Episodes
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How do you write a story in which the events happen over a long period of time? The advice is the same whether the events happen over a day or a hundred years: skip to the next important part of the story. Don’t use the reader’s time to summarize the gaps between important events. Instead, […]
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Is rest a punishment or a reward? It’s neither. When we live our lives with God, rest is our base of operations. We don’t earn our rest with good work. Instead, we earn good work with rest. ASSIGNMENT: Write for one hour. Keep a good record of your writing time and the wordcount you achieved. […]
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Episodes manquant?
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As you move through the manuscript, you’ll hit the Montage after the Rock Bottom moment. We call it a montage, because oftentimes in movies there is a montage in this part of the story in which the protagonist trains, builds something, or tries something new. It’s important that all of the major elements of your […]
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This tip to get your writing speed up to 1,000 words per hour is scandalously simple. It’s so simple it’s offensive. When you try this, it’s likely that you’re going to surprise yourself. Chances are that you’re already much closer to the target speed than you even realize. ASSIGNMENT: Write for one hour. Keep an […]
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The Novel Matrix book officially hit store shelves today! What makes this writing system so unique? The Novel Matrix isn’t just another repackaging of the same dusty academic ideas about story structure, it’s a fresh perspective based on observation of the publishing marketplace. The Novel Matrix has been used by award-winning and best-selling authors to […]
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Writing is a business. You’re already investing in this business to the tune of 90 hours over three months. If there are small expenses that will improve the outcome on that time, why not make them? It might feel frivolous, but it’s not. Writers don’t need a lot, we just need software, books, and sometimes […]
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The “Rock Bottom” moment in your story is a huge opportunity to reinforce themes and values. As you move through the manuscript, you’ll soon reach Rock Bottom. This is your chance to show the reader what’s truly most important to your protagonist. ASSIGNMENT: Write for one hour. If you’ve been working up to an hour, now […]
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Discouragement can rear its ugly head in lots of different ways as you write your novel. It may seem like there’s an endless string of reasons why you’d be better off just to give up. What if you start feeling like you don’t even like the story you’re writing anymore? Thirzah can relate. She’s experienced […]
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Writers are built, not born. It takes time and practice to become a good writer. Anyone who is a master at anything had to push through those feelings at one time. Whether those feelings are true or whether they’re just insecurity doesn’t matter, the solution is the same. Choose to push through and keep improving. […]
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Writing a novel is a big undertaking. Just like your protagonist needs a cast of supporting characters, you might need a little support too. Here are four resources that are going to change your game: The Company’s Q&A Board: https://writers.company/questions/ The official 90-Day Novel Challenge Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/90daynovel 90-Day Novel Challenge Cohort – email [email protected] […]
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Remember what we said about conflict. A “conflict” is two things in tension, such that both may not be satisfied. Challenges and obstacles aren’t enough, we need to see real conflict on that page. Challenges may interest your readers, but conflicts compel them. ASSIGNMENT: Write for one hour. If you’re still working up to writing for […]
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This tip will dramatically increase your writing speed. You have tons of time in your day during which your brain is underemployed. If you’re like most Americans, you’re filling every idle moment of your day with noise. Let’s put that time to work for your writing project. ASSIGNMENT: Write for one hour. If you’re still working […]
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Do I have to write every day? What if miss a day? Can I make it up? Building healthy, sustainable routines is always more important than your specific productivity. Writing is a long-term mission, and healthy routines will get more out of your weeks, months, years, and lifetime than what you accomplish today. Today, let’s […]
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As you move through your scene list, you may soon arrive at “The Old College Try.” This key moment of your manuscript occurs in the middle of the second act. Your protagonist will make a half-hearted and unsuccessful attempt to stop the hemorrhaging in his life and reverse the damage. How does your protagonist respond […]
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Did you have a good week with your writing? How are you supposed to even answer a question like that? Instead of a nebulous, unanswerable question, today’s episode presents two specific questions you can ask to assess your week’s performance. It’s important to stay positive as you move through this project. Some weeks will be […]
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A poor workman may blame his tools, but there’s no denying that the right tools can make you better and faster at your work. Programs like Microsoft Word and Google Docs are nice, but they really weren’t designed for writing books. As your book document becomes longer and longer, you may run into problems. Scrivener, […]
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Writing a novel is a marathon, not a sprint. The Novel Matrix system helps a lot. It provides a useful strategy to capitalize on your natural inspiration, but also gives you a framework to move forward when you’re not sure what to do next. Most of the time, that’s enough. But what about those days […]
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It’s time to show your reader that the protagonist is fundamentally likeable and worth rooting for. It’s time to “Save the Cat.” As you work through your novel manuscript over the 90-Day Novel Challenge, we’ll spotlight some of the key plot moments when you’re likely to be working on them. Do you have questions about […]
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In these early day of writing, it’s more important to build a healthy, sustainable writing routine than it is to achieve a particular word count. Just like exercise, if you jump in too fast and do too much, you’ll burn out and kill your potential before you even really have a chance to begin. If […]
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It’s time to start writing! Let’s explore another big advantage of using a system like the Novel Matrix: you now have the power to write the scenes of your book in any order. This will allow you to put your creative energy to its best and highest use, while still giving you direction in the […]
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