SO WHAT IS THE SCHOOL ABOUT?
Imagine an all-you-can-eat buffet with different types of writing in an environment where God is the center and everyone speaks the same creative language. That's what our course is like.
We get students that have different levels of expertise—from those that enjoy just reading to the ones that have a book already on their mind—and we teach them how to write from scratch. The demographics are always spread with DTS graduates that bring passion, older Ywamers that add wisdom, and everyone's culture that blesses our classroom.
The twelve teaching weeks are divided between core and supplementary. The first ones are those essential for the development of our students and we offer them in every school. On the other hand, supplementary weeks are not always offered as they depend on the availability of our speakers. The full list is released right before the course starts.
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We also include several practicum weeks where you will be given larger writing projects. During those weeks you will also get feedback, but the schedule is designed to allow you to concentrate on practicing your writing.
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You will receive writing assignments daily and meet in critique groups two times a week to share openly in a creative environment and improve your work before turning in a
final draft.
In order to dedicate enough time to each person and keep the quality of the teaching up to the UofN standards, we only have six spots available for each school.
COURSE CONTENT
CORE WEEKS
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Creative Non-fiction
Learn how to write stories that grab your reader from the first sentence and keep them wanting more, how you can give your target audience what they're looking for, and how to avoid writer's block while handling the basics of plot, characterization, and dialogue.
Self-editing
What's the point of fixing all the misspellings in a paragraph if the whole chapter doesn't belong to a book? Leave the little mistakes to a program and focus on the things computers cannot do. During this week you'll learn the logic of editing a manuscript, how editors in the publishing world work, and some techniques to condense your ideas to cause the maximum impact on your audience.
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Thematic
Devotionals, self-help, how-to, and essays are a few examples of thematic books. Learning this style enables you to present your viewpoint on various issues in a clear and forceful way. We will teach you how to organize your content for the strongest reader impact so you can speak directly to their hearts.
Fiction
It's easier for a non-Christian to open a fiction book than a non-fiction. Using this advantage, we'll dive even deeper into the world of character development, constructing settings, and genres. You’ll learn how to build a strong story structure, develop book ideas, and how to find markets for adult fiction.
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Industry and Submissions
Learn what's the process from writing a book to publishing it and what you can do to get ahead of the game. We'll show you how to develop a book proposal, look for an agent, and what writing conferences are.
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SUPPLEMENTARY WEEKS
Screenwriting
When we watch a movie, the details of what happens inside the characters' hearts are minimum; we can only know what the camera is showing us. With that in mind, you will learn to craft scripts with a strong emphasis on dialogue, description, and character arcs while following the appropriate format.
Internet and Social Media
People scroll down and skip newsletters, websites, and blog posts because they are not written well. This week you will learn how to fill the insatiable need for new content on the internet and how to write for online publications.
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Commercial Articles
Online and printed magazines need thousands of articles each month. Learn how you can break in as a writer, how to structure your article, and how you can develop a good research method to add credibility to your writing.
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Journalism
Learn how to write for newspapers and online publications while bringing truth to your audience. We'll teach you how to structure your writing, hook your reader, and bring change by advocating with your words.
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Children's Literature
C.S. Lewis once said that saying something complicated was easy but explaining something complex in simple words was the real challenge. This week you'll learn how to write for each age demographic, what publishers expect from children's books, how to market to parents, and most importantly how to convey truth and deep concepts in a way that everyone can understand.
Branding and Marketing
Now that you have a project in the works, learn what are your next steps to break into the publishing world and the strategies you can use to build your platform as a writer. Develop a marketing strategy and understand what the publishing houses are looking for before signing a book contract.
PRACTICUM
After finishing the course you have the opportunity to stay on and complete a three-month practicum on your own project.
Whether you want to develop your skill in editing, publish a few articles, or work on your novel, we will help you to accomplish your goal while fostering your talent in a creative environment.
If you did your Writing School in the last two years and haven't done a practicum yet, you can still join us and dedicate this time to your project.
WHY YWAM SANTA CRUZ?
Lenny Cáceres, leader of the Writing School in Bolivia, took the course in 2019 in Costa Rica and decided to bring it back to her home country. Her desire is to make it accessible to South America and train writers in their native language.​
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YWAM Santa Cruz, Bolivia, is the perfect place for our ministry.
Located at the heart of South America, this city is a meeting point for those that want to join our course without having to travel too far away from their homes. Its geographical location helps our students to save money on airfare, as well as helps us offer the Writing School at lower rates for YWAMers in the area.
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Dates: June 5th-August 18th, 2023
Language: Spanish
Spots Available: Six
Cost: for Bolivian Nationals and Category C Nations, USD 1600
for Category B nations, USD 1850
for Category A nations, USD 2250
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WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT US
“The course actually went above and beyond what I thought was going to be taught. We learned each topic so thoroughly, and the weeks listed on the website were accurate to what we learned."
— Janae, Canada
WHY YWAM KONA?
​YWAM Kona is a strategic meeting place halfway between the Americas and Asia. This provides the opportunity to train students from different cultures in a place blessed by the beauty of the islands of Hawaii.
As YWAM Kona keeps growing toward the vision of training five thousand students per year, our goal is to also raise an army of writers coming out of this campus.
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Dates: April 4 - June 26, 2024
Language: English
Spots Available: Twelve
Cost: USD 4,395
(message us to inquire about scholarships available for students coming from developing nations)
WHAT OUR GRADUATES ARE DOING NOW
After graduating from the Writing School in 2019, I released a book on sex trafficking in my home country, Brazil. A lot of people from the news media read it and decided to join my fight against this social issue. Since then, I've been working out of Germany with over sixty people from all over the world, including some members of the United Nations. Our purpose is to create awareness and help out the survivors of this type of abuse.
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— Thais Rocha, Brazil