Writing Your Masterpiece Fiction Writing Novel Writing

Adopt These Five Habits to Succeed as a Writer Preview 06:48

These five habits will set the stage for writing your masterpiece.

Discover the Entire Writing Process, Start to Finish Preview 12:54

Writing a book involves many crucial phases. Embrace them all, here!

Set Up a Google Drive Folder to House Your Book Project Preview 12:53

This demo teaches you a simple organization strategy that will keep you sane as your book grows!

Ask for and Apply Feedback to Your Book Project Preview 11:12

Feedback is invaluable for every writer. But you need to get the right kind from the right people. Here's how.

Reframe Negative Thoughts and Boost Confidence and Enthusiasm for Writing Preview 05:25

Doubt comes to us all, but it doesn't have to stay, when you master this simple reframe exercise.

Keep a Journal Specifically for Your Writing Life Preview 03:48

This lecture teaches you the how to chart your writing journey, so that you stay on course!

Get Words on Paper, Part 1 Preview 07:34

This lecture contains themed story-starters designed to help you fill pages with new material and practice character, plot, and voice techniques.

Get Words on Paper, Part 2 Preview 04:46

This lecture contains themed story-starters designed to help you fill pages with new material and practice character, plot, and voice techniques.

Get Words on Paper, Part 3 Preview 04:46

This lecture contains themed story-starters designed to help you fill pages with new material and practice character, plot, and voice techniques.

Get Words on Paper, Part 4 Preview 03:56

This lecture contains themed story-starters designed to help you fill pages with new material and practice character, plot, and voice techniques.

Get Words on Paper, Part 5 Preview 03:42

This lecture contains themed story-starters designed to help you fill pages with new material and practice character, plot, and voice techniques.

Get Words on Paper, Part 6 Preview 04:44

This lecture contains themed story-starters designed to help you fill pages with new material and practice character, plot, and voice techniques.

Begin Your Mission Preview 12:03

Here, you will master strategies for aligning your mission with your book's topic and your ideal readers. 

Tap into Your Story's Value Preview 05:34

Here, you will connect to the unique value your book offers in the vast sea of reading material that is available to readers.

Using Your Own Life to Tell a Story? Watch This Preview 08:36

This lecture helps you embrace your own experience as story fodder and consider which path is right for you: fiction or memoir. 

Get Clear on Fiction vs. Memoir Preview 07:42

This lecture provides additional insights into the differences between fiction and memoir, when drawing from real life to tell a story.

What are Stories and Characters? Preview 03:08

This lecture defines "story" and "character," terms that are often used improperly, so that you can write your book from a place of clear understanding.

Embark on a Mission or Journey Preview 03:55

This lecture teaches you about one of six main functions a main character must perform in a story.

Confront Challenges and Suffer in Pursuit of the Goal Preview 01:21

This lecture teaches you about one of six main functions a main character must perform in a story.

Fail Over and Over to Achieve the Goal Preview 00:46

This lecture teaches you about one of six main functions a main character must perform in a story.

Continue Efforts in the Face of Repeated Failure Preview 00:54

This lecture teaches you about one of six main functions a main character must perform in a story.

Transform in Some Way by the End of the Story Preview 01:29

This lecture teaches you about one of six main functions a main character must perform in a story.

Make an Emotional and Intellectual Impact on Readers Preview 04:40

This lecture teaches you about one of six main functions a main character must perform in a story.

Intro to the "Foundational Character Profile" Preview 01:11

This lecture teaches you the basics of how to build amazing characters "from the inside out and from the top down," a process you can use for every story and every character.

Character's Greatest Desires Preview 01:32

This lecture goes deeper into the first major component of a foundational character profile.

Character's Guiding Philosophy Preview 01:12

This lecture goes deeper into the second major component of a foundational character profile.

Character's Life Before the Story Starts Preview 02:48

This lecture goes deeper into the third major component of a foundational character profile.

Character's Circumstances During the Story Preview 06:29

This lecture goes deeper into the fourth major component of a foundational character profile.

Character's Personality Preview 03:09

This lecture goes deeper into the fifth major component of a foundational character profile.

Character's Appearance Preview 01:53

This lecture goes deeper into the sixth major component of a foundational character profile.

BONUS STRATEGIES: Foundational Profile Preview 02:02

This lecture helps you add even more nuance to each character with bonus strategies.

Design Secondary Characters with the Hero in Mind Preview 02:15

This lecture teaches you a simple strategy for designing compelling and purposeful secondary characters.

Compose a Character-Driven Scene Preview 02:23

This lecture provides a straightforward framework for writing riveting scenes that feature your new amazing characters.

Discover Your Character's "Shadow Self" Preview 19:36

Now that you have used the character profile to craft your hero and a few secondary characters, this lecture will take you even deeper into character development and unlock who they really are.

Build Better Characters with 20 High-Impact Questions Preview 12:40

This lecture helps you build even more information about your characters, so that you always have prime material for building scenes.

The Ingredients of a Page-Turning Plot Preview 15:43

This lecture teaches you what a plot is made of, so that you write a book readers can't put down.

Build Plot in Four Rounds Preview 07:28

This lecture guides you through the process of building the "big picture" of your story, so that you always have a strong framework.

Align Plot with Character, Theme, and Message Preview 03:54

This lecture helps you ensure that the major components of your story work well together.

Plan a Scene and Recap of Plot Overview Preview 04:16

This lecture provides a straightforward approach to building scenes that compel your readers and contribute to a solid plot.

BONUS Plot-Building Strategy Preview 02:42

In this lecture, you will optimize your main character's journey and strengthen the plot you're building.

Write Riveting Scenes by Harnessing a Scene's "Anatomy" Preview 09:05

This lecture takes you deeper into how riveting scenes are built.

Hook Readers in the First Chapter Preview 49:17

This lecture teaches you how to optimize your crucial, make-it-or-break-it opening chapter.

Pace Your Story with Confidence Preview 17:09

This lecture teaches you how to slow down and speed up your story where needed.

Write About What Hurts with Grace and Confidence Preview 11:01

Pain is a part of every story, no matter the genre, so this lecture teaches you how to explore your book's painful moments, so that they have purpose and meaning.

BONUS: Turn Real Life into Fiction Preview 33:13

If you know you want to write a novel based in part on your own life, this lecture is chock full of strategies for making the leap from fact into fiction.

What Voice is, Why It's Important, and the Ingredients of a Stand-Out Voice Preview 20:54

This lecture teaches you why "writing style" is only the tip of the iceberg and how to begin thinking about your signature voice.

Three Exercises to Push Past Fear and Silence, so That You Can Write OUT-LOUD Preview 06:00

This lecture enables you to discover hidden ideas inside you, write what you "really mean," and to unleash the true power of your words.

Tailor the Ingredients to Your Own Story Preview 09:28

This lecture teaches you how to gather the ingredients of your signature voice, so that your book delivers a powerful message.

Compose a Voice-Driven Scene and Recap of the Overview Preview 03:24

This lecture reinforces your growing skills in scene-building, this time with your signature voice in mind.

Choose a Narrator for Your Story Preview 23:17

This lecture defines how a narrator functions and provides a framework for choosing the best narrator for your story. 

Show (Don't Tell) Preview 13:36

This lecture provides a simple, yet effective strategy for mastering one of the most important (and most difficult) principles of storytelling.

Build Your Whole Book, Using Character + Plot + Voice Techniques Preview 01:29

This lecture provides an overview of "what's next" for your book, now that you have build characters, your plot, and your voice.

Number Your Scenes in Google Drive Preview 09:39

This lecture provides a crucial strategy for beginning the work of assembling the "bits and pieces" of your story into a cohesive book.

Assemble Your Book in One Master File Preview 11:20

This lecture helps you assemble your book into one master file, so that you can navigate and revise your work more effectively.

Revise Your Book (Don't Edit It) Preview 06:10

This lecture teaches you why revision is so important and what it actually looks like to revise a complete draft of your book.

Get Clear on Traditional Publishing vs. Self-Publishing Preview 04:49

This lecture brings clarity to the difference between traditional publishing and self-publishing, so that you can approach this phase of your process with confidence.

Meet Your "Dream" Readers Preview 05:03

This lecture helps you define your "dream" readers, so that all of your publishing efforts are purposeful.

Find Comparison Titles Preview 12:00

This lecture helps you find published books that are similar to yours, so that you can demonstrate your book's marketability to agents and publishers. 

Meet Your "Dream" Literary Agents Preview 21:43

This lecture shows you how to search the internet for literary agents who represent books like yours and create a list of agents you will pitch.

Compose Your Query Letter (Using Examples) Preview 15:44

This lecture examines success query letters and reverse engineers how they landed the authors representation by a literary agent. 

Compose a Logline, Synopsis, and Author Bio Preview 04:44

This lecture guides you in the building of three additional pieces of pitch material, so that you begin pitching with everything you need in hand.

Wrap-Up and What's Next? Preview 01:48

Congratulate yourself and plan for your next steps.

BONUS Content You Don't Want to Miss! Preview 03:39