Odyssey’s Winter 2027 Online Writing Classes

Application Deadline: December 15, 2026

Only 3 classes per year.

Only 14 students per class.

Bestselling, award-winning instructors.

Live, Intensive, Interactive.

Odyssey has been a pioneer in holding live online classes since 2010. Live class meetings allow a virtual classroom experience, with students participating in discussions, asking questions, and learning from an instructor responsive to students’ concerns. Between class meetings, students interact with each other and the instructor in an online group, complete assignments, and give and receive feedback. Each student also has a one-on-one meeting with the instructor.  

Graduates of Odyssey Online regularly praise the depth and value of the content provided in the courses; the challenging, skill-building assignments; and the professional-level critiques from instructors.

While Odyssey’s nonprofit mission is to help writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror, writers of any genre of fiction are welcome to apply. Courses will also cover issues relevant to writers of adult, young adult, and middle grade fiction.

Odyssey’s classes will provide you with valuable tools and techniques that can help you make major improvements to your writing. Become the writer you’ve always known you could be!

Angled Dialogue: Crafting Dialogue for Page-Turning Stories
Course Meets: Thursdays, January 19 – February 16, 2027
Instructor: Bestselling author Gregory Ashe
Level: Beginner – Intermediate

Have you ever read (or written) a line of dialogue so artificial sounding that it made you cringe? Or found yourself bogged down in exposition masked as dialogue? Do you struggle to make your dialogue crisp, clear, and relevant? Would you like dialogue to be one of the key motors driving your story?

Angled dialogue can help with all these issues.

This course covers the mechanics of dialogue for storytellers. Students will learn the basics of dialogue for prose fiction, as well as how angled dialogue generates action and propels narrative. The course will introduce students to practical strategies for assessing and revising dialogue to make it as effective as possible.

The Heart of the Matter: Bringing Emotional Resonance to Your Storytelling
Course Meets: Tuesdays, January 26 – February 23, 2027
Instructor: Award-winning author Barbara Ashford
Level: Intermediate

The best stories take readers on a journey that satisfies their hearts as well as their minds. But just having your characters cry or laugh will never get readers to share the emotions behind those actions. Effective storytelling is about creating drama on the page that arouses a variety of emotions in the reader: curiosity, anticipation, anxiety, surprise. It requires careful crafting from conception to execution to achieve that.

This course will take you from “setting the stage”—understanding the heart of the story you are telling—to “getting it on the page”—exploring techniques that will not only show the emotions of your characters but evoke the intended emotional response from your readers.

The Radical East Asian Four-Act Structure
Course Meets: Thursdays, January 28 – February 25, 2027
Instructor: Critically acclaimed author Henry Lien
Level: Intermediate – Advanced

Discussions in the West around diversity in the arts often focus on the identities of characters and creators. This workshop explores expressions of diversity that go beyond just plopping different faces into stories that are 100 percent Western in spirit. It examines the East Asian four-act structure (one form of which is known as Kishōtenketsu), which radically departs from requirements of the Western three-act structure such as conflict and symmetry, explores how Eastern value systems such as collectivism can dictate form, and teaches the radical aesthetic effects possible only in the four-act structure.

This course, built around case studies such as the film Parasite, the work of Haruki Murakami, and Nintendo video games, teaches practical, specific craft techniques for writers of all backgrounds to attempt the four-act structure and Trojan Horse their experiments past Western gatekeepers.

Spark
Live Webinar: Sunday, February 28, 2027
Instructor: Award-winning editor & publisher Scott H. Andrews
Level: Intermediate

A great story stands out. It has something special to it—a magic or spark that draws readers in, keeps them reading, and leaves them still thinking about the story long afterwards. You know it when you read it, or when it shows up in your own work, but this special spark can be elusive to pin down. Exactly what creates this spark, how does it generate this powerful effect, and most important, how can a writer create that it in a story?

This webinar will highlight elements of story that can have that special spark, including examples from works across a range of subgenres and styles. Strategies for getting that spark into your own stories will be explored, along with ways to adapt those strategies to your voice and to the stories you want to write.

The three-hour webinar will be comprised of a two-hour lecture followed by a one-hour question-and-answer session.

Comments from Graduates of Odyssey Online

“Greg Ashe does a fantastic job making complex ideas understandable and actionable. His course assignments are comprehensive, he provides multiple examples that illuminate and broaden the concepts under consideration, and his provocative discussion questions further clarify the course content. All of this rich instruction is provided in a friendly and encouraging environment.

“I read lots of writing craft books, but Greg helps me apply writing techniques in real time. I also continue to deepen my understanding of his lessons long after the class has concluded. Similarly, I’ve taken many writing classes. Odyssey Online provides high-quality instruction that combines live video lecture, discussion boards, and in-depth critiques for a superior learning experience.

“If you’re looking for an excellent teacher, who is kind and fun, and who will help you take your writing to a deeper level, I strongly recommend you take a class from Greg Ashe at Odyssey Online.”

–Lyri Merrill

“Intense. Revelatory. Transformative. When it comes to emotions in fiction, Scott Andrews is a forensic scientist. Get ready to learn skills that will forever change the way you think of portraying emotion in your work. This is money well spent; probably the best writing class I’ve ever taken. And I’ve taken a lot.”

–Robert Stahl

“Barbara Ashford’s Heart of the Matter course helped me understand the importance of a focused, deliberate approach to conveying layers of emotion in my writing. From identifying the emotions I want my readers to feel, to specific strategies for developing those emotions through well-crafted scenes, this class gave me the tools for the next phase of my storytelling career. Presented with Odyssey’s professionalism and warmth, I loved every minute of this class. I recommend Heart of the Matter for anyone who wants to craft resonant, emotionally satisfying stories.”

–Myna Chang

“I’ve taken two Odyssey classes over a couple of years. I now use the techniques I learned there for every story I write. Not only have those lessons been incorporated into the stories I’ve published since, but they have made me more confident in approaching any story I can dream up. It’s like I was given a box of immaculate, well-made tools.”

–Ted Bushman

Is Odyssey for you?

If you’re willing to work hard, hear about the weaknesses in your writing, move outside your comfort zone, and try new techniques, then Odyssey Online is for you.

Odyssey also offers many resources for writers, including podcasts, an online monthly discussion salon, a blog, a critique service, coaching, consultations, and Your Personal Odyssey Writing Workshop, an intensive, one-on-one online workshop, customized for you.

Online Classes: Apply by December 15, 2026

Webinar: Register by February 17, 2027

Become the writer you’ve always known you could be!

To receive posts from the Odyssey Blog via email, subscribe below. For additional information about Odyssey Writing Workshops, including the latest news on upcoming programs and special events, you can also sign up for our newsletter.