30-Day Plan Your Novel October 2017 Course
Plan your novel in 30 days, so that you can feel ready to write it with confidence!
“Your class was VERY helpful. I listened to your presentation again and went over your tips. What helped me the most was your character development questions.” — Christie Maurer, author of The Dark Lady’s Stone
This course is designed for the writer with a life — you have other activities that you’re committed to in addition to writing.
We run this course from
October 1-31, 2017.
If you're planning to participate in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), this course will get you ready and give you everything you need to write a novel in 30 days.
NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and takes place every November. A free event, writers use NaNoWriMo to “win” the challenge of writing a 50,000-word novel. “Winners” get a certificate and the pride in completing a manuscript.
We run the class via a few mediums:
- Weekly Email to remind you of the calls and of that week's curriculum
- 5 Premium Live Webinars (Yes, all recorded) (Tuesdays, 5:30-7:30pm Pacific)
- A Private Facebook Group just for this course, Fellowship of the Pen, to build community and connect with your fellow writers for support and accountability
- A Plan Your Novel Roadmap: course material guiding you step-by-step throughout the month
Who is this course for?
This Course is For:
- Experienced writers or ambitious new writers who want to plan their novel in an organic or step-by-step way, so that on November 1st you can start writing it alongside the NaNoWriMo community.
We know that you have other activities in your life besides writing, and that writing your novels is important to you.
We know you’re busy with other obligations AND you want to be writing.
Well, you can, in small, manageable bite-sized pieces.
Each lesson in this course can be done in as little as 15-20 minutes.
You can plan your novel in a way that fits into your life.
We know, because we’ve done it, multiple times!
This is our fourth year running this course. We have had hundreds of authors go through this course and have seen them complete the course and get ready to write their novel. Of course, you need to put in the time!
With this course, you’ll be able to:
- Believe that you can write a novel
- Step into a sense of satisfaction and creative accomplishment
- Get excited for NaNoWriMo
- Plan your novel
What you can expect:
You’ll put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, and write in specific ways, with specific focuses. Writing is thinking! Words will pile up, along with ideas, story questions, and scenes.
In other words, you’ll be invited to read short lessons, watch some video or listen to the lessons, then write — put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, and actually do some thinking of your story on the page.
This class is good for you if:
...you have never written a novel, and have always wanted to, and still feel lost on how to go from brilliant idea to The End, then you will be stretched in new and different ways.
...you’re an experienced novelist, with 1 or 2 completed or partially completed novels under your bed, and you’re stuck somehow. You may find this course structured in a way that’s new to you and yet familiar.
...If you have 5 or more unfinished novels sitting in a drawer, and always hit that sagging middle and lose focus or lose interest, this course will help you dream up exciting ways to torture, I mean challenge, your characters all the way to the resolution of the story.
THIS COURSE IS FOR AUTHORS WHO WRITE:
- Novels, novellas, and short stories
- Genres like mystery, thriller, romance, suspense, fantasy, science fiction, women's fiction, and mash-ups of these
- For Adult, Young Adult, New Adult, and Middle Grade Readers
Sign up by Sept. 30, 2017 and get the bonus course, "Create Compelling Characters." ($80 value)
Duration
Date: October 1-31, 2017
A bonus day this year!
A 30-day course, structured so you can do it at your own pace.
Your time commitment: All told, if you follow the curriculum, you will probably spend 4 – 20 hours or more over the month to follow through on the assignments and exercises, all designed to help you plan your novel, so that you are prepared and can just sit down and write. Of course, some of you will spend less, and some may spend more time on this course.
This course is designed with the understanding that you have a busy life, full of commitments — family, job, second job, pets, friends, and oh yeah, sleep.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS
Beth and Ezra Barany are award-winning, best-selling novelists, who have worked with hundreds of writers to help them get their novels written and published.
Happily married for over 17 years, we’re passionate about writing, story telling, and guiding authors to achieve your dreams.
Together we have written and published 25 books, plus 3 audio books. We even have books coming in translation. Together and separately, we have taught thousands of students over the years, in both the public and private sector, including overseas in Paris, France, and locally in the San Francisco Bay Area. We both teach (and in Beth’s case, coach) and are working on writing and publishing our novels.
Why work with Beth and Ezra:
- Beth writes in 3 genres: young adult fantasy, paranormal romance, and science fiction mystery. She's written and published 3 novels, 5 novellas, a few short stories, a novel prequel, plus 3 nonfiction books, and countless articles. She has a 4-book science fiction mystery series in the editing stage, due out in September 2018.
- Beth is an experienced teacher and creativity coach, working with writers and novelists for over 20 years.
- Beth has taught this course for the last 4 years and runs the Barany School of Fiction.
- Ezra is an experienced teacher and mentor and has written 5 novels during Nanowrimo.
- Ezra also writes under a pen name and has published 5 novellas and 6 short stories in anthologies with that name.
- He successfully uses the techniques that we teach.
- Ezra has published 2 thrillers and 1 short story collection and is editing the third and fourth in his Torah Codes series this year. Already in audio book, The Torah Codes is being translated into German soon.
This course will cover:
Week 1: Elevator Pitch & Short Synopsis
We will help you write the 1-2 paragraph story blurb, also known as the elevator pitch, that you can later use in a query letter. Next, we’ll cover the 5-6 paragraph story synopsis that can form the basis of a synopsis agents and editors request. We’ll also touch on the story’s theme and genre to help you have a better idea of the focus of your story and your audience’s expectations.
Week 2: Get to Know Your Main Characters
We cover getting to know your main characters. Great stories start with great characters that you love! We’ll have lots of useful character questions to share with you and special exercises to help you get to know your characters so you can bring them to life when you write your novel.
Week 3: Story Plot & World Building
We will help you design the story’s main plot points and get to know the world of your story better, in other words, world building. Plot comes from characters and from knowing your story world and from asking some good questions. We will help you design a plot that will keep readers at the edge of their seats turning pages deep into the night.
Week 4: Scene-by-Scene Outline & Plotting
We guide you through the final preparation step of building your story scene-by-scene. We help you create an organic outline from all the notes and thinking that have gone before and also provide tips on a more linear approach to plotting your story. Once you have completed this exercise, and all the ones before, you’ll have a good sense of your entire story, and can sit down to write your novel with excitement and confidence.
Sign up by Sept. 30, 2017 and get the bonus course, "Create Compelling Characters." ($80 value)
If you've always wanted to write a novel, but never knew where to start...
If you've started a novel, but got stuck in the middle...
If you've finished a novel, but the story didn't turn out the way you'd envisioned it...
...this course will teach you everything you need to get your novel written the right way for you.
With this live course, you'll get:
- Weekly email prompts to get you writing.
- 5 live video group teaching webinars with the instructors (5 Tuesdays in October 2017)
- Step-by-step instructions and examples -- Handouts, Templates, Checklists, Videos, Audios, and Quizzes (Lifetime access!)
- A private Facebook group with the students and instructors for community, support, and accountability
Once you sign up, you'll get instructions on how to access the weekly calls, the course curriculum, and the private Facebook group. Be sure to check your inbox!
More About Barany School of Fiction's Plan Your Novel course
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Louise Foerster, Author
Still not sure?
We know this course is a big investment...
You could take the home study course for $97, or...
Or take this course for $197. Click above!
Get 1-1 support with Beth Barany in her year-long program for $7,200/year.
Or put your resources somewhere else for your learning. More questions students have had...
FAQ
What time are the weekly live calls?
All calls and webinars will be 5:30-7:30pm Pacific, up to 120 minutes, sometimes less. (Use this time converter to find your time zone.)
What is your refund policy?
We offer a 30-day money back guarantee.
Can I access the course material after the course has ended?
Yes! You have lifetime access to all of the course curriculum and calls.
Can I download the course material?
Yes, we highly recommend you download the course lessons, videos, and audios. That way you can use the content without being connected to the Internet.
What if I can’t finish by October 31st?
We know that people go at their own pace. You can always return to the course at a later date and finish on your own.
I already have the home study version of this course. How will this course help me?
You get to plan your novel in the support of a live and active community, all working on the same thing, and get live, hands-on guidance from 2 experienced instructors and writers.
So, you're welcome to still join us. Check your inbox for the coupon code! Specifically, you get the 5 calls, the updated material that gets added each year, and the interaction with the group during the month.
More Questions? Just email Beth at Beth@BethBarany.com.
If you've always wanted to write a novel, but didn't know where to begin, this course will help you live your dream.
Happy writing,
Beth and Ezra, your instructors
Beth Barany
Award-winning novelist, Master NLP Practitioner and certified creativity coach for writers, Beth Barany’s courses are packed with useful hands-on information that you can implement right away.
Beth runs the Writer's Fun Zone blog, for and by creative writers, where you can download her free reports on book marketing and novel writing.
She is also the author of The Writer's Adventure Guide, Overcome Writer's Block, and Twitter for Authors.
Ezra Barany
Ezra Barany started his career of freaking out readers with his suspense and thriller stories in college.
In March 2011, Ezra unleashed his first novel The Torah Codes, which became an award-winning international bestseller.
In his free time, he has eye-opening discussions on the art of writing novels with his wife and book coach, Beth Barany.
A physics teacher, Ezra lives in Oakland with his beloved wife, working on the third book in The Torah Codes series.
100% MONEY BACK GUARANTEE
We offer a 30-day money back guarantee of this course if you are unhappy with it for any reason.