Today! The Writing Brave Summit

Susan DeFUncategorizedLeave a Comment

Hey there, writer friend,

Free! 

Four-day!

Writing!

Summit!

Forgive the gratuitous use of exclamation points, but I think free online writers summits packed full of awesome info that you can attend *without having to put on pants* are one of the best things the internet has given us…

…and the Writing Brave Summit, hosted by my colleague Brooke Adams Law, is one of the really good ones out there. It kicks off today, and you can register here.

The theme this year is “Reclaim Your Creativity, Channel Your Magic, and Write the Book That’s Calling Your Name,” which makes me want to put a whole bunch of sparkle emojis and twee little Tinkerbells around those words. =)

Here are just a few of the sessions you’ll gain access to when you register:

  • My session on character arc, transformation, and that deep, emotional, touchy-feely stuff readers live for, entitled The Arc of Change
  • My friend and colleague Traci Skuce’s session on Turning Self-Doubt Into Gold
  • Award-winning author and writing teacher Sarah Selecky on The Transformative Power of Creativity
  • Author and professor Henry Lien on 4-Part Asian Story Structure (SUCH a good way to get out of the box with The Hero’s Journey, et al!)

Plus, writing coach Monica Hay on The Science & Spirituality of Writing, and the inimitable Brooke Warner (25-year publishing veteran and founder of SheWrites Press) on The Process of Writing Good Memoir.

The whole summit is free to attend live, but if you upgrade to the all-access pass, you’ll gain access to the replays, plus tons of bonuses (including a free gift from me—a one-week trial membership to my new alternative MFA program—more on this later!).

You can learn more and register for the summit here.

I’ll be live on the chat for my talk on Wednesday (tomorrow), so I hope to see you there!

PS. And remember, I’m also offering a free event of my own later this month, The Heart of Story—and if you register for it, you’ll have a chance to receive some free hot-seat coaching from me on your current WIP. You can learn more and register for this event here.

Never miss a post! Subscribe to my newsletter.

Two free live events this month!

Susan DeFUncategorizedLeave a Comment

Hey there, writer friend,

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to appear at online events, which is one of my very favorite things (right there after appearing at in-person events—really, I love to connect with you all!).

This month, I’ll be appearing at not just one but TWO free online events. I’d love to see you at one or both of them!

Event #1: The Writing Brave Summit

Date: Sept. 24–27

Time: various options

Register here.

Don’t you just love a good online writers summit? Seriously, it’s like all of the actionable goodness of an in-person writers conference, minus having to put on clothes and leave the house.

The Writing Brave Summit is one of the really good ones, and I love the theme this year: Reclaim Your Creativity, Channel Your Magic, and Write the Book That’s Calling Your Name.

I’ll be presenting my most popular masterclass from 2023, The Arc of Change, digging into the critical nuances of character arc, as well as some of the most common ways that novelists tend to miss the mark on this crucial element of their stories.

Other presenters will be covering things like mindset, creative process, complex characterization, and platform-building for authors.

You can register for all of the live presentations, absolutely free. 

You can also register for the All-Access Pass, which means you can watch the presentations on your own time (and if you do spring for this pass, you’ll also receive a free gift from me—a one-week trial membership to my new alternative MFA program—more on this later!).

Here’s the link where you can select either option.

Event #2: The Heart of Story

Date: Thursday, Oct. 3

Time: 2:00 pm PT/3:00 pm MT/4:00 pm CT/5:00 pm ET

Register here.

Character arc is the heart of story, and the key to a compelling plot.

Is this central element of your novel sound? Find out by joining me for a special EXTENDED HOT SEAT version of my popular online class, The Heart of Story. 

When you register for this event, you’ll have the opportunity to send me a synopsis of your novel, as well as a summary of your protagonist’s character arc. 

I’ll be selecting at least 5 writers to respond to with LIVE COACHING via the hot seat—so if you’re interested in getting a little free coaching from me on your work-in-progress, you’ll want to make sure you get in on this.

(Last year, we did have an issue where some registrants for one of my masterclasses got “locked out” because we exceeded the 300-person capacity for the call, so make sure you register early!)

Both of these events will feature live chat, so if you do attend, please make sure you drop in there say hi! I’d love to connect with you online.

Never miss a post! Subscribe to my newsletter.

You’re the most important part of your story

Susan DeFclasses, craftLeave a Comment

Today I dug back into my work-in-progress after a week or so off and read it from the beginning (I’m at around 50 pages now). 

And wow, I’m not going to lie. I was not all that impressed by what I found there.

Will readers care about these characters?

Is the plot unfolding in a way that will hold the reader’s attention?

Does the mystery even actually make sense?

These were the sorts of questions circling around in my brain today.

Can you relate? 

Sometimes the story you’re working on is this brilliant jewel in your mind, but when you open up your word processing file and actually read what you have so far, it appears to be nothing more than a lump of coal.

If so, I want to remind you of the same thing I’m reminding myself today: Everybody feels that way sometimes.

The important thing is make sure you’re telling a story that stems from the deepest truths of who you are. Because while craft concerns can be addressed in revision, writing the story of your heart is what will ultimately allow you to connect with readers. 

Because so much of this work is about the perspective we bring to our work, I wanted to let you know about a free workshop my friend and colleague Dani Abernathy is offering this weekend.

Dani is a book coach and Enneagram teacher, and one of her superpowers is helping folks write better books by embracing what it is that makes them unique.

The Find Your Writing Roots Workshop, on Sept. 13 and 15, is designed to help you embrace yourself as a writer, discover what your story is really about, and find your writing purpose.

I think if you take this workshop, you’ll come away from it with more confidence in yourself, greater clarity about why you’re writing, and practical tools to ground your writing journey.

You’ll find more on Dani’s website, where you can learn more and register for the workshop.

Dani really brings a unique perspective to her work, and teaches things you might not have heard before, so writers tend to get a ton of value out of these sorts of events when she offers them.

Here’s that link again, where you can register. 

As for me, I’ll be taking what Dani teaches to heart in my own work this week. Because I know, inside that coal really is a diamond—one that only I can polish and refine, and bring to the light of day. 

Never miss a post! Subscribe to my newsletter.

Strengthening your Protagonist through vulnerability

Susan DeFfictionLeave a Comment

There are a lot of writers out there with a basically solid story but a protagonist no one cares about.

Folks in this position have often sent their manuscript out (what feels like) a million times, to no avail. So that manuscript has been relegated to being a “drawer novel”–one that lives on their hard drives.

If you’ve got a story like this, you may have received feedback from agents and editors to the effect of “I love the writing/story/premise, but I just don’t love this character” or “I’m not connecting with this protagonist the way I’d need to in order to sell this novel” or “this character doesn’t feel relatable for me.”

Which may have caused some frustration on your part. Isn’t the literary world full of “unlikeable” protagonists? Protagonists that most readers have absolutely nothing in common with?

Yes. But even so, there’s a critical element in those stories that causes the reader to connect with those characters.

In my latest post for Jane Friedman, I share exactly what that element is, and how to put it to work in your fiction.

Never miss a post! Subscribe to my newsletter.