This course is designed for the writer with a life -- you have other activities that you're committed to in addition to writing.
Do this course at your own pace!
In this course, you'll prepare to write your novel for NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and takes place every November. (A smaller event also happens every July, Camp Nanowrimo.) A free event, writers use NaNoWriMo to "win" the challenge of writing a 50,000-word novel. "Winners" get a certificate and the pride in completing a manuscript.We run the self-paced class via a few mediums: email, videos, audios, and checklists, templates, and handouts (PDFs). For the live course, we also have live weekly teleseminar/webinar teaching sessions, a private Facebook group, and coaching calls to build community, connect with your fellow writers for support and accountability, and get one-on-one support.In our 30-Day Writing Challenge, we will help you think and write through the steps to create your novel -- from character development to plot structure to story themes and world building -- so that you can start NaNoWriMo prepared.
Who is this course for?
For: Experienced writers or ambitious writers who want to plan their novel in an organic or step-by-step way, so that you can start writing it alongside the NaNoWriMo community.
This course is designed for the writer with a life -- you have other activities that you’re committed to in addition to writing.
We know that.
We know you're busy with other obligations AND you want to be writing. Well, you can, in small, manageable bite-sized pieces. Each activity can be done in as little as 15-20 minutes. You can plan your novel in a way that fits into your life. We know, because we've done it, multiple times!
With this course, you'll be able to:- Plan your novel
- Step into a sense of satisfaction and creative accomplishment
- Get excited for NaNoWriMo
- Believe that you can write a novel
What can you expect: You'll put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard and write while you think, in specific ways, with specific focuses. Words will pile up, along with ideas, story questions, and scenes.
You'll be invited to read short lessons, watch video or listen to the lessons, then write -- put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard and actually do some thinking of your story on the page.
This class is good for you:
- If you have never written a novel, and have always wanted to, and still feel lost on how to go from brilliant idea to The End, then you will be stretched in new and different ways.
- If you're an experienced novelist, with 1 or 2 completed or partially completed novels under your bed. You may find this course structured in a way that's new to you and yet familiar.
- If you have 5 or more unfinished novels sitting in a drawer, and always hit that sagging middle and lose focus or lose interest, this course will help you dream up exciting ways to torture, I mean challenge, your characters all the way to the resolution of the story.
Duration
Time commitment: 30 days (or less!)
A 30-day course, structured so you can do it at your own pace.
Your time commitment: All told, if you follow the curriculum, you will probably spend 4 - 10 hours or more over the month to follow through on the assignments and exercises, all designed to prepare you to write your novel. Of course, some of you will spend less and some may spend more time on this course.
This course is designed with the understanding that you have a busy life, full of commitments -- family, job, second job, pets, friends, and oh yeah, sleep.
This course covers:
Week 1: Elevator Pitch & Short Synopsis We help you write the 1-2 paragraph story blurb, also know as the elevator pitch, that you can later use in a query letter. Next we cover the 5-6 paragraph story synopsis that can form the basis of a synopsis agents and editors request. We also touch on the story's theme and genre to help you have a better idea of the focus of your story and also your audience's expectations.
Week 2: Get to Know Your Main Characters We cover getting to know your main characters. Great stories start with great characters that you love! We expand on the "10 Questions to Ask Your Characters" tip sheet (PDF) that you got when you signed up for the course. We also have more character questions to share with you and special exercises to help you get to know your characters so you can bring them to life when you write your novel.
Week 3: Story Plot & World Building We help you design the story's main plot points and get to know the world of your story better, in other words, world building. Plot comes from characters, from knowing your story world, and from asking some good questions. We help you design a plot that will keep readers at the edge of their seats turning pages deep into the night.
Week 4: Scene-by-Scene Outline & Plotting We guide you through the final preparation step of building your story scene-by-scene. We help you create an organic outline from all the notes and thinking that have gone before and also provide tips on a more linear approach to plotting your story. Once you have completed this exercise, and all the ones before, you'll have a good sense of your entire story, and can sit down to write your novel with excitement and confidence.
What People Have Said About Working with Us
"I want to thank Beth Barany and Ezra Barany for taking the time ... Their encouragement helped to get me on the stick and get ready to write my novel. --Carol Malone w/a Jill Tunny, Ladies Night, a Fight-Card Romance
![Zephrum Gates and the Strange Magical Treasure (Zephrum Gates & The Strange Magical Treasure) [Kindle Edition] Tricia Riel (Author), Joe Salvo (Illustrator)](http://authorentrepreneurship.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Screenshot-2014-01-23-16.53.44.png)
"Beth & Ezra are super accessible... & they have great ideas for guiding an author's success. It's been fun to virtually meet other creative writers as well. The support is fabulous ... a real community."-- Tricia Riel, author of the Zephrum Gates series
"Just wanted to say thank-you to Beth and Ezra - I have really enjoyed your course. ... I especially enjoyed the daily tasks, which allowed me to take time and really delve into my characters' motivations and conflicts." -- Triana Willard, author of Autumn Magic
Investment
3 levels of commitment:
1. Stay the Course -- Self-Paced Course
- "10 Questions to Ask Your Characters" tip sheet (PDF), plus audio goodie.
- Weekly emails prompts to get you writing. You'll be guided each week on a new focus following the course structure above.
- 2 recorded video teaching webinars with the instructors
- 2 recorded group coaching teleseminars with the instructors
- Handouts
Stay the Course: $30
[do action="buy-now" code="G4PWXHZH84PGW"][/do]
About the Instructors
Beth and Ezra Barany are award-winning, best-selling novelists, who have worked with over 100 authors to help them get their books written and published.
Happily married for over 15 years, we’re passionate about writing, story telling, and guiding authors to achieve your dreams.
Together we have written and published 18 books, plus 3 audio books. Together and separately, we have taught thousands of students over the years, in both the public and private sector, including overseas in Paris, France. We both teach (and Beth's case, coach) and working on writing and publishing our novels.
Why work with Beth and Ezra:
- Beth has written and published 4 novellas, 2 novels, a collection of her romances, a short story, and novel prequel in the last few years. She also has one novel and 3 novellas coming out in 2016.
- Beth has used this process successfully in each of her 7 novellas and 3 novels.
- Beth has taught all these tools to other authors and has seen how effective these tools are.
Beth Barany's young adult fantasy and paranormal romance on Amazon.com[/caption]
- Ezra has written 4 novels during Nanowrimo.
- He successfully uses the techniques that we teach.
- Ezra has written 2 thrillers and is editing on the third in his series this year.
Ezra Barany's thrillers on Amazon.com[/caption]
[table id=1 /]
FAQ
What is your refund policy? Due to the nature of committing to your writing, there is no refund for the course. What if I can't finish in 30 days? We know that people go at their own pace. You can always return to the course at a later date and finish on your own. That's why we made it a self-paced course. When do I need to take advantage of the coaching call with Beth? Schedule your call with Beth within 30 days of signing up for the course. You need to take advantage of actually having the call within 90 days of signing up for the course. Do you offer scholarships? Due to the low cost of this course, we are not offering scholarships at this time. Can I upgrade from the self-paced course to the live course? Yes! Keep an eye on the special coupon that we send out before the live course.
