I have begun writing a story about two city-states in the year 2307 in an arms race to create a time machine. The protagonist must regain the confidence of his old "sim stealing" gang whom he sold out to a reeducation clinic to keep them out of trouble with the government to help him do a job for the government to invent a time machine.

I am a beginning writer, and I have particular style of writing that incorporates a lot of exposition and dialog. I attended a writer's group this week that gave me advice that I needed to develop my characters to give readers something more to be invested in, because the exposition and dialog gets a little long. So, I have been trying to conceptualize a project that may give me that experience. I have been doing research on the Internet.

I see that there are sites for forums, courses, prompts, exercises, and books. What I think I want is a combination of theory, shorter assignments (with feedback), and a longer project (with a character arc)that ties it all together that I can present for a half hour at my writer's group to show that I have addressed my issues in a way that would be entertain them too. In essence I am looking for structure without having to pay too much for a formal course. I am on a budget, and I want to be up to speed in a month's time if possible (but I recognize it could take longer...)