Courses
“We tell ourselves stories in order to live.”
― Joan Didion
“We tell ourselves stories in order to live.”
The problem, of course, is not that we can’t tell stories. We all do, all the time, whether we know it or not. The problem is that most of the time we don’t do it well.
It’s not a problem of ideas. It’s not a problem of inspiration. It’s a problem of technique.
So often, we just don’t know what we don’t know.
And what we don’t know is the simple, universal rules that govern narrative storytelling. In my online classes, I collect the best advice from the greatest writers of our time and break it down into bite-sized chunks.
Motivating Your Lazy Characters
Crafting Characters that Force Your Story to Move
The Art of Storytelling
Guideposts to Structure and Style
Free Webinar for Writers
3 Techniques for Telling Better Stories
St. Basil Writers’ Workshop
A Year-Long Course in the Art and Craft of Fiction
Coaching
If you want more personalized attention from me, I offer limited spots for coaching through my Patreon community. Check out the tiers on my Patreon page to see if any of my coaching options fits your needs
~ Featured Course ~
The Art of Storytelling
Guideposts to Structure and Style
Why do great writers go unpublished?
The answer is simple: it’s usually because they don’t finish their novels. The Art of Storytelling was created to help you go from writing beautiful fragments to completing a novel you can self-publish or pitch to agents.
(This course is hosted on Teachable. You’ll need to create an account before purchasing.)
Vision
Learn how to gain a clear vision for your project even before you begin so your story writes itself
Voice
Tap into your personal voice so readers stay captivated from the first word you write through the end of your novel
Flow
Craft a writing ritual that gets you quickly into flowstate so you’re productive every time you put pen to paper
About the Course
This course is the product of my own writing journey. After decades of regimented writing and 7 years devoted to trying to finish my first novel, I finally implemented a few key writing practices that completely transformed my writing process to the point where I authored and published:
all within the course of 6 years. And I was also juggling other commitments teaching music, raising a family, and conducting a choir.
The Art of Storytelling: Guideposts to Structure and Style synthesizes the practices that transformed my writing life in six video lectures. I also include targeted writing exercises to ensure concepts translate to your own writing. The techniques you’ll learn in this course are a combination of my personal experience and the most helpful tips I learned from reading just about every writing book out there and spending literally thousands of dollars on writing courses.
Who It’s For
You’ll Love The Art of Storytelling If
The Art of Storytelling Isn’t The Right Fit If
You Write Fiction or Narrative Non-Fiction
This course covers the tools and techniques that made me a prolific, award-winning fantasy writer. As such, it’s best suited to fiction and narrative non-fiction genres.
You Write Self-Help Books, Essays, or Poetry
My course specifically covers fiction and narrative non-fiction techniques and is less applicable to other genres.
You’re an Advanced Beginner or Intermediate Writer
Get ready to finish your current work-in-progress or gain inspiration for new ideas you’ll be well equipped to develop.
You Like the Idea of Writing but Haven’t Practiced Your Craft
This course goes beyond writing basics, and while you definitely don’t need to be an expert, you should come with basic knowledge of storytelling elements.
You’re an Adult Writer or Upper Level Homeschool Student
The Art of Storytelling was created for adults but can easily be used as a creative writing unit for upper-level homeschool students.
You’re a Younger Student OR You’re Already in an MFA Program
If you’re an elementary or middle school student or a highly experienced fiction/narrative non-fiction writer, this course will not be as efficacious for you.
You Can Commit 5 Hours a Week to Writing
Yes, this course is self-paced, but you’ll get more out of it if you follow a consistent pace and do the writing exercises as you go.
You Just Don’t Have Time
Writing takes practice, and I want you to get everything you can out of this course. That said, you can still purchase this course now and take it when you have more time; your access won’t expire after purchasing.
You’re Ready to Be Published
You’ll learn how to clarify your project vision, enhance your writing voice, and create a writing ritual that gets you into flowstate, all with the end goal of finishing a book you can pitch and publish.
You’ve Already Published Several Books
If you’ve already established a successful writing process that works for you, you won’t benefit as much from this course since its goal is to help you finish a book and get published.
How It Works
The Art of Storytelling: Guideposts to Structure and Style is a self-paced course featuring 6 video lectures paired with 19 exercises designed to hone your creative voice, inspire your imagination, simplify enigmatic processes, and build writing habits that help you beat writer’s block.
By the end of the course, my goal is that you will have the tools to:
(This course is hosted on Teachable. You’ll need to create an account before purchasing.)
About Nicholas Kotar
Deacon Nicholas Kotar is the author of seven award-winning fantasy books, three non-fiction books, a TV script that is being looked at by Netflix, and a full-length classical music libretto. He is also a translator of Russian fairy tales, a teacher of creative writing, and a speaker whose engagements have taken him throughout the United States to present on classical education, storytelling, and Russian literature, history, and culture.
Testimonials
Despite having both taken and taught several years of creative writing courses already, The Art of Storytelling gave me new and practical tools for writing in a more engaging manner, and it also gave me the right insights to build a more effective daily writing routine. Not only did this course help me bring a several-year-long novel to completion, but it also reminded me that writing is play.
Deacon Nicholas Kotar is the perfect writing guide; it’s obvious that he has been a writing student himself and has distilled the best advice from a wide array of writing masters. I highly recommend The Art of Storytelling to anyone looking to kickstart or actualize their writing career.
Anna
ColoradoStory ideas started to pour out of me like a fountain.
Robert
KentuckyThe video conferences were well paced and long enough to delve into analysis of each exercise. Which was much appreciated and enjoyable.
Nina
California(This course is hosted on Teachable. You’ll need to create an account before purchasing.)