TO PURCHASE THE PROFESSIONAL CREATIVE NONFICTION WRITER'S HOME SCHOOL COURSE, PLEASE GO TO THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER OF THIS SITE. YOU CAN USE THE LINKS BELOW TO DISCOVER MORE ABOUT THE MANY COURSES WE OFFER.
Click here to order Lower School (ages 9-10) courses for home school use!
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Welcome to
CONNECT THE THOUGHTS TM
Where the home school student can learn how to write
from a produced screenwriter, lyricist, composer and playwright,
an Emmy and Dramalogue-Award winning
Writer/Director!
What do parents, teachers and students say about our Home School Creative Writing Courses?
After doing the creative writing courses, I felt I was ready to conquer the world of writing and literature! It has always been a favorite subject of mine in school, but something always pulled me back. I would have the inspiration to write a story, but I couldn't quite ever put it into words. But after I did the creative writing course, I realized how simply and utterly uncomplicated it was to JUST WRITE, without all the considerations that it wouldn't turn out well, people would think it was stupid, etc. It actually turned out nearly flawless every time!
S.G., 15 year-old student
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The best thing about Creative Writing I is that after it’s made you realize that you are, innately, an author, it gets you to see for yourself your own inspiration. You see that you are capable of create. And this course doesn’t just teach you, like a school, it gets you to teach yourself. My biggest cognitions came from my own writing. My greatest cognition came from an exercise that has you write your views on creative and non-creative writing; I realized for the first time what creative writing was to me.
M.D., age 17
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My son, who is now 15 years old, has never had much of an intention to be a student or learn. I witnessed this many, many times throughout his life and education. One factor was, he disliked Math, and constantly fought being in a “classroom”.
By the time he was 12, he announced to me that he was “done with school and ready to work”. I knew that he didn’t have many of his basics in enough to go out and work. he struggled through 2 ½ more years of school with very little success.
One other situation was his complete inability to write or express himself. He’d take a simple test and it would take literally hours. The same thing would occur with writing a short, simple letter – hours later he’d say he was done. When this occurred at his previous school, the personnel would be stunned by his pace. He’d be given timed periods in which to complete the test – to no avail. We tried remedies, but nothing changed this. This was agonizing because I knew he was bright and capable, and could be “brilliant” if he had intention.
Then, he began Creative Writing Study Guide #1, as part of his home schooling. I decided to have him do that intensively and just continue until he was actually writing. After about five hours on the study guide, he “broke through”. Suddenly he was writing, and writing them with ease!
His father and I are amazed at the change. His esteem is out through the top. Now my son wants to be educated, and started working longer hours of study on his own. He is also doing Connect the Thoughts Pre-History, and has beaten every target given him.
I can’t believe the change and resurgence. He is now truly “on the road” to a better life and future.
M.Y.H., mother and teacher
To read many more success stories, click here.
Below is a description of our Professional Nonfiction Author's Course. This is the equivalent of a Master's Course, AND IS NOT FOR THE BEGINNING WRITER. A new or inexperienced writer should do our complete Creative Writing Program.
Once you've looked these over, use these convenient links to find out more about CTT, or to make a purchase:
To find out a lot more about CTT, click here.
To order a Creative Writing Course, click here.
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CREATIVE NONFICTION SPECIALIST COURSE
Biographies, textbooks and educational materials, speeches, self-help books...there are dozens of forms of nonfiction writing an author can make a living at, which can be mastered and made creative and fulfilling. This course prepares the author to do so, on a professional level.
| Hours to Complete | Cost Of Course | |
| 400-800 hours | $300.00 |
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A SAMPLE FROM CREATIVE WRITING VI
CREATIVE NONFICTION SPECIALIST COURSE
DATE: LESSON # 1:
1. FULLY UNDERSTAND THE WORDS:
Instructional – Of or having to do with education, the intent to communicate information.
Media – Any means used to broadly communicate, such as TV or radio.
Almanac – A yearly publication including calendars with weather forecasts,
astronomical information, tide tables, and other information.
Autobiography - A written work, telling the life story of the author. Also known as a “Memoir”.
Biography – A written work, telling someone’s life story.
Book Report – A written or oral work, describing a book.
Diary – A book containing a person’s personal and private writings.
Dictionary – A book (or site) which lists words in alphabetical order, and offers definitions of each word. Often it also provides a key to the pronunciation of words, and their root, or from where the word originated.
Documentary Film – A movie which is about a specific subject that actually
exists.
Encyclopedia – A large book or series of books containing a broad description and view of human knowledge.
Essay – A short written work about a certain subject, intended to persuade.
History – A written account of things that have occurred.
Journalism (News) – A spoken or written account of recent events, found in
newspapers, magazines, and on TV and Radio.
Letter – A written communication directed from one person to another (or others, as in an “open letter”.)
Critiques and Reviews – A written or spoken commentary expressing the person’s response to a work of art, or some event.
Bio – Short for “biography”, a short account of a person’s life.
Resume – Usually a single page listing the accomplishments of a person in
a specific field, used to help secure work in that field.
Philosophy – A written or oral statement of a person’s beliefs.
Scientific Paper – An work written for academia (a college or University) written work about a specific area of science, detailing a
Speech – A spoken work communicated from one person to a group who
(supposedly) listen, about any subject.
Statute (A law) – The written text of a law.
Textbook - A written work, intended to communicate the information
relevant to a particular area of study.
Travelogue – A written or spoken work, intended to communicate information o a journey, or a foreign land or lands.
User’s Manual – A written booklet (small book) explaining precisely how a
Grant Writing – The authoring of written works intended to explain to those
Propaganda - The systematic spreading of a doctrine or cause or of information reflecting the views and interests of those advocating such a doctrine or cause.
Informational – Of, or having to do with data and its communication to
2. READ AND FULLY UNDERSTAND:
INFORMATIONAL WRITING – PART ONE
THE 7 POINTS OF GOOD INFORMATIONAL WRITING
“Nonfiction” means “not invented”; “not made up”. Nonfiction works are written works which are based upon, or deal with existing and actual subjects. Some of these are about people. (Some are about the author himself or herself.) Some are about objects. Some cover areas of study, such as science or history. Regardless, if its nonfiction, then the works are not “made up” or contrived. There are no invented characters in a nonfiction work. These are works based on actual people, places, things, methods, or ideas.
Such works come in many forms. But we can start out by dividing all nonfiction into two big categories. These would be:
1) Strictly informational
2) Creative nonfiction
I’m sure the second category sounds like a contradiction in terms. If it’s nonfiction (not false), how can it be creative? We’ll get into that, shortly.
Let’s start with informational works. You’ve read materials from many textbooks in your life, like books on how to do math, or about science. Maybe you’ve read books on diets, or exercise programs? You must have written reports while in school, on subjects as varied as your nation’s flag, to what you did over the summer. You’ve probably watched the news at some time or another. Newspapers and media news (supposedly) specialize in relating the news, and only the news, except in those sections of the paper or broadcast where they tell you they are not relating news. (Some people would argue that might be every page of a newspaper, or every minute of a media news broadcast.) You may have heard people deliver speeches intended to communicate information, such as school lecturers. Perhaps you’ve looked over a magazine or two that specialized in a certain subject, such as hiking, or cooking? Maybe you’ve looked over the owner’s manual to a machine, like a car?
These are all examples of informational writing. The purpose of informational writing is to communicate information clearly, and in as detailed a manner as is needed. There are many types of informational writing. Here is a sort of catalogue of most of them. We will cover each in more detail, later:
Almanac; Autobiography; Biography; Book Report; Diary; Dictionary
Documentary Film; Encyclopedia; Essay; History; Journalism (News)
Letter; Critiques and Reviews; Philosophy; Scientific Paper; Speech
Statute (A law); Textbook; Travelogue; User’s Manual; Grant Writing;
Bio (biographies) and Resumes.
Each of these works supposedly shares certain qualities. They are supposed to be FACTUAL. This means that all items in these works which are presented as facts are supposed to be facts. These facts should be observable, provable. (Often, they are not only not provable, but you are expected to take the word of the “expert” who has done the writing, who has himself or herself often taken the word of other experts in the process of writing whatever “authoritative” work they’ve put their name to.)
This brings us to the second shared trait of works of informational writing, these works are supposed to be WELL AND THOROUGHLY RESEARCHED. The information in an informational work should be verified and not open to much debate. Informational pieces should be based on things seen, numbers counted, things actually experienced. They are often backed up with other documentation, and even photos or film.
A third trait found in instructional writing is a PURPOSE TO INSTRUCT. The reason these works almost always get written is that someone is trying to communicate something important about a subject. This course you are doing right now is an instructional, nonfiction work.
There are other traits a well-written instructional work usually possesses, but keep in mind, now we’re talking about well-written works. One is that they are VERY WELL-ORGANIZED. The information is laid out in such a manner as to be clear and easily understood. It is often laid out in a carefully thought-over sequence. The order of the information offered in instructional works is terribly important. Good works start with simple information, easily grasped by a person who knows very little about the subject being covered. Such works then progress into more difficult pieces of information, only graspable once the basic information is understood by the reader or listener. They are constructed professionally. By this we mean that they are types, in the correct format (layout on the page) for the sort of writing being done, spelled correctly, “i”s dotted and “t”s crossed. One should be able to pick up such a work and read through it with little trouble or confusion.
This also implies that the piece should be able to be understood. It’s method of organization should lay out the materials in such a way that the intended reader will be able to grasp them.
A well-written nonfiction work should be, of all things, EMOTIONALLY COMPELLING. Is there anything more boring than a book about a subject that only gives the facts, and only the facts, without concern for the reaction or interest of the reader? This sort of writing is often referred to as “dry”, “academic”, or simply boring. Regardless, writing of this sort guarantees a small readership of fellow “experts”. But an author who can make a subject human and interesting is worth their weight in gold, and there have been many, many such nonfiction authors.
Of course, many such works are constructed in order to persuade the reader of some point, or point of view, or course of action. Such a work may select to present the available information in such a manner as to lean towards the author’s argument. This may require the author to withhold some information, or present certain facts as of more weight and value than others. This does not make a work false, or fictional. It does make such a work a piece of propaganda.
Additionally, for such a work to be effective, it must be FOCUSED. Generally, nonfiction works (except for encyclopedias) attempt to cover a single subject. What’s more, they tend to cover some small, specific aspect of that specific subject. A “scattershot” approach, where one tries to communicate all that can be known, or even all that might be known about one subject, rarely communicates anything of value. And even if it did, it would be too much of an “Easter egg hunt” to find within it what one was looking for.
Finally, if the work is to find any audience at all, it should FULFILL EXPECTATIONS. Whatever it claims to be about, it should offer the reader or audience enough of the expected information and expected approach to make them feel they received their money’s worth.
To accomplish this, the writer must keep in mind who his INTENDED AUDIENCE MIGHT BE. If the writer is constructing a piece for fellow experts, than the language and construction of the nonfiction work can reflect the highly scholarly audience he intends to reach. For an audience already “in the know”, one may skip over the basics lightly and get right to the harder points to grasp.
However, if the piece being written is intended to communicate to the average Joe, then the words had best be far simpler, the concepts drawn out and communicated in fair detail without any assumptions made that the reader already knows ANYTHING about the subject. No points should be skipped or ill-defined, no matter how basic or simple.
Another concern related to fulfilling an audience’s expectations is the length of the piece. Certain pieces are of determined length, such as news broadcasts or grant proposals. But a book or article can be of undetermined length. Too short, and your audience will feel cheated. Too long, and they will be bored or inundated and overwhelmed. Length is often dictated by the complexity and amount of data being communicated. An expert may be able to tolerate great amounts of information. A novice may only be able to digest a small amount of information.
So, with the exception of really dry nonfiction writing as is found in works such as dictionaries or business reports, you should plan on your nonfiction work containing at least these qualities:
THE 7 POINTS OF GOOD INFORMATIONAL WRITING
1) It should be factual.
2) It should be well-researched.
3) It should intend to instruct (even if it’s an autobiography, and you intend
to teach about nothing except who you are and what you’ve experienced.)
4) It should be well-organized.
5) It should be emotionally compelling.
6) It should be focused on a specific subject, or aspect of a subject.
7) It should fulfill the audience’s expectations. (These will be based on
exactly who the intended audience may be.)
We will cover each of these points in great detail, later in the course.
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CREATIVE WRITING COURSES
The Creative Writing Courses must be done in sequence. The Creative Writing Courses are for literate students of at least 9 years of age. These courses do not develop grammar. They do not teach sentence structure, or syntax. They teach the student, utilizing his or her own literary skills, to author interesting and convincing well-written stories, and eventually poems, scripts, lyrics, TV projects, and other literary works.
CREATIVE WRITING COURSES OVERVIEW
The Connect The Thoughts curriculum has a highly developed art component. The gem of the arts curriculum is the Creative Writing program. As a student completes courses, he or she acquires skills in story development, characterization, structure…all the important areas of expertise a writer needs.
Creative Writing is considered an advanced English study, and constitutes much of a student’s English Curriculum. We require every student to complete at least three full years of Creative Writing. It improves all schoolwork.
THE END RESULT OF CTT'S CREATIVE WRITING STUDIES IS A STUDENT WHO CAN EXPRESS THEMSELVES IN THEIR CHOSEN “MEDIUM”, PROFESSIONALLY AND COMPELLINGLY, WITH CONFIDENCE, ARTISTRY, AND EFFECTIVENESS.
To find out more about CTT courses, click here.
To find out a lot more about CTT, click here.
To order Lower School Courses, click here.
To order Upper School Courses, click here.
To look at samples of Science, History and Creative Writing Courses, click here.
CREATIVE WRITING I – START WRITING
This course provides the students with key concepts in writing, defining many of the most important terms, and starting the student off in a highly creative direction. The course comes with a Teacher’s Guide, which will assist the teacher at any point where the student may possibly run into a problem. There are no additional purchases needed to do this course beyond the Study Guide, Teacher’s Guide, test and answer guide. This course has proven effective with students reticent to write, and is a tremendous success with students already interested in writing! This course requires no additional materials.
| Hours to Complete | Cost Of Course | |
| 25-40 hours | $60.00 | |
To order a Creative Writing Course, click here.
CREATIVE WRITING I I
It was discovered in delivering Creative Writing courses to children under the age of 11 that many of them have difficulty thinking in abstract terms, a vital skill to a writer. This course was created to handle this specific problem for this age group. A must-do bridge from Creative Writing I to III for younger students. Around a semester of work. NOT REQUIRED OR RECOMMENDED for students who have no problem developing new ideas, and imagining things that “aren’t real”. This course requires no additional materials.
| Hours to Complete | Cost Of Course | To Order Course |
| 40-60 hours | $75.00 | Click here |
CREATIVE WRITING III – THE WRITER’S TOOLS
The third Creative Writing course is a lengthy one, which starts to provide the student a very complete understanding of the mechanics of a well-written story, while encouraging the student to experience his or her own creativity in a remarkable manner. It is again accompanied by a Teacher’s Guide (almost a writer’s course for a professional writer, unto itself), with methods to unstick a stuck student. The Teacher’s Guide also contains the Test and Answer Key for the end of the course. At least a semester to a school year of work. This course requires no additional materials.
| Hours to Complete | Cost Of Course | |
| 55-90 hours | $100.00 | |
CREATIVE WRITING IV – EMPLOYING THE WRITER’S TOOLS
The fourth Creative Writing Course has the student apply the skills mastered in the third course, and provides the student with additional writing tools. By the end of this course, the student is authoring stories of 1,500-2,000 words in length, with expertise. The student will have mastered all the essential skills needed to write convincing and interesting stories. (In the pilot program, students who could not confront writing 10 word-long stories at the start of the first course were very capably writing very lengthy and wonderful stories in excess of the requirements by the end of the fourth course.) This course is accompanied by a Teachers Guide which also contains the test for the course, and its answer key. At least a semester to a school year of work. This course requires no additional materials.
| Hours to Complete | Cost Of Course | |
| 85-110 hours | $130.00 |
To order a Creative Writing Course, click here.
CREATIVE WRITING V – THE FIELD
The fifth Creative Writing Course presumes that the student now knows how to write well. This course teaches the student about the different areas in “the field” (the world) where a living can be made as a writer. These include the writing of poetry, lyrics, public relations, screenplays, plays, television series, and technical writing. The student is exposed to the most important and basic tools and concepts in each area, and writes new works that develop his or her expertise in each of these possible areas of employment for a writer. The student is also exposed to a few key tools used by writers to secure work. This course comes with a Teacher’s Guide (again, this reads almost like the second part of a professional writers course), which will help the teacher keep students moving. A semester to a year of study. This course requires no additional materials.
| Hours to Complete | Cost Of Course | |
| 80-120 hours | $130.00 | |
The Creative Writing specialization courses whose descriptions follow start with a decision the student makes. They have now studied writing technique, and know how to write. They have written brief works of poetry, lyrics, technical writing, short stories, TV projects, screenplays, and PR. They first decide IF they wish to continue studying writing. If they wish to stop, that’s okay, as they know more about writing now than most people will learn in a lifetime. If they determine that they wish to continue, they now decide which of these they would first like to specialize in first.
SHORT STORY/NOVELIST SPECIALIZATION COURSE
For the student who decides, upon completing Creative Writing V, that they wish to pursue authoring short stories and novels. Constructed in a similar manner to the Screenwriter's Specialist course, the student studies many great short stories and novellas, while authoring short works. The student is exposed to many of the finest writers in the history of literature, breaking down their works analytically in an organized quest for expertise. This is followed by a study of six of the greatest novels ever written, including A Tale of Two Cities, Crime & Punishment, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Time Machine. As the student breaks down these masterworks, he authors his own first novel, following carefully laid out steps he has learned over the past five courses of study.
Each Creative Writing Specialist course ends with a section on how the student can start marketing his works. The end result of a Specialist course is a professional writer, in this case, a novelist.
| Hours to Complete | Cost Of Course | |
| 400-800 hours | $300.00 | |
TELEVISION WRITER'S SPECIALIST COURSE
For the student who has decided to specialize in the area of television episodic writing. The student comes to an understanding of the unique business of television, mastering the terminology and concepts professionals live with every day. They study over 30 of the most successful series of all time, while developing two complete series concepts and various scripts of their own. Again, the end result of this course is a professional writer in episodic television, who has fully designed several series he wishes to sell.
| Hours to Complete | Cost Of Course | |
| 250-400 hours | $300.00 | |
PLAYWRIGHT'S SPECIALIST COURSE
Your student wants to write for Broadway or the West End. This is the course to do! A thorough review of the greatest plays in history is done in conjunction with a highly structured approach to the authoring of one-act and then full length plays of professional quality.
| Hours to Complete | Cost Of Course | |
| 400-800 hours | $300.00 | |
POETRY/LYRICIST SPECIALIST COURSE
Your student is the next Carl Sandburg, the next Keats, or Ira Gershwin, or Cole Porter, or Paul McCartney (at least as far as words are concerned)! This is the course. The student discovers the entire history of poetry, and then of lyric writing, and learns the techniques that make for professional and compelling work in this area.
| Hours to Complete | Cost Of Course | |
| 250-500 hours | $300.00 | |
CREATIVE NONFICTION SPECIALIST COURSE
Biographies, textbooks and educational materials, speeches, self-help books...there are dozens of forms of nonfiction writing an author can make a living at, which can be mastered and made creative and fulfilling. This course prepares the author to do so, on a professional level.
| Hours to Complete | Cost Of Course | |
| 400-800 hours | $300.00 |