WHY YWAM SANTA CRUZ?
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 who want to join our course without traveling too far away from their homes. Its geographical location helps our students save money on airfare and helps us offer the Writing School at lower rates for YWAMers in the area. 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. She desires to make it accessible to South America and train writers in their native language.​
​Dates: September 30th-December 20th, 2023
Language: Spanish
Spots Available: Six
Cost:
Nations Category A: USD 2,250
Nations Category B: USD 1,850
Bolivians and Nations Category C: USD 1,600
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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
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 annually, we aim to raise an army of writers from this campus.
​Dates: April 9–June 29, 2024
Language: English
Spots Available: Twelve
Cost:
Nations Category A: USD 4,495
Nations Category B: USD 3,745
Nations Category C: USD 2,995
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(Students from countries categories B and C must apply for a scholarship to access the discounted rates above)
SO WHAT IS THE WRITING 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 who bring passion, older YWAMers who 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. We also include several practicum weeks when 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. 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 U of N standards, we only have limited spots available for each school.
COURSE CONTENT
CORE WEEKS
(Offered in every school)
Foundations
No matter your level of expertise, we start from scratch and teach you how to construct scenes, structure plots, handle exposition, and create memorable characters with compelling dialog.
Self-Editing
What's the point of fixing all the misspellings in a paragraph if the whole chapter doesn't belong in a book? Leave the little mistakes to a program and focus on what 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 have the maximum impact on your audience.
Fiction
It's easier for non-Christians to open fiction than non-fiction books. Using this advantage, we'll dive even deeper into character development, constructing settings, and genres. You’ll learn how to build a strong story structure, develop book ideas, and find markets for adult fiction.
Creative Nonfiction
Learn how to write stories that grab your readers from the first sentence and keep them wanting more, how to 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.
Thematic
Devotionals, self-help, how-to, and essays are a few thematic books. Learning this style lets you present your viewpoint on various issues clearly and forcefully. We will teach you how to organize your content for the most substantial reader impact so you can speak directly to their hearts.
Publishing & Submissions
Learn 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.
​SUPPLEMENTARY WEEKS
(Offered depending on speaker availability)
Screenwriting
When we watch a movie, the details of what happens inside the characters' hearts are minimal; we can only know what the camera shows us. With that in mind, you will learn to craft scripts that strongly emphasize dialogue, description, and character arcs while following the appropriate format.
Commercial Articles
Online and printed magazines require thousands of articles each month. Learn how to break in as a writer, structure your article, and develop a suitable research method to add credibility to your writing.
Branding & Marketing
Now that you have a project in the works, learn 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 seek before signing a book contract.
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.
Online Writing & Social Media
People scroll down and skip newsletters, websites, and blog posts because they are poorly written. This week, you will learn how to fill the insatiable need for new content on the internet and how to write for online publications.
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 profound concepts in a way everyone can understand.
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
PRACTICUM
After finishing the course, you can stay on and complete a three-month practicum for your project.
Whether you want to develop your editing skills, publish a few articles, or work on your novel, we will help you accomplish your goal while fostering your talent in a creative environment.
If you haven't done 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.
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Are there any requirements to attend the Writing School?Yes. You must complete a Discipleship Training School (DTS) with YWAM and be at least 18-years-old before attending this course.
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Do I need to have a published book in order to attend this course?No, it's not a requirement. We will teach you how to communicate from scratch, all you need is a passion for writing.
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What do I need to bring to the school?You'll need a laptop. Although you can take notes in whatever way you prefer, all assignments are submitted and graded online. We provide everything else.
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Should I have a writing project on the work in order to be accepted into the school?No, it is not a requirement. Most students discover a project they would like to work on during the lecture phase.
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Will I be able to work on my own writing project during the course?The course is very intense, and you'll have a lot of writing assignments, nevertheless, you can use your free time to apply the concepts you've learned in your own writing projects. You can always stay on for the follow-up Practicum (three months) and work on your manuscript.
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Is there any outreach after the lecture phase?We don't have an outreach but we do have a Practicum in which you stay for three months working on a project that you'll have to pitch to the staff team.
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I can't set aside three months of my life. Is it possible to take just one week of this school?Yes, you can take up to three individual weeks before having to take the whole course. Check with us for spots available and the calendar of teaching weeks.
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Can I get U of N credits by graduating from this school?Yes, you get 12 U of N credits if you graduate from this course.
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I'm pursuing a U of N degree. Can this school replace a Communications Core Course?No, it can't. Nevertheless, this school can work either as an elective or as a communication course toward a U of N degree.
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Are the schools hosted in different locations exactly the same?They have the same core weeks but the supplementary weeks may differ, depending on the availability of our speakers. Yet, we work hard as a staff team to keep the quality of the schools the same, no matter the location where they are hosted.
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What can I do with the knowledge I acquire from this course?You can keep working on your writing projects, join a YWAM communications team, help a ministry or church with their communications, work as a freelance editor, become a professional writer, or you can join our Staff Team and train other missionaries to become better writers.
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Can I take the school if English is not my first language?Absolutely! Although you'll have to submit all your assignments in English to get feedback, we focus mainly on the techniques of storytelling, rather than on grammar and the intricacies of the English language.
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Can published authors join the course?Yes! We start teaching the craft from scratch, but as each week focuses on a different topic, every student gets something that will help practically their writing journey.
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What's the daily structure?After breakfast, we start at 8 AM with either worship time, intercession, Bible study, or a devotional. Then, we have lecture from 9 AM-12:30 PM, with a coffee break in the middle. On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, we have improvement groups, and on Friday afternoons there's a weekly quiz.
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Can families join the school?YWAM Kona has accommodations for families. If you bring your loved ones, know that we will make sure to include them in extracurricular activities, outings, and anything that can make them feel part of the team.
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Can a married person attend without his or her spouse?No. Both spouses must live together during the course. At YWAM Kona, we protect marriages by making sure they are not separated, keeping their relationship healthy.