WRITE
ATTEND
READ
SUPPORT
Meet THe Team
Use code EARLYBIRD at checkout for 10% off through February 26! (Members, check your email for your special 20% off limited-time discount code.)
In this three-hour intensive, novelists of all ages and genres will explore the synergy between character development, plot and the three-act structure. Writers will have the opportunity to flesh out their main character’s defining misbelief, contemplate their main character’s story arc, and understand how external plot functions in tandem to a character’s internal growth. This class studies a traditional three-act structure, which is the foundation of most commercial and upmarket fiction. By learning to layer character, plot and structure novelists will create a framework from which to build a story that stays with readers long after they have read to the end.
• In-Class Writing Lift: Light
• Homework: None
• Workshopping Drafts: None
.jpg)
Mayra Cuevas is the award-winning author of multiple books and stories for children and adults. Her young adult novel Does My Body Offend You? (co-written with Marie Marquardt) was long-listed for the PEN/Faulkner Award, named a 2023 Book All Young Georgians Should Read, a New York Public Library Best Books for Teens 2022 and a Target YA Book Club selection. In 2023, she was named Georgia Author of the Year in the Young Adult category. Mayra’s debut picture book My Abuela is a Bruja comes out in 2025 in a dual English and Spanish release. Her debut adult novel, How to Fake a Southern Gentleman (co-written with Marie Marquardt), is scheduled for a 2026 release. Mayra is also the author of the teen foodie romcom Salty, Bitter, Sweet, and the short story Resilient, published as part of the anthology Foreshadow: The Magic of Reading and Writing YA.
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Mayra is a former award-winning producer for CNN, where she worked for almost 20 years. She is now a creative writing visiting professor for City University of New York’s MFA program. Mayra is also the co-founder of the award-winning Latinx Kidlit Book Festival and its Latinx Storytellers Conference. Mayra believes in the power of stories to change lives and the right of all students to have access to diverse books in the classroom. She is also passionate about teaching writers of all ages how to craft and publish their own stories. Mayra keeps her sanity by practicing Buddhism and meditation. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, her two stepsons, their fluffy cat, and a very loud chihuahua. You can find Mayra on Instagram @Mayra.Cuevas and her website MayraCuevas.com.
"This class was incredibly well organized and planned, and the materials were incredible as well. I really hope The Porch will bring Mayra back again. I'd take a class from her every day!"
"Everything was wonderful and I left with a lot of great takeaways - would love to take another class with Mayra!"
"I loved this class. No one had broken this subject down to me in such a way before. The instructor Mayra was wonderful!"
