba led us into a wonderful exercise that had us [write] what we know then turn it into something new yet better.”
• ” I learned some helpful new ways to think about creative writing.”

“How to Blend Personal Narrative and Reportage in Essays and Books”
with Mallary Tenore Tarpley

Learn how to seamlessly blend personal narrative and reportage in stories and books to enhance your storytelling process and attract wider audiences.

Some of the most engaging essays and memoirs are a blend of narrative and reportage. In this class, students will learn practical tips for exploring complicated topics through a mix of reporting, research, and narrative. Students will also learn how to capture details and nuances when writing narrative nonfiction. In class, students will complete related writing exercises, have the opportunity for real-time feedback, and come away with newfound inspiration and ideas that they can apply to their own personal and professional writing endeavors.

What students had to say about the class:

• “Mallary is an incredible teacher who shared an amazing amount of knowledge in a three hour workshop!”
• “Mallary was both very transparent and comprehensive in discussing personal essays.”

“Narrative Nonfiction Craft Essentials”
with Michael Copperman

What is the difference between telling what happened, and making an experience felt? What is the difference between a piece that is good, and one that changes our understanding of ourselves, of others, or of the world?

In this class, we’ll examine and discover how tense functions in narrative nonfiction. We’ll consider the oft-repeated advice that present tense is more vivid and immediate, and analyze how mastering tense allows seasoned writers to engage in retrospection and reflection.

We will then ask big questions about what we are trying to accomplish as writers of narrative nonfiction. We will explore a powerful conceptual model that allows us to understand how, and why, a piece of nonfiction succeeds or requires revision. We’ll discover how the model might be applied and tailored to our own intentions and tendencies as writers. Through close reading of multiple examples, and in-class writing exercises and discussion, we will consider different ways of thinking about what makes retrospection and structure work in narrative nonfiction.

What students had to say about the class:

• “He gave us much more than I would have guessed he could include in one workshop.”
• “He really stuck to topic and showed us ways that we can improve through examples.”

“Short Fiction Craft Essentials”
with Chaitali Sen

Besides length, what makes a short story different from a novel? How do elements such as character, setting, and plot get compressed into a few pages? What is the narrative arc of a short story? How many scenes should a short story have?

In this class, we will attempt to define the short story, read passages from master short fiction writers, and work on exercises using the fundamentals of short story craft. Students will leave with at least one outline of a short story.

What students had to say about the class:

• “Chaitali explained how to read short stories to learn the craft, and she made it seem so easy and practical. I’m very excited to use that moving forward.”

“Start Your Novel & Unlock Your Story”
with John Pipkin

A good opening is the key to unlocking the rest of the story. This class is intended to give writers useful strategies and techniques for starting a novel.

Sometimes writing the opening of a novel can seem a daunting challenge, an obstacle to writing the rest of the book, especially when the long-arc of the novel seems to be stretching off into the invisible distance. But a well-written opening can actually help you structure and outline the rest of the story, and the process of writing an opening offers a writer the opportunity to explore the story’s main ideas.

We’ve all heard that an opening needs to “pull a reader into the story,” but what exactly does this mean, and how do you do it? Should you begin with character? Plot? Setting? Theme? A short sentence? A long winding sentence? We’ll look at a variety of published examples of effective openings, and we’ll do some brief in-class writing assignments to identify ways to figure out what kind of opening may work best for your novel. We’ll look at how research can be helpful not only for finding useful content for an opening, but also for providing new ideas for new stories. Also, we’ll discuss how the opening of a novel is in dialogue with other parts of the novel, even and especially its ending.

What students had to say about the class:

• “A fantastic class about how to think of your opening in the context of setting up one or more elements of your novel.”
• “I definitely would recommend it for anyone who wants to improve their openings”

“Researching Your Novel: How to Do It and When to Stop”
with James Wade

Learn how to successfully conduct research for your novel.

Research is vital to a novel’s accuracy, sense of place, and overall tone. But writers often get stuck or overwhelmed with the amount of information available. The key to success is striking a balance between research and writing, and knowing when one should take precedent over the other. With a world of information at our disposal, this class will help you find the best sources, decide what material is most important, and know when to move on to the writing phase of your project. We’ll go through the process step-by-step to see the various roles research plays from a novel’s inception to its completion.

What students had to say about the class:

• “James has such a great way of working through material in a clear and concise manner.”
• “James Wade kept a quick pace in presenting the information and was happy to answer any questions.”

“The Art of Revision: Small Lines, Big Moves”
with Kimberly Garza

Ready to rewrite? We’ll discuss the many stages of revision, from the big plot moves to the tiny line edits.

So you’ve finally written a first draft of your book. Now what? How do you take your story from rough to polished–without losing your mind? This class will tackle the many phases of revision, from big moves to small tweaks. We’ll share strategies for identifying what your work needs, setting revision goals, pacing your rewriting, and more. Writers will leave with helpful tools and practices to take their stories from drafts to done.

What students had to say about the class:

• “This class gave me a new perspective and a clear structure.”
• “Kimberly provided an actionable plan for revising, which was just what I needed.”

“Write the Perfect Ending: How to Leave Readers Satisfied and Wanting More” with Samantha M Clark

Your story’s ending is more than a wrap-up. It’s the lasting impression your readers will take away. Learn how to write endings that readers will love.

After working so hard to write compelling characters in a page-turning plot, you want your readers to leave your story feeling satisfied as well as yearning for more. In this class, students will explore what the best book endings accomplish, identify different types of endings, and discuss how endings work with a whole story to make books more memorable.

What students had to say about the class:

• “Samantha was extremely detailed and organized!”
• ” I learned a lot and have some ideas as I fine-tune an ending.”