Lessons
Class Introduction
04:14 2Project Fundamentals: Introduction
03:24 3Why Write this Story?
09:03 4What's the Point of your Story?
08:00 5Who's your Ideal Reader
24:35 6Write a Catchy Elevator Pitch
30:48 7Write an Engaging Title
06:28 8Genre Specific Elements
14:21Story Structure: Introduction
01:52 10Define your Protagonist and their Desires
12:00 11Choosing your Narrator
16:26 12Where does your Story Start and End?
11:14 13Graph your Story
14:29 14Write a Two-Tier Outline
42:56 15Start Writing: Introduction
01:11 16Write your Opening Scene
33:31 17Write your Closing Scene
18:35 18Strategic Plan: Introduction
00:47 19The No-Excuses Book Map
19:53 20Create a Plan for Success
10:37 21The Power of Getting Coached
18:03Lesson Info
Class Introduction
Hey everyone, it's great to be here. Well we have an amazing opportunity today. Yeah. Just before we get started into today's class, to let you know that online we have some one to one coaching availability. So I'm gonna let you tell me a bit more about that. Yeah, it's a really exciting opportunity. The work that you do in this class, in the workbook and we're gonna through 14 critical steps for starting a novel or memoir and you're gonna do that work and this is just such a critically important moment in the writing process. I always say that if you have any time or energy or money to spend on making a better book, do it at the very start and you can get professional feedback from one of my team of coaches. I have 32 coaches that work for me. That I've hired and trained and oversee. They follow my strategies and philosophies. They're amazing (laughs) and we are primed and ready to give you feedback on your pages and we're gonna do it within three weeks of when you turn the wo...
rk in. Which in the world of publishing, publishing is really slow, so that's a fast, fast turnaround. So you're gonna know right away what you're doing well, what you could do better and really get confidence to write forward, it's gonna be great. It's a great opportunity because maybe you're kind of watching this thinking I've been taking a lot of time getting to the stage of just wanting to really get stuck into writing a book and having that support there is gonna take you a long way. So if you wanna read more information it is there on the course page, scroll down, look for the yellow box and you can read more there, but take a look, and of course with that comes everything we're gonna cover today. So check it out and look for it on the course page. Alright, I'll let you crack on with the course today. Alright, thank you. So we're here today to learn how to write a book, and that is a incredibly complex, emotional, multilayered activity that takes many people years, and years, and years to get right, what we're gonna try to do is put some boundaries and order on the process so that it doesn't have to be quite so overwhelming. That's what our whole job here is today. As a book coach, I am constantly seeing what people are doing wrong, and I see the same patterns over and over and over again. Creativity it turns out, is not just a wild thing that is out there and is total chaos, it can be the patterns in it, it can be tamed, and the thing is you have to believe that, you have to believe that there can be order to this chaos. I love this quote by Twyla Tharp the choreographer and author of the book The Creative Habit, she says "Before you can thing out of the box, you have to start with a box" and what's just great about this is it, doesn't it just feel comforting (laughs) like, oh that feels good, okay let's start with a box, what is this that we're doing, what are the rules of the game, and then we can proceed forward. So it's very much like a painter, a painter has to choose a canvas, they have to choose a size of a canvas, they have to choose a palette of colors that they're gonna use, they have to choose a style that they're going to paint in. They approach a blank canvas, but they have to answer a series of questions before they can even begin, and they have to know what their intention is. We're doing exactly the same thing, it's just a little bit trickier with a novel or a memoir because words are not visible, we can't see it the way we can see what a painter is doing, but we're doing exactly the same thing, we're choosing our canvas, we're choosing our palette, we're deciding are we doing a landscape or are we doing a portrait? That's exactly the kind of work that we're doing here. So the first thing that you wanna do is download the workbook for this class, this is a 25 page workbook, that's got all the questions we're gonna answer today and space for you to write them out. I would set aside a lot of time to complete this workbook. The class itself is about six hours, and I would say at least six hours to do the workbook as well, it's a lot of work and you get the download in, and you should do that now so you can work through these questions while we go.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
Nom Johnson
This is the first class I purchased on CL. I listened in on the Live Streaming day, taking notes furiously while feeling sooo blessed to finally have found such an outstanding industry expert who knew -- really knew -- what writers problem areas and blindspots were. Furthermore, Jennie is a GREAT teacher who doesn't just tell her listeners how to do things smarter but takes us by the hand and leads us through smart exercises or great stretches of well laid out logic that is deeply illuminating on how to do our job, LOADS better! And that, in the 1st draft instead of the 5th or 10th (if we're still tenacious enough to be hanging in by then.) I purchased it because streaming quality was poor (not sure why, I have top rate streaming package; made me think it could be a CL purposeful thing) and the course content too great to not own. I've started relistening, and will do so as many times as I need to in order to receive full benefit from Jennie's obvious expertise and great instruction. For ANYONE starting out in the world of novel or memoir writing, I DEEPLY RECOMMEND you get this course along with Lisa Cron's Story Writing one. With the 2 of them you will have done yourself the biggest favor EVER on the learning curve of the art -- and the science -- of writing the best book you're capable of.
Denise
Loved watching Jennie give this class. She brings great clarity to the writing process that for so long for me, has been so daunting. I can't wait to learn more from Jennie who's passion for writing is incredible, but also her heartfelt compassion for us writers is nothing I have ever seen. Thank you Jennie. ~Denise
Deborah Lucas
I love listening to Jennie Nash, especially for free any day. But I found this class to be so valuable, I bought it in a flash. I recommend it for anyone working on a novel. Even if you are well into a manuscript, this class will give you structure to understand your plot/emotional trajectory as well as the audience you are writing for. I can't say enough good things about it. FABULOUS!!!!