Plan a draft or a revision and get ready to write forward with confidence. We’ll use my “Demystify Your Mystery” exercises, Jennie Nash’s 13-step Blueprint for a Book exercises, and weekly customized writing prompts to move you from foundational decisions to a detailed outline (revised at least once) over the course of six weeks.

This variation of Puzzling and Plotting offers everything in the basic planning package, but across six deadlines (six weeks) with additional customized exercises and up to two hours of call time to be divided up however you like.

The extra deadlines allow for more time spent generating and exploring ideas, and more time revising and expanding an outline. You may also come away with the opening scene or chapter drafted.

This package works well for people who are fairly new to the process of writing a novel, are at the early stage of planning, are considering a major revision, or are working with a more complex structure (such as multiple point of view or dual time frames). It’s also a good path for people who have started writing without a plan and now feel stalled out. We may be able to incorporate an assessment of your opening pages.

The 6-week intensive offers more flexibility and customization than the four-week planning package.

Time Commitment:

• This program typically takes six weeks, with weekly deadlines and up to two hours of call time. We can combine deadlines and get you through it faster, depending on how much time you have to work through the exercises.
• You will need a minimum of ten hours a week to work through the process.

Program Includes:

• Written feedback on planning exercises: inline comments and a feedback letter for work submitted each week.
• Up to two hours of call time on Zoom, which can be divided into shorter increments and scheduled as you go. We can use this for verbal brainstorming, problem-solving, decision-making, discussion comparison titles, and more.
• My “Demystify Your Mystery” exercises and customized writing exercises and prompts, all designed to give you clarity and jump-start scenes you can actually include in your novel.
• A digital copy of Jennie Nash’s Blueprint for a Book and the accompanying PDF of the workbook.

Takeaways:

• Clarity about foundational decisions: your book’s audience, structure, characters, plot, point of view and mystery / crime elements, plus a road map of next steps for your draft or revision.
• A working outline and some scenes you can actually use in your novel — maybe even the opening chapter or two!
• You can continue on into one of my ongoing 12-deadline coaching programs, or go off and write independently, knowing you have a road map.

Cost: $1,500 

Time Commitment: 

• Requires a 3-month minimum commitment. Deadlines are typically scheduled twice a month to complete the package in six to seven months, but you can work faster (weekly) if needed, or push deadlines out to three weeks if you need to work around schedule conflicts or work / life events. You can purchase additional deadlines after this program ends if you are not yet at the end of your draft.
• You’ll be handing in up to 20 double-spaced pages (up to 5,000 words) for each deadline, so you’ll need to budget time to write that amount — or close to it — every two weeks. The pace can feel a little intense if you are scheduling twice a month, but you will make rapid progress.

Program Includes:

12 deadlines of up to 20 double-spaced pages (5,000 words) for each deadline. Submissions can be all new material, revised material, or a mixture of revised and new material. Deadlines expire one year from purchase date.

Written feedback on material submitted, specifically:

1. In-line comments (margin notes)
2. A 4-6 page editorial letter with suggested next steps / project management assistance
3. Suggested line edits, depending on the stage of the draft, to help demonstrate a craft issue, highlight patterns, and offer instruction as needed.

Four hours of verbal coaching support: Four 60-minute Zoom calls (these can be divided into smaller, more frequent increments if desired). Unused call time can convert to a limited amount of extra deadlines.

Accountability and accessibility: Email support between deadlines, an accountability check-in between deadlines if needed.

Takeaways:

Forward progress! Up to 200-240 pages of your draft or revision with feedback you can use to revise/edit as you go or later

Organizational tools and select mystery planning exercises from my “Demystify Your Mystery” workbook.

Cost: $3,000

(upfront or payment plan of $1,000 / month for three months)

$100 discount offered to clients continuing from one of the planning packages  

 Time Commitment: 

Requires a 3-month minimum commitment. Deadlines are typically scheduled twice a month to complete the package in six to seven months, but you can work weekly if needed, or push deadlines out to three weeks.

12 deadlines of up to 10 double-spaced pages (2,500 words). This is a more “relaxed” pace than the Story Sleuth program. You’ll make steady progress, but it will take you a little longer to get through your book.

Program Includes:

12 deadlines of up to 10 double-spaced pages (2,500 words) for each deadline. Submissions can be all new material, revised material, or a mixture of revised and new material adding up to 10 pages. Deadlines expire one year from purchase date.

Written feedback on material submitted for each deadline, specifically:

1. Extensive, targeted in-line comments (margin notes);
2. A 3-5 page editorial letter with suggested next steps / project management assistance
3. Suggested line edits, depending on the stage of the draft, to help demonstrate a craft issue, highlight patterns, and offer instruction as needed.

60 minutes of verbal coaching support: I offer a 60-minute project planning call or two 30-minute calls (on Zoom), which you can use at the start of the program, the midpoint, or the end. (Additional calls can be purchased for $75/ hour).

Takeaways:

Forward progress! Up to 100-120 pages of your draft or revision with feedback you can use to revise/edit as you go or later

Organizational tools and select mystery planning exercises from my “Demystify Your Mystery” workbook.

Cost: $1,500

(upfront or payment plan of $500 / month for three months)