Novel Marathon

🏃Welcome to Mile 8 & 9 of Novel Marathon – The 2023 Edition! 🏃 When it comes to writing styles, we talk about “planners” and “pantsers” as if they are two different species – as in “men are from Mars, women are from Venus.” 🙄 And maybe that’s true for some people. However, by and large, humans are more interesting than that. I was researching different tools for plotting and came across a medium post from author Julie Cohen, where she talks about how her method of using post-it notes can be useful when you’ve already written thousands of words – in fact, rather than using post-it notes to invent a plot from scratch, she uses them to DISCOVER the structure of what she’s already written. That’s right! Post-its can be as much an analytical as a generative tool. I was intrigued after reading the medium post above and decided to invest in Julie’s online class. It took me a Saturday morning to watch the short lessons and do the exercises, and it’s really changed my approach to plotting. The exercises in the course are simple, don’t take much time, yet were super effective at demonstrating the power of Post-its. Julie’s an excellent teacher – it shows that she has taught versions of this class many times. If you want to learn more about plotting, and your writing style is a mix of planning and pantsing, I highly recommend Julie’s class. And I don’t get paid for saying so! Since taking the class, I bought a mix of small and large post-it notes in different colors and have started mapping out my book – including making sense of what I’ve written so far. Personally, I’m using small blue post-its for regular story beats (stuff that happens, jotted down in a single sentence or word) and small pink post-its for structural story events (inciting incident, one-quarter twist, strong middle, three-quarter turn, plot twists, etc.) I arranged those post-its on letter-size printer paper which I’ve taped together with Scotch tape to form one long document that is multiple pages long. When I unfold it I can see the structure of my story, the story arc that goes from left to right. On the last two pages I use big yellow post-its for my characters (one post-it per character) and small green ones for the main locations where my book takes place. But here’s the real beauty of Julie’s method: You can use whatever colors, whatever sizes, and whatever structure that fits YOUR book. Taking the class has helped me see how flexible this method really is. That’s what makes it fun: You can make it your own. Writing a novel is scary. This method of using post-its allows us to tackle some difficult structural challenges with little colored pieces of paper. If you make a mistake no big deal, just toss out the culprit and grab a new one, you have a whole stack of ‘em! That’s the magic. I’m glad I stumbled over this plotting hack – maybe you’ll find it useful too! Lisa Cohen’s medium post: https://medium.com/novel-gazing/post-it-plotting-d886194bf375 Lisa’s class: https://novel-gazing-with-julie-cohen.teachable.com/p/using-post-its-to-transform-your-writing 📚 Required reading Ch. 17-20 in The One Year Novelist Ch. 10, 11 & 15 in Story Genius 🌟 Extra credit Pgs. 40-47 in This Year You Write Your Novel Pgs. 24-31 in Refuse To Be Done 👟 Explore using Post-its to structure your writing Lay out what you’ve written so far Use one Post-it per story beat. Lay it out however you like. Use a different color for key narrative turning points (inciting incident, one-quarter twist, etc.) 👟 Write with the ending in mind Fast forward: How will you end your book. Will your protagonist win? Will they lose? Will there be a partial victory, where they lose something but gain something else? Is there a big a-ha moment, when the protagonist faces a final choice or final battle? And once you know what the ending might look like, what scenes do you need to get there? For more writing prompts, go to: novelmarathon.com/newsletter 💌

🏃Welcome to Mile 7 of Novel Marathon – The 2023 Edition! 🏃 The last couple of weeks have been a wild ride at my job. As in I wasn’t sure whether I still had a job! Which led me to think about compartmentalization, and the value of art. For me, compartmentalization is a way of separating different parts of who I am. There is the bringing-home-the-bacon part. There’s being a parent. And there’s my writing. Of course, compartmentalization has its limits. Especially when something really big happens. Trouble on the job front. Breaking up with someone. Getting broken up with. I’m not even talking about getting bad health news, that’s a whole ‘nother level. What is one supposed to do when the world comes knocking, demanding our full attention? Just forget about that novel you’ve been meaning to write? Snap back to reality? Kiss those childish dreams goodbye? The trouble with letting the world into our innermost creative sanctum is that two parts of ourselves suffer: In addition to things going south in real life, our creative pursuits are also in danger of taking a hit, and all of a sudden, our whole being is threatened. I’m not suggesting that real life problems can be perfectly kept at bay. We aren’t robots, after all, and whatever walls we attempt to erect between the different roles we play are ultimately as soft and porous as our skin. I take a lot of pride and ownership in my work. But ultimately, it’s work for hire. I’m as replaceable as any employee. But art is different. Our writing belongs to us. In case you’re wondering, it turns out I still DO have a job! But this experience has clarified a few things for me. When everything falls apart, my writing will still be there. I find that immensely comforting. It’s constant, waiting for me, a refuge I can turn/return to at any time. Protect your art. It’s worth it, and so are you. 📚Required reading Ch. 15 & 16 in The One Year Novelist 🌟Extra credit Pgs. 22-24 in Refuse To Be Done 👟Story spark Write a paragraph about the moment you had the idea for your novel and what attracted you to it. 👟Most importantly: WRITE! ~500 words, 5x per week. For more writing prompts, go to: https://novelmarathon.substack.com

Dear Novelists & Novelistas, 🏃Welcome to Mile 6 of Novel Marathon – The 2023 Edition! Guess what? All that planning you’ve been doing is paying off and you’re now READY TO WRITE! Scared? Don’t be, because you already have the best tool for creating a compelling narrative in your back pocket: Scene cards. Scene cards are a way to structure each scene in your book so you not only know what’s happening in that scene, but also what the scene is building up to, and what needs to happen next. These scene cards become the blueprint for your writing. Fill out as many as you can, always asking “So what?” at the end. Why did you write this scene? What’s the next thing that needs to happen? If your scene cards build logically upon each other, chances are that your narrative will captivate the reader. About that narrative… let’s talk about word count goals. My suggestion is to shoot for ~500 words, ~5x per week. You can pick a different goal. This is one that has worked for me in the past. What I like about it is that it doesn’t require perfection. It’s ok if you miss a day. Maybe you had a rough day at work – or a rough week! Well, you always have the weekend to catch up. But if you manage to write every weekday, you can have the weekend off, which is a pretty sweet incentive IMO. I will be there with you, every step of the way. I’m sure I’ll stumble. I’m sure I’ll have to catch up at some point. Slow and steady wins the day 🐢There’s a reason this newsletter is called Novel Marathon 🏃 Now that it’s writing time, there will be some changes to this newsletter. Future newsletters will be a little shorter. I need time to write! I’ll still send out the readings & writing prompts, and I’ll share my progress with you along the way. And here’s the homework for the next two weeks: 📚Required reading Ch. 11-14 in The One Year Novelist Ch. 9 in Story Genius 🌟Extra credit Pgs. 65-68 in This Year You Write Your Novel Pgs. 20-24 in Refuse To Be Done ✏️ Your Assignment 👟Opening scene What’s your novel’s very first scene? Start writing! 👟Write the islands “Islands” is what Matt Bell calls the key plot points in your novel. Remember all those twists and turns you sketched out? Review your Story Spark, One-Quarter Twist, Mid-Point, Three-Quarter Turn, and Climax. Make sure you have scene cards filled out for each plot point and start writing the scenes that you envision most clearly. It’s ok to write out of sequence! 👟Continue to flesh out subplots Who are your supporting characters? What are THEIR misbeliefs? How are they changed, if at all, by the events of your novel? 👟Most importantly: WRITE! ~500 words, 5x per week Aim for 2,500 words per week Start May 8, finish an 80k word novel by the end of 2023 Previous assignments can be found at novelmarathon.substack.com 👀 Watch & 🎧Listen Follow Novel Marathon on YouTube or TikTok. You can also listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Newsletter 💌 and latest post https://novelmarathon.substack.com More info💡 https://www.novelmarathon.com Good luck & happy writing! ✍️

Dear Novelists & Novelistas, 🏃Welcome to Mile 5 of Novel Marathon – The 2023 Edition! It’s the first week of April! Perhaps some of you are participating in #CampNaNoWriMo. If you are, I’m cheering you on! Meanwhile, I’m doing my own version of camping – in my own driveway, no less… Yes, we bought a camper! The plan is to take it out on the road in the summer, but for now, it’s sitting in front of our house, where it serves as my personal writing studio. I have to tell you, it’s quite glorious to leave behind the general hubbub of a family of four living in a 1,000 sq ft house whenever I feel like it, and enjoy some peace and quiet in the camper. Its best feature, by far, is the purple electric fireplace 💜 I love staring at it whenever I’m out of plot ideas! Here’s the last batch of assignments we worked on:https://novelmarathon.substack.com/p/novel-marathon-mile-4-snow-and-palm Here are the readings and assignments to work on for the NEXT two weeks: 📚Required reading Ch. 9 & 10 in The One Year Novelist Ch. 6 in Story Genius 🌟Extra credit reading Pgs. 18-20 in Refuse To Be Done ✏️ Your Assignment 👟Getting inside your protagonist’s head What is your MC's misbelief? What are they just totally wrong about? What was the formative moment in your protagonist’s life? What event shaped the trajectory they’re currently on? What secrets does your protagonist have, what lies have they told – to others, and more importantly, to themselves? 👟Understanding your protagonist’s trajectory When did YOUR protagonist first adopt an incorrect hypothesis about the world — an incorrect theory about how the world works — and how has that incorrect theory guided their actions for better or for worse before page one of your book? Imagine three pivotal moments when something happened in your character’s past which caused them to commit even more to whatever faulty theory they have, which gets them further into trouble by misguiding their actions. Imagine those moments as fully as you can, and write out three scenes that describe what happened to them before your book even starts. Remember, the events of your novel will help the protagonist examine their misbelief, and perhaps form a different worldview as a result. Previous assignments can be found at novelmarathon.substack.com 👀 Watch & 🎧Listen Follow Novel Marathon on YouTube or TikTok. You can also listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Newsletter 💌 and latest post https://novelmarathon.substack.com More info💡 https://www.novelmarathon.com Good luck & happy writing! ✍️

Dear Novelists & Novelistas, 🏃Welcome to Mile 4 of Novel Marathon – The 2023 Edition! Hope you’re staying warm, wherever you are! This past week it snowed in the northeastern part of LA, where I live – not a regular occurrence! Of course the snow didn’t stay, but it’s still nice to drive my kid to school in the morning and see snow-dusted hills in the distance… This week, we’ll continue to sketch out the plot of our novel, check-in on progress, plus I’ll share a little word count hack for those of you who like to handwrite your initial draft ✍️ Here’s the last batch of assignments we worked on: https://novelmarathon.substack.com/p/novel-marathon-mile-3 Here are the readings and assignments to work on for the NEXT two weeks: 📚Required reading Ch. 7 & 8 in The One Year Novelist Ch. 8 in Story Genius 🌟Extra credit reading Pgs. 16-18 in Refuse To Be Done ✏️ Your Assignment 👟Three-quarter turn After the midpoint of your novel, when your MC doubles down and commits to a cause or fight, what might happen that sends your story in a new direction? Brainstorm five possibilities. And what happens at the end? Is your MC going to “win,” whatever that means in your book? 👟Collect generative epigraphs See a passage in a book that could be an epigraph for the one you’re writing? Following Matt Bell’s suggestions, start collecting these passages in a file – or, even better, paste them after the title page directly into your working draft. If you keep doing this, you will have way more potential quotes than what you’re going to need. In the meantime, let other people’s writing inspire you while you’re trying to figure out what kind of book YOU are writing. 👟 Accountability check-in It’s time to check in with your group of three friends who will keep you honest. Let them know how it’s going. If you’re behind, no need to make excuses, just focus on what you’re going to do in order to get back on track — for example, you could go back to an earlier episode and pick up where you left off. Remember, long distance races are run and won on your own time! Previous assignments can be found at novelmarathon.substack.com 👀 Watch & 🎧Listen Follow Novel Marathon on YouTube or TikTok. You can also listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Newsletter 💌 and latest post: https://novelmarathon.substack.com More info💡: https://www.novelmarathon.com Good luck & happy writing! ✍️

Dear Novelists & Novelistas, 🏃Welcome to Mile 3 of Novel Marathon – The 2023 Edition! The basics: Novel Marathon is a self-directed class. Like you, my goal is to write a novel in a year. Let’s do it together 💪 Here are the readings and assignments to work on for the NEXT two weeks: 📚Required reading Ch. 5 & 6 in The One Year Novelist Ch. 7 in Story Genius Pgs. 13-15 in This Year You Write Your Novel 🌟Extra credit reading Pgs. 13-15 in Refuse To Be Done ✏️ Your Assignment 👟Choose a working title Give your book a name, if you haven’t already. Matt Bell quotes fellow writer Kevin Brockmeier: “I think of the title as the target toward which I shoot the arrow of the story.” 👟One-quarter twist What surprising thing could happen 25% into your book that sends the story in a new direction? Brainstorm a dozen (!) possibilities. 👟Strong midpoint Half-way through the story, how might your protagonist double down, by committing to a cause, a fight, or a larger goal? What’s the moment in your story when the main character “throws caution to the wind” and does something decisive? Previous assignments can be found at novelmarathon.substack.com 🎧 Podcast Find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! Newsletter 💌 and latest post https://novelmarathon.substack.com More info💡 https://www.novelmarathon.com Good luck & happy writing! ✍️

Dear Novelists & Novelistas, 🏃Welcome to Mile 2 of Novel Marathon – The 2023 Edition! The basics: Novel Marathon is a self-directed class. Like you, my goal is to write a novel in a year. Let’s do it together 💪 Here are the readings and assignments to work on for the NEXT two weeks: 📚Required reading Ch. 3&4 in The One Year Novelist Ch. 5 in Story Genius 🌟Extra credit reading Pgs. 7-13 in Refuse To Be Done ✏️ Your Assignment 👟Accountability Check in with the three people you told that you’re writing a novel. Let them know how it’s going. 👟Motivation Re-read chapter 3 in Story Genius. Write a paragraph about why you want to write a novel. What’s driving you to write a long-form work of fiction, with all the work that it requires? 👟From initial idea to “What if?” Do the exercise on p. 50 in Story Genius. Can you transform the initial idea of your story into a powerful “What if?” question? 👟Conflict Revisit your protagonist’s and antagonist’s (if you have one) goals. Are they directly opposed to each other? If not, what can you do to sharpen the conflict and create a formidable opponent or obstacle for your MC? Write down 2 or 3 obstacles that would throw a significant wrench into your main character’s path. Previous assignments can be found at novelmarathon.substack.com 🎧 Podcast Find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! Newsletter 💌 and latest post https://novelmarathon.substack.com More info💡 https://www.novelmarathon.com Good luck & happy writing! ✍️

Dear Novelists & Novelistas, 🏃Welcome to Mile 1 of Novel Marathon – The 2023 Edition! The basics: Novel Marathon is a self-directed class. Our goal is to complete a ~80k word novel in a year. There will be exercises and readings, details below. We’ll be reading three books: 👟 The One Year Novelist by L. M. Lily 👟 Story Genius by Lisa Cron 👟 This Year You Write Your Novel by Walter Mosley For extra credit, I will also occasionally refer to: 👟 Refuse To Be Done by Matt Bell Don’t worry if you don’t have all the books right away – I’ll go over the main concepts in this newsletter and on the podcast (link in bio) I’m super excited to kick off this new cycle with you. Like you, my goal is to write a novel in a year. Let’s do it together 💪 So, without further ado, here are the readings and assignments to work on for the next two weeks: 📚Required reading Ch. 1-2 in The One Year Novelist Ch. 1-4 in Story Genius Pgs. 3-13 in This Year You Write Your Novel 🌟Extra credit reading Pgs. 1-6 in Refuse To Be Done ✏️ Your Assignment 👟 Accountability Tell 3 people that you plan to finish a novel by this time next year. 👟 Protagonist Picture your main character. Think about these three questions: What’s the main thing your character wants? What makes that thing, whatever it is, hard to achieve? Why does your main character desperately want to achieve this goal? Why do you want to write about him or her? What’s motivating you to tell THIS particular story? 👟 Antagonist Shift our focus to the antagonist/antagonistic force. For maximum conflict, you want the antagonist’s goal to be directly opposed to your main character’s goal. Whatever your main character wants — the antagonist should want the opposite. 👟 Beliefs Brainstorm three over arching beliefs your main character has — does she believe that people are generally good or bad? What are your opponent’s core beliefs? 🎧 Podcast Find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! Newsletter 💌 and latest post https://novelmarathon.substack.com More info💡 https://www.novelmarathon.com Good luck & happy writing! ✍️

Welcome to episode #26 of NOVEL MARATHON, a 26-episode podcast for writing the first draft of an 80,000 word novel over the course of a year. We’re reading: 1) THE ONE YEAR NOVELIST by L. M. Lilly, 2) STORY GENIUS by Lisa Cron, and 3) THIS YEAR YOU WRITE YOUR NOVEL by Walter Mosley. Want to join? Get the books and start with episode 1! In today’s episode we’ll recap the following writing prompts designed to help you create an outline for your next book: #21: Who are the supporting characters in your book? Does each character in your book undergo a character arc of transformational change? #22: Picture yourself in the coming year… What’s it going to be like to write your next novel? What will be the best thing and what will be the worst thing about it? #23: Write a concise summary of your book? Don't give it all away, but hint at some of the obstacles your protagonist will face and overcome or be defeated by. #24: In the summary you wrote, search for all the moments that challenged your main character and caused them to take action. Translate those moments into an idea list for future scenes. #25: Congratulations! You have a pretty good idea of what your next novel will be about. Want to write it? Sign up for the free newsletter 💌 to get bi-weekly writing prompts: http://www.novelmarathon.com/newsletter New cycle of writing an 80k word novel starts in January. Latest post: https://novelmarathon.substack.com More info💡: https://www.novelmarathon.com Good luck & happy writing! ✍️

Welcome to episode #25 of NOVEL MARATHON, a 26-episode podcast for writing the first draft of an 80,000 word novel over the course of a year. We’re reading: 1) THE ONE YEAR NOVELIST by L. M. Lilly, 2) STORY GENIUS by Lisa Cron, and 3) THIS YEAR YOU WRITE YOUR NOVEL by Walter Mosley. Want to join? Get the books and start with episode 1! In today’s episode we’ll recap the following writing prompts designed to help you create an outline for your next book: #16: Fast forward: How will you end your book. Will your protagonist win? Will they lose? Will there be a partial victory, where they lose something but gain something else? #17: The conflict/obstacles you dreamt up for your MC — can it sustain the entire novel from the first page to the last? Does your conflict have the power to grow, intensify, and complicate? #18: Regardless of whether or not your protagonist achieves their goal, would the looming consequence cost them something big — emotionally speaking, that is? What's the cost of inaction? #19: Consider your plot so far. Does the conflict and situation you dreamt up force your protagonist to make the inner change that your book is actually about? #20: What's the opening scene of your novel? Newsletter 💌 and latest post: https://novelmarathon.substack.com More info💡: https://www.novelmarathon.com Good luck & happy writing! ✍️