This course provides a foundation for advanced Author Academy courses. Using creative, narrative, speeches, and biblical texts, we will learn to see how the elements of composition may be controlled to produce deliberate effect & present unique voice with sophisticated style.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This course is locked and released at the same schedule as The Art of Meaningful Story. However, it is asynchronous, meaning authors may complete it at their own pace.
Study cross-cultural elements of composition, literary devices, & figurative language as creative tools
Explore differences in form, values, symbolism, structure—and how each impact meaning
Learn the tools used by professional editors, writers, and authors to evaluate and craft high-level writing
Practice objective skills of analysis that are grounded in an understanding of how the elements of composition relate to the observable meaning of words
Learn professional vocabulary of the publishing industry
Develop the collaborative skillset of traditionally published authors
Study master wordsmiths with Godly mentorship to discover precisely how sophisticated rhetorical analysis skills help us clearly observe writings unique power to help us obey the call issued in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Works read will not always uphold biblical ideas; we will use those to study how scripturally-informed analysis reveals the error in even the most sophisticated rhetorical and narrative appeals.
Understand your call to write as a call to local & global missions—even in academically rigorous spaces
Get supportive input that helps you successfully take your message to culturally diverse audiences
Be encouraged to understand your call to write as a call to worship God & make Christ known
Add to a professional portfolio, research your niche & target audience, and continue studying the legalities of copyright and contracts
Each week, students will study terms, complete a short reading, complete a guided analysis quiz, complete one writing prompt or paragraph revision
Consider the only way writers can avoid the self-destructive nature of pursuing success for its own sake
Understand style and structure as foundational to communicating original ideas
Study how literary devices further meaning
Revising the syntax of story to create dramatic shifts
Find inspiration from global voices
Write more professional-quality pieces for your growing writing portfolio
Practice advanced communication skills within an environment that nurtures the scriptural purpose and instructions for our word use
Write a formal literary response
Practice processes of creative nonfiction research
Prepare literature reviews
Add more high-quality pieces to your growing portfolio of published work
OPTIONAL PUBLICATION COMPETITION: Practice using manuscript guidelines to prepare and submit a short creative nonfiction piece for publication & promotion through Anistemi Publishing.
Authors receive lifetime access to the course, so they may choose to complete it at their own pace. It need not be completed within the same year as The Art of Meaning.
PLEASE NOTE: Participation in the optional publication challenge does not guarantee publication. This challenge gives student authors experience with professional publishing standards, practices, & communications.
Professional Outcomes
Grow your online professional portfolio
Create 2 professional-quality portfolio pieces
Begin exploring meaning within global literary traditions to grow in understanding of your call to make Christ known