How to Plot and plan a novel 
that your readers will love

What if you could write your book steadily and smoothly, without always wondering whether it was good or not?

Do you want to write a great novel that engages and intrigues your readers?

A novel that feels like the kind of story you love to read?

If so, this course is for you.

The Fiction writer's Problem

We've all heard this advice: just sit in your chair and write! And we know it's good advice, too. Writing a novel does take time, and you have to keep typing away if you want to make progress.

However, if you are fiction writer like me, you probably also know the pain and frustration that come when you are writing a new chapter and you can just tell the story isn't working. The plot has wandered off track. The energy has drifted away.

Maybe you also know this feeling, too: when you have a few pieces of a story-idea, but despite copious backstory-sketching, the full story simply isn't becoming clear to you. "Just write it" isn't so helpful here.

And what do you do when you share chapters with friends, beta readers, workshops, agents, or editors -- and they don't like it?

In fact, not only do they have complaints and reservations, they offer you confusing, conflicting advice about what to improve? You want to get better as a writer, and you want your story to be better, but the people giving you advice don't seem to agree on what you need to change.

After all, many of us also know this problem: you've written your book, you've revised it, you've accepted feedback on it and made edits, and yet something still isn't right. The novel isn't exciting many readers, or publishers reject it without much interest.

(Later on in this page, I'll share my own painful story of having a novel rejected by the New York publishing houses.)

Here's the point: as a coach and teacher, I've worked with hundreds of writers, and I rarely see the problem that a writer refuses to "just write."

Rather, those writers want to feel like they are creating a story that fits their original vision -- rather than one that keeps drifting off course, or where the pace seems off. Those writers are seeking a better understanding of how to tell a story, and an approach, or framework, or outlook that helps them create a great experience for their readers.

Now, there are already so many "craft of fiction" books and lessons out there. Probably you've read at least a few of them. A lot of those books are great, too. However, maybe you've found that these craft books don't always talk about the kind of books that you want to write, or they give you advice that doesn't quite seem to fit. Or maybe you just feel like there must be some other set of techniques, some other secret or craft lesson that you haven't found yet.

Probably you have collected a number of plot structures and novel outlines, all with lists about what plot point to hit by page twenty, or by page fifty. 

Now, I love those plot structures, too. But I find they still leave us with a more basic question: how do I make page one good? After all, that's the first test for my readers: do they enjoy page one? And if I can make page one good -- how do I make page two good?

This is the problem that Plotting and Planning Your Novel has solved for so many writers. It has helped people writing in so many genres, at so many different experience levels.

I would love to solve that problem for you and your writing, too.

I'm an award-winning writer and teacher. I've read my work to crowds of hundreds of people, holding their attention, keeping them hooked.  I've heard them laugh at the jokes in the dialogue, and watched their mouths go "ahhhh" at the plot twists.

But it wasn't easy to get there.

In this course, I'm going to guide you through what I believe is the best way to plot, plan, and write a novel. Because plot is hard.

For most writers, even the most talented ones, plot doesn't come naturally.

It's possible to be a gifted, serious, dedicated writer, and spend years working on a book (or multiple books), and still have nothing to show for it.

My goal is to solve your biggest problems and frustrations about trying to write (or re-write) a novel, so you'll be able to finish it, share it with the world, and start writing your next book.

The system that this course teaches is all about making your plot "character-based," or "character-first." That's the secret: this is how we create a story that we can actually write, edit, and finish — and which our readers will love.

Instead of starting with a pre-ordained sequence of challenges and tasks — like an "inciting incident" or a "journey to the underworld" — and then trying to squeeze your characters into that sequence, we're going to start with your characters, and build the plot out of them. 

The plot will arise from your main character's conflicting wants and needs — as well as their interactions with all the cool exposition, and family secrets, and painful backstory, and intriguing world-building that you're eager to share with your reader. 

In other words, this approach begins with the parts of novel-writing that you probably find the easiest (creating characters, setting, and backstory), and uses them to create the part of novel-writing that is hardest for almost everyone: the plot.

I've taught this approach to sci fi writers, literary writers, romance writers, and YA writers. I've used it to coach authors who were working on lighthearted teen mysteries, dark urban fantasy, and gritty political thrillers. It's not about a particular genre.

Rather, it's about focusing the reader's attention on a protagonist, and helping the reader follow along as that protagonist encounters one plot twist and difficult choice after another. 

With each shift in the plot, your readers will become more and more caught up in your story.

Total estimated value of all these extra course components: $1,ooo

Why take a course with me?

For years, I read every "how-to" book on plotting I could find. And I learned a lot from them, but I still felt unsatisfied.

I felt like the kind of story they wanted me to write didn't resemble the books I loved to read.

There were lots of thoughtful, quietly dramatic books that hooked my attention, and which didn't seem to resemble the sort of "plot" these guides described.

Even with the stories that should have been easiest to map on to a "three-act structure," like the first Harry Potter novel, or the first Jack Reacher novel, I still didn't feel like JK Rowling or Lee Child were doing what the how-to books said they were doing.  

The best bits of those novels seemed to have little to do with the "hero's journey."

Then I did a masters degree in creative writing. Here, we focused more on questions of narration, style, and artistic vision (rather than on plot). It was a more elevated conversation, but I wasn't sure how practical it was. Leaving plot out of the discussion meant that there was no real focus, no clear process for grabbing and keeping a reader's attention. 

During that degree, I kept thinking that there had to be a better way to teach people how to write a novel. So when I began my PhD, I started looking for other options.

 I wanted to find a framework for writing a novel that:

• took me from my initial vague inspirations to an actual, thought-out plot
• kept things simple and clear, so I wouldn't get stuck or overwhelmed
• followed the example of the novels I loved the most
• won the reader over early, and kept her attention until the end

Once I had a process that seemed to work, I started teaching it online, coaching individual writers and small groups. 

Slowly, based on their feedback, I refined and tested my system. Because I didn't want to just invent an idea about writing. I wanted to create a comprehensive learning experience, one that any writer, even a very busy one, could learn at home. 

It's finally ready.

And now I want to share it with you.

Get full access to Plotting and planning Your Novel today -- and receive all future additions and improvements

"I wish I had taken a class like this sooner. I would've been a better novelist and my short story production would've been much larger."

- John Vurro

Why Write a "Character-First" Novel?

Here's why this approach makes a difference:

Use your Best Writing Skills

In my experience, most writers are gifted at creating protagonists and settings. For most of us, when we imagine a new novel, that's our the starting point: an imaginary person — in an interesting place. 

For some writers, this part even comes "for free." You just see a character somewhere, or you're called to write about a place that haunts you.

And even if you're not like this, and these two aspects of a novel don't come for free (if it requires work to build up your historical setting, for instance) it's still work that many authors seem to enjoy doing.

The problem is that plot isn't like that. For most writers, it doesn't come for free — not at all. Many of us, instead, begin with a slightly hazy picture of how the story will end, and an extremely hazy picture of the story's middle. Trying to turn that into a detailed plot is stressful and unsatisfying.

We all have the nervous intuition that, as the story progresses, things will need to get more intense, more dramatic, more challenging, but it's not at all clear how to do that.

Additionally, once we start writing, there is the constant worry: is this any good or not? Often, we can sense that something isn't coming together quite right, and so we go back and revise the beginning, or spend days editing our previous paragraph.

This is not a good situation to be in!

Here's why this plotting framework offers you a much better way: it plays to your strengths.

You're already good at imagining a fictional situation: the course shows you how to turn that situation into an engaging, twisty, intriguing plot. It doesn't ask you to construct spreadsheets or inspect your dreams for clues (although you definitely can do so if you wish): instead, you will construct the plot from the things you already love about your story.

Even when I've work with a writer who is really despairing about their novel, who is convinced the whole project should be locked in a steel box and hurled into the sea, once we get talking, we usually find that they already have the building blocks of a great plot.

It's rare that we have to add that much more to their concept than a few secondary characters.

And it's never the case that I ask them to write a different type of novel to the one they were picturing. This is a wonderful, euphoric moment for a writer: to see, finally, their mental picture of their novel turn into a step-by-step, chapter-by-chapter plot.

The second reason why you should write your novel "character-first" is that it suits how your readers actually read.

What your readers want is to meet a person, and to see that person struggling and yearning, and to get wrapped up in that protagonist's hopes and challenges. They want startling plot twists and shifts in focus. And they LOVE mysteries: they love to gradually uncover the truth as the tale builds to its conclusion. 

They want to care about the main character, and they want to be able to understand what is happening, scene by scene, and they want to see the story deliver on its promises. They want the ending, above all, to feel meaningful.

That's the kind of story we're going to write in this course.

Here's How the character-first approach Helps you defeat fake plot

The character-first approach has helped so many writers because it gives your plot an engine, a straightforward principle for guiding the story forward. 

We start the story with a protagonist who has certain longings, regrets, and ambitions. As the reader starts following this character on her journey, the reader begins to bond with the protagonist. The reader starts to care. At the same time, we gradually introduce the secrets of the world around our protagonist: its magic, its hidden histories, its politics and customs.

When the story begins, the protagonist assumes that her longings, regrets, and ambitions are compatible with each other: the plot starts to quicken and build as she discovers this may not be the case.

In fact, the major components of the plot are tied, in a deep and significant way, to the building blocks of this protagonist's character, and the more she tries to make progress, the more these building blocks conflict with each other.

(In the course, I will break down, scene by scene, how this plotting process works in a crime thriller, Lee Child's Killing Floor, and in Edith Wharton's literary love story, The Age of Innocence. And I'll give copious examples from Brandon Sanderson, Haruki Murakami, Virginia Woolf, Charles Dickens, and others.)

This process ensures that we can tell a story that is forward-moving (we don't need to throw in fake-plot stuff to make it seem like things are developing) and meaningful (when big shifts and twists happen, they actually mean something, both to the reader and the protagonist).

This Course Will Get Your Novel (And Your Writing Life) On The Right Track

This course is designed to help you build a great plot for your novel. You'll be guided step by step.

It's designed for busy people. If you want, you can binge all the training videos in one long night, but if you don't have that sort of time, I will coach you through the course in a sequence of bite-sized lessons. 

You won't need a much time each day: during the course, I'll be in touch with regular emails teaching the day's technique or concept. I'll tell you when it's time to watch each video in the course. 

And we're going to learn some fantastic writing skills.

Here's What You'll receive:

What it feels like to finally be able to actually plot 

Can I share a personal story?

A few months ago, I was feeling a little low. Nothing that serious. It was simply a busy time for me and my family. You know how some months (and some seasons) opportunities and responsibilities just mount up?

Unexpectedly, however, an editor contacted me and asked if a past book project of mine was still available. This was great news!

But I hadn't looked at the book in years, not since my agent and I had sent it out and got no bites. And when I examined it, I could tell it wasn't ready.

Back when I had been writing it, I loved it. But now the story just seemed too spread out, too confusing, and hard to relate to.

Plus I was using a special fake plot technique all of my own, one I'll explain more in the course: the "three plots in one." This made the beginning and end of the novel very unsatisfying.

It was uncomfortable: I understood then why the editors at the big New York publishers had rejected the manuscript all those years before.

I decided to rewrite the book. And as I mulled on it, I suddenly saw how I could streamline the story, remove all the fake plot stuff, and actually have a compelling, engaging, and (maybe even) significant novel.

But I also knew how publishing worked: I couldn't just disappear for a year to rewrite my novel and then see if that editor was still interested.

So I put to work the techniques I teach in this course. I outlined in rough form the same type of ABC plot that you'll learn in this course. I sketched out a "quick win" opening section, one that blended forward motion with the slow release of clues, secrets, and setting information, and which led up to a big plot twist.

And then, in early mornings before the rest of the family woke up, I spent two weeks writing that opening section.

When I sent that opening section to the editor, he loved it. There was no need, he said, to check in for more feedback. Send the rest, he told me, when it's done.

This was an incredible feeling. It was one of the best moments in my writing life.

I want to give the same experience to you.

It's time for you to create a great plot for your novel.

Buy the co2urse now