An Honest Story About a Writer Accomplishing Goals Inch by Inch
Ready or not, 2025 is knocking. I’m not sure if I want to answer, but of course, like you, I will, and I want to go forward with a plan. If you like a plan and want a little help creating one for the coming year, here’s a goal-setting exercise you can use to set intentions and mile markers for 2025.
And if you want to add some extra fire to that plan and make things happen in 2025, you should join the next cohort of my small-group book coaching for fiction writers in the phases of story development or drafting!
The cohort will begin on January 6th and run until May. If it feels like a good fit for you, I’d love for you to apply.
I love helping writers. I love group coaching, and I’m damn good at what I do. It’s my jam.
Write It Scared Small-Group Book Coaching was founded on the idea that writing a novel is an inside job that we don’t do alone and are stronger together!
We need each other to move forward and show each other how.
Group coaching provides a safe space, a supportive framework + craft know-how, and gentle accountability so you go from stuck, overwhelmed, and frustrated to passion, joy, and confidence in your writing story.
I’m definitely not one of those who promise you will have a completed first draft by the end of the cohort, but you will have a solid understanding of your story, a plan to write forward with the time you have, and be surrounded by a community that supports you.
There’s no magic bullet other than small, consistent steps forward.
Let me show you what progress in group coaching looks like with a story about a writer in last season’s cohort.
M is a writer who has been working on a story for many years. In 2024, she decided it was time to buckle down and finish it, but it had been several years since she’d even touched the story. It was in a partial draft state, some things written, some only thought about. She wasn’t sure where to begin or how to dive back in.
What M needed was a plan and some guidance to get back on track.
M joined my small-group book coaching cohort in Fall 2024, and we got to work. We built a plan for her to re-familiarize herself with the characters, plot, and conflict, and we found a way to make her dual timelines work and keep what she liked from her original draft. We expanded her story timelines, and she crafted a satisfying conclusion that mirrored her character's arc of change.
I’m happy to tell you that M is now drafting again!
That’s a lot.
It did not happen overnight.
Here’s how she did it:
Week by week, she went through the individual coursework, came to the group coaching calls, and met with me privately in her 1:1 sessions.
Week by week, she brought her questions and concerns to the table.
Week by week, she whittled away, learning new ways of thinking about her novel, until she knew her main character's inner and outer journey and could finally see where the story was going.
Here’s what M said about halfway through the Fall 2024 Cohort and after her first 1:1 coaching session with me:
“I completed all the modules, just finished 12 today! I am happy to have worked through them. They've helped me get reacquainted with and excited by this story again after all this time. I am now ready to start drafting my "as is outline" and “future scenes.”
“My takeaway from my 1:1 call is that I am writing a Historical Fiction novel and my content genre is worldview with a disillusionment arc that has a bitter/sweet ending. That is the first time I've been able to get so precise on genre.”
And finally, her takeaways from the cohort in general:
“After 20 years, I’ve finally figured out the story. It’s there. I can still see the end. I was close 3 years ago, but I am even closer now.”
So, M’s writing journey isn’t a flashy, fast, “I did it in 90 days” story. It’s real life, inch by inch, week by week progress around work and kids and life.
And that’s the truth of writing a novel. Bit by bit.
That’s how you can do it, too. And I would be honored to help you.
If you’re ready for a simple and supportive way to move forward with your writing, please apply.
Once you apply, you can book a call where I’ll personally walk you through how the cohort works and what to expect.
Then, you can decide if book coaching in a small-group environment with me as your guide would be a good fit for you for the next few months.
And when I say small, I do mean small. Only six writers per cohort and enrollment closes January 1st because we kick off January 6th.
Let’s find out if group coaching is a good fit for you and your story.
Here are the details about the group coaching program and the link for you to apply.
“You wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down.” ― Toni Morrison.
