The power of a vision

Susan DeFAlternative MFA, Creative Writing, Writing resourcesLeave a Comment

Back in 2020, on a literal mountain top, a vision came to me in the form of three words: Workshops Against Empire.

I was standing on a mountain top because it was the lock-down phase of the pandemic, and how else was I going to celebrate my birthday except by going on a backpacking trip?

And sure, those words were inspired by a book I’d read, Eric Bennett’s Workshops of Empire: Stegner, Engle, and American Creative Writing during the Cold War—which details the way that the nation’s earliest MFA in Creative Writing programs were in fact designed to be a tool of “soft power” against the USSR.

A legacy that has continued to this day, in MFA programs all over the country.

Reading that book helped me understand a lot of things about my own MFA experience. 

Why so-called “apolitical fiction” was the only type that seemed to be recognized as artful, and worthy of publication. (Ironic, but early on, this was considered the antidote to the USSR’s straight-up propaganda approach to art.)

And yet, didn’t George Orwell tell us that All Art Is Propaganda? 

Meaning, all art has a political and social dimension to it. All art embodies a certain worldview, a certain set of values.

So I decided—right there, on that mountaintop—to take everything I knew about the art of the novel and develop an alternative to the traditional MFA program.

A program that helps writers to dig deeper into their values, and the issues that keep them up at night, while creating big emotions in their readers—and a positive impact on the world.

A program that is WAY more affordable than a traditional MFA. (I paid $40K for mine—many people pay more.) 

A program that teaches what people THINK you learn in an MFA—namely, what it actually takes to get published—but which such programs seldom do. (Fun fact: Many of my one-on-one book coaching clients already have MFAs.)

Friends, I’ve been sharing presale versions of this program for the past year or so now—and now the final version is at last ***drumroll, pls*** complete!

Behold, the shiny new Workshops Against Empire website. 

This is the public-facing version of the program I’ve been sharing with you privately—and I’m pleased to say that you can work with me on your novel for the entirety of 2025 if you register now.

When you register for Workshops Against Empire, you’ll receive:

  • Yearlong access to the 5 rich, well-refined courses that teach the art of the novel, all the way from big-picture story structure down to prose and pitching: Anatomy of the Novel, Being Scene, Voice and Vision, Story Medicine, and Final Draft
  • Yearlong membership in our online writer’s group, the Story Medicine Community—where you can ask me any question you might have about the coursework, or about YOUR work (currently, I respond to all inquiries within one business day). Consider it having a book coach in your back pocket. =)
  • Access to a monthly live call just for members of the Story Medicine Community
  • A guaranteed in-depth coaching session on one of these calls

The total cost of yearlong access to this program is just $997, but I’ve decided to make it even more affordable (and accessible) by offering it on a payment plan for just $97/month. 

Which is WAY less than any equivalent program you’ll find online. (Pocket MFA? $3,297, or $1,099 a month for 3 months. Novelry? One year for $4,995, or $416.25/month.)

Because I figured, what’s the point of locking up everything I know behind a paywall that few can scale? (That just seemed like the traditional MFA all over again.)

This vision I had? After 4.5 years, a whole lot of work, and one incredible healing journey, it’s now complete.

Now my vision is to help you manifest your own. 

So: What is the deepest, most beautiful, most impactful vision you have for your current work in progress?

Join me in Workshops Against Empire, and let’s make that vision real.

Here’s to better stories for a better world.

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Even in a logline?

Susan DeFclasses, fictionLeave a Comment

You’ve heard me go on about the critical third layer of your big-picture story structure: your characters’ Goals and Motivations.

But recently I was reminded that this element of storytelling is so critical to our understanding of story, period, that we can’t even quite tell what’s going on in a logline that omits this.

Here’s the definition of a logline (a term from screenwriting), also known in the publishing world as an elevator pitch (a single line you could use to pitch your novel if you happen to wind up riding the elevator with your dream agent/publisher).

If you follow that definition link above, you’ll see a quote from one authority on movies, Ken Miyamoto, saying:

  •  “You’re not telling a story in a logline. You’re presenting the core concept of your script. You don’t need to delve into twists, character arcs, and plot. You’re simply conveying the core idea…”

And another from Linda Venis, an author, saying:

  • “There are many formats you can use to write a good logline. (The one I currently use is: “When _____ happens to [your hero], he must do _____ in order to solve his problem.)”

Screenwriting and novel writing are two different story beasts, sure. But both require their authors to be able to quickly pitch someone on buying the story!

A lot of people would assume that just conveying the core idea wouldn’t actually involve conveying what your protagonist is attempting to accomplish.

But they would be wrong.

This is something I was recently reminded of, when one of my coaching clients asked if her current logline made sense.

That logline was well-written, and it conveyed a lot of fascinating details about her novel—but no, it didn’t actually make sense.

Because it didn’t convey what the protagonist was trying to achieve.

Brain-science-based coach Lisa Cron considers this aspect of the novel so critical to our understanding of story, period, that she likens reading one where we CAN’T tell what the protagonist is trying to achieve (and why) akin to watching football on TV with the sound off, while having no understanding whatsoever of the rules of football.

Why did that guy throw the ball that way? Why did all the fans on that side stand up and cheer? Why did the guy from the other side kick the ball the other way, only to have a member of the opposing team take it and try to kick it through those goal posts?

(Honestly, these are questions I can relate to, having had pretty much zero interest in this sport my entire life!)

So:

1.     In your story, is your protagonist’s goal—and why they absolutely have to achieve it (the STAKES around this)—100 percent clear from your reader’s POV?

2.     Are there aspects of your character’s Goals and Motivations that could be strengthened in revision?

3.     Is the relationship between your protagonist’s higher-order goal and lower-order goals 100 percent clear as well?

4.     If your protagonist’s higher-order goal changes at some point in the story—is it 100 percent clear to your reader WHY?

5.     Are you considering adding a subplot to your novel—or wondering if the subplot you already have is working?

PS. I’ll actually be presenting on this very subject next month at the Author Alchemy Summit in Portland, OR. So if you’re in the area, I’d love to connect with you IRL! Here’s the link where you can claim $100 off the total cost of your summit registration.

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The most critical layer of your story’s structure

Susan DeFfictionLeave a Comment

When I began my deep-dive into story structure after grad school, I knew that much of what was taught in books on craft was unnecessarily complicated, and far from universal in terms of what it actually took to get a novel published.

I knew this because I took what I learned from studying many beloved structures with many raving fans—The Hero’s Journey, Save the Cat, Three-Act, Four-Act, etc. and so forth—and read recently published novels to see if they actually adhered to these structures.

For the most part, they did not (though many did make use of elements of these structures).

What these novels DID adhere to was something deeper and more universal. Something I would later learn is actually anchored in the brain science associated with fiction. (Thanks, Lisa Cron.)

Which in turn gave rise to the simple but deep metaphor I teach in my course on big-picture structure, Anatomy of the Novel.

Layer One, Character Arc:

This is “the heart of story,” but also your novel’s flesh and blood. Character arc is what allows your reader to connect with your protagonist, want to take the time to read their story, and ultimately feel like doing so was worth the ride. In short, character arc makes your protagonist feel real and relatable, and it makes the reader care about your story.

Layer Two, Plot Arc:

Once you’ve worked out your character arc, you’re in a much better position to figure out what actually happens in your story—because now you know WHY it happens. This allows you to develop the skeleton of your novel, the plot: those well-articulated turns of cause and effect—and the mind-blowing reversals—that will keep your reader turning the pages. A strong plot arc will keep your story moving forward with escalating stakes and conflicts, and ultimately, building toward a climax your readers won’t soon forget.

Layer Three, Goals and Motivations:

What your protagonist wants—and why they want it—is the nervous system of the story. It’s ultimately what makes your story GO, by allowing the character you’ve built in such a lifelike way in Layer One of this process to navigate the path of the story you’ve laid out for them in Layer Two in a way that feels convincing and compelling from your reader’s POV. This is truly the layer that ties the other two together—and beware, if what your protagonist is trying to achieve in the story, or why they want to achieve it, really doesn’t make sense, the structure of your whole story will fall apart. You’ll wind up with a story that feels hard to follow, and a character that really doesn’t make sense from your reader’s POV. Understanding your protagonist’s (and really, all of your major characters’) goals and motivations is a key component of a structure that will set you up for success with publishing, period. 

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On radical vulnerability

Susan DeFUncategorizedLeave a Comment

On my last live masterclass, “The Bones of Winter,” I decided to do something that felt risky, right there at the beginning of the call: I admitted to everyone that I was now being called upon to start a medical treatment that could come with long-term cognitive consequences.

Honestly? For a writer—or really, maybe anyone whose identity and livelihood has always been primarily associated with their brain—there’s nothing scarier.

But I just didn’t feel that I could present the class the way I would want to without being entirely honest with everyone about what I was going through, emotionally speaking.

And because I embraced that challenge, and revealed my squishy underbelly? Honestly, a little miracle occurred.

A woman who was on the call reached out to tell me that she had undergone a treatment with similar projected side effects nearly 20 years ago—and that her well-meaning doctor had told her she’d never write again, or hold a job that was more than part-time manual labor.

She wanted me to know that she went on to publish with one of the most prestigious periodicals in the US, and that she’s now a mid-level manager with a large company. She also shared the exact strategies she used to preserve and build back her brain.

Because I had the bravery to admit my fears aloud, this woman was able to respond with exactly what I needed in order to embrace what I now understand to be a life-saving treatment at this stage of my journey back to health.

And in this, I was really only doing something I advise my clients and student to do in their own stories—which is to share what makes your protagonist vulnerable right there the first chapter.

When I talk about vulnerability, I’m talking about:

1.     Fears

What your protagonist is afraid of tells you a lot about who they are, and how they’ve lived their life thus far.

2.     Anxieties

We all have things we’re worried about, be they rational or far-fetched. These anxieties also tend to reveal character and backstory.

3.     Secrets

What does your protagonist hide, and why? Readers LOVE to be let in on secrets, not only because they represent vulnerabilities, but also because secrets do have a way of getting out…which promises to be juicy.

4.     What the protagonist loves

It may seem counterintuitive at first, but the truth is, loving anybody or anything makes us vulnerable. The thing or person we love could be taken from us, or go away of their own accord—or antagonistic forces could threaten them and therefore threaten us.

So: Why do I recommend getting one or more of these sorts of things in your novel in chapter one?

Because of the essential role of oxytocin in storytelling.

Oxytocin is the bonding chemical released by our brains when we empathize with someone. And it is absolutely critical to making your reader care about this wholly invented human you’ve got here on the page—your protagonist.

When we learn of this person’s vulnerabilities, we line those vulnerabilities up with our own, or those of someone we love. As a consequence, we begin to model their emotional experience as our own.

And that, my friends, is half the battle of convincing your reader to keep reading.

The woman who wrote back to me after my last masterclass gave me an incredibly generous gift. And so, in the spirit of that gift, I’m making a change to the way I do my monthly masterclasses moving forward.

From this point out, the replays of all of my free masterclasses will be made available to anyone who registers (for a period of a week after the call).

Bear in mind, though, that if you’re interested in being selected for one of the 2-3 hot-seat coaching slots at the end the masterclass, you’ll still need to tune in live.

Being that the protagonist’s goal is the third layer of the storytelling structure I teach in Anatomy of the Novel, I thought I’d offer you a further gift by unlocking the replays of the past masterclasses where I’ve focused on layers one and two of this process—so you can get a sense for how these layers stack right up on top of each other to create a novel that comes alive from your reader’s POV.

Here are those replay links:

And now, a final note: In November and December, I sold out 13 of the GUARANTEED live coaching slots I’m offering to new members of the Story Medicine Community through June 1, which comes with a full year of access to my self-paced alternative MFA program, Workshops Against Empire—the program that includes all five of my robust, well-refined courses, which teach the art of the novel from big-picture structure right down to prose and pitching.

There are now a limited number of these slots remaining, and I’m offering the year-long membership of $997 to this program now on a super-affordable payment plan of just $97/month.

If you’ve been with me for a while, you know that I’m scaling way back on one-on-one book coaching and editing in 2025. So if you’d like to work with me in 2025—and gain access to absolutely everything I teach, including monthly live events exclusive to the Story Medicine Community—this is your chance to make it happen.

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