The Writing Coach

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National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) has come to a close for another year.

A fraction of the writers (around 14%) who participated reached their goal of writing 50,000 words in 30 days. The vast majority of writers (the other 86%) failed to achieve what they set out to do.

If you're reading this, you probably ended up on the wrong side of that 14/86 split.

While I may not know you, I have worked with hundreds of writers just like you over the last several years, and I’m confident I can tell you exactly why you failed to reach the 50K mark. It was almost certainly a combination of the following five reasons.

[headline style="1" align="center" headline_tag="h2" top_margin="0" bottom_margin="0"]1. You didn't have a plan[/headline]

By “a plan”, I mean a specific writing schedule that identified when, where, and how many words you were going to write each day. This Writing Plan should also have identified where you were going to be recording your daily word count, and how you would get back on track for days when you fell behind your word count goals.

You should also have developed a Life Plan that identified mitigation strategies for all those life issues (work, family, chores, other responsibilities) that end up getting in the way of writing.

Did Thanksgiving and all the family, food, and relatives that go along with it distract you from your writing part-way through the month? Well, Thanksgiving happens every year, and you should have prepared for the holiday by working it into your Writing/Life Plans for November.

In the project management world, we call these plans a “critical path”. We use the word “critical” because when activities begin to stray from the planned path, it can result in total project failure. If you failed to reach the 50K mark, it means you probably didn’t plan adequately for what was to come.

[headline style="1" align="center" headline_tag="h2" top_margin="0" bottom_margin="0"]2. You didn't do the (absolutely necessary) writer's craft grunt work before hand[/headline]

Writing a novel involves a massive amount of work before the first page ever being written.

Long before you type the words “Chapter 1”, you need to have clearly identified what genre you're going to be writing in, where it falls culturally in the genre cycle, and what its obligatory scenes, genre tropes, and key iconography entail.

You also need to have chosen a proven story structure to format your narrative around. I don't care if it's the Hero’s Journey, Freytag's pyramid, the Elizabethan five act structure, the Hollywood three act structure, or the Brooks/Weiland four act novel structure. What I DO care about is that you chose one BEFORE you started writing.

In addition, you need to have done the character work necessary to ensure that on the first day of NaNo, you already knew who your protagonist was, what she wanted, and what she actually needed.  You should also have crafted a beat sheet identifying all the major plot points in your narrative, and maybe even expanded some of them out into longer paragraphs or partial scenes.

If you didn't do this work before November 1, you were all but dooming yourself to failure before you even began. These activities are the mandatory grunt work of writer’s craft and they cannot be ignored.

[headline style="1" align="center" headline_tag="h2" top_margin="0" bottom_margin="0"]3. You lacked personalized accountability and motivation[/headline]

One of the great things about NaNoWriMo is the way it gathers together a community of writers who can support one another throughout the challenge. This support comes in the form of online forums as well as IRL writing events.

If you failed to reach your goals in November, you either didn't reach out to your local and/or online community of writers, or the community you did reach out to didn’t provide you with the amount of accountability you needed to be successful.

While fellow writers are an essential component of your growth and progress as a writer, you can’t expect them to support you the way a writing coach, like myself, would. For example, I recorded 30 motivation videos for my clients participating in NaNo (one for each day), and we changed our bi-weekly group coaching sessions into weekly sessions for the entire month of November. How might those 30 videos and 5 coaching sessions have helped you stay on track?

The fact that you didn’t have someone personally invested in your success meant you didn't have any real stakes or consequences for not completing what you said you wanted to achieved. We're all great at telling ourselves excuses about why we didn’t do what we said we were going to do, but telling that excuse to your writing coach is a whole other thing.

[headline style="1" align="center" headline_tag="h2" top_margin="0" bottom_margin="0"]4. You bottomed out in the Transition Curve

[/headline]

The steps in any major project can be chartered along a Transition Curve, also known as S Curve. One of the interesting things about NaNoWriMo is that it forces writers to experience the transition curve at the accelerated pace.

The transition curve looks like this:

You begin a project with uninformed optimism. You don’t know what you don’t know, and so you’re filled with enthusiasm, excitement, and the passion to embark on this new endeavor.

As you work on the project, you begin to absorb feedback via experience, advice, and new information coming into your circle of knowledge. You begin to realize there may be better ways to do things than the way you’ve been doing them. You also realize the project may not be as easy or as fun as you may have initially thought it was going to be. With this information in hand, you start down the slope of informed pessimism.

This slope leads downwards to an eventual crisis of meaning that looks something like this: “I don’t know if my even book has an inciting incident.” “What genre is this manuscript? “Can I really do this?” “Did I choose the wrong story?” “Am I good enough?” “Do I know enough?”  “Is it worth continuing?” “Should I start over?”

This crisis of meaning is a major transition point, and it’s the spot in the transition curve where most writers give up. Faced with the pressure of informed pessimism, they crash and burn.

The average number of words written by a NaNo participant is 12K words. That’s because by 12K words, most writers have hit that crisis of meaning stage and thrown in the towel.

But there’s an alternative to giving up.

Long distance runners know this. No matter how well trained, all runners eventually hit “The Wall” at some point. The Wall is that moment when a runner’s body tells them they can’t run any further.

What good runners know, and what smart writers learn, is that we all have the ability to push through The Wall.

On the other side of the wall, the other side of that crisis of meaning, you’re going discover the wisdom of experience, and with that wisdom, you’ll begin ramping up a new slope of informed optimism.

Ask any writer who was successful at writing 50K words last month, and they’ll tell you there wasn’t just one wall, but many walls they had to push through to find success.

Did you push through walls last month, or smack up against them?

[headline style="1" align="center" headline_tag="h2" top_margin="0" bottom_margin="0"]5. Writing a novel is REALLY difficult [/headline]

Statistics suggest 81% of people, when surveyed, say they want to write a book, but few people actually ever do it. This is because it’s understood, intuitively, that writing a book is a major challenge.

That said, the amount of heart, soul, energy, and mental complexity involved in writing a novel is still significantly underestimated by almost everyone.

Writing a book is much harder than most people think, and if you failed to reach your goals last month, you know this to be true.

Editor Shawn Coyne suggests learning to write well is a process that can be summed up with the following equation:

M (mechanics) + N (trial and error) = IF (inner feeling)

If you didn’t achieve your goals last month, if you don’t yet have that inner feeling of accomplishment, you’re probably lacking in both the M (i.e. education in writer’s craft) and the N (i.e. experience in writing a long form narratives).

The fact that you might be lacking in these two elements or that one of the five challenges I’ve covered in this article stood in your way last month is perfectly fine.

In fact, I've got some really good news for you…

I called this article “5 Reasons You Failed to Win NaNo,” but the truth is…

[headline style="1" align="center" headline_tag="h2" top_margin="0" bottom_margin="0"]You didn't fail ANYTHING![/headline]

There is no winning or losing when it comes to art.

NaNoWriMo is a writing exercise. No more, no less. It’s no different from daily journaling or doing a character worksheet. It's just a cognitive framework (i.e. an idea, not a real thing) designed to encourage writers to get words on the page by identifying goals by using terms like “winner” as motivation.

As fun and as motivating as that framework may be for some people, the reality is that writing isn't a sport. There are no losers.

To write a novel is to engage oneself in the infinitely rewarding experience known as the creative process, and by engaging in that process, you have already won.

When art is created, everyone wins. Society benefits. The world gets better. I believe that to be true with all my heart.

Last month was a success because YOU TRIED. You did it. You put your hat in the ring and took the chance to try something crazy and different from what most people do with their time.

Regardless of how many words you ultimately got down, you created something. You partook in the creative process and the only

Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors that help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work.

In episode 32 of The Writing Coach, I speak with Debbie Drum.

Debbie is an author and an expert in content creation, an internet marketer, and the creator of Book Review Targeter, a tool that allows authors to connect with potential reviewers of their book.

During our conversation, Debbie describes:

How a simple Google search led to a career in internet marketing;

The singular importance of taking action;

Why partnerships have been essential to the growth of her business;

What led to the creation of the Book Review Targeter tool;

How Book Review Targeter can save authors dozens of hours of work;

The importance of social proof in a world of online purchasing;

And much more!

Listen to the episode now:

 

[headline style="1" align="center" headline_tag="h2"] Show Notes [/headline]

Learn more about Book Review Targeter here.

Visit Debbie's website. 

Ready to get access to Book Review Targeter today?

Get access here:

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Kevin T. Johns is an author, writing coach, and ghostwriter. He has helped hundreds of writers from around the world get ideas out of their heads, onto the page, and into readers' hands. Get your free copy of his short guide for authors below.

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Listen to the audio version of this article here:

Writing is hard.

DAMN hard.

As a writing coach, my job is to make it just a little bit easier by teaching you what I know. Every time I hit publish on a blog post or release a new podcast episode it's with the intention of making you a better writer.

But here’s the thing about being a teacher… it’s always easier than actually doing the thing.

At the end of the day, I’m on the sidelines cheering you on, but it’s you out on the court with the ball in your hands risking everything.

The sidelines are a safe place to be.

Too safe.

I don’t want to just be the writing coach who shares advice with you while never risking anything myself.

I want you to see that I have just as much skin in the game as you do.

That’s why I just published my latest novel, M School.

I wrote and published this book because I want you to know that I walk my talk.

For better or worse, I’m a writer. I’m there, in the trenches, every day, just like you.

My number one goal with M School is to entertain my readers. (BTW - I think that should be every author's goal with every book.)

But my secondary goal is to show you that it’s possible.

It can be done.

Writing a book and putting it out into the world is totally do-able. I just did it, and you can to.

I’d love it if you would purchase a copy of M School. You’ll get a fast-paced and thrilling tale from a writer who has been where you are now.

We all need support along the way. I’ll continue to be here to support you as best I can. I’ll continue to share what I know, what I’m learning, and what I think you’ll find helpful.

I’d love it if you would support me in return by purchasing a copy of M School.

You can get it here.

Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors that help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work.

Next month, thousands of writers from all around the world will attempt to write a novel in thirty days as part of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). The event is massively popular, but few writers go into the event truly prepared for what they are going to experience.

In this episode, I speak with Fay, a NaNoWriMo Regional Liaison, about the joys of participating in the event and what writers can do to prepare.

During the interview, Fay describes:

How she first got involved in NaNoWriMo;

What her role as Regional Liason entails;

The benefits of being part of NaNo; and,

 Most important of all, what YOU can do to succeed at writing a novel next month.

Listen to the episode now:

The Writing Coach #30 Show Notes

Want help making 2018 the year you surpass all your NaNoWriMo writing goals? I can help. Click here to learn more.

Visit the NaNoWriMo official website.

--

Enjoy this podcast? If so, you'll love my book Novel Advice: Motivation, Inspiration, and Creative Writing Tips for Aspiring Authors. Grab a FREE copy by clicking the image below:

Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors that help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work.

In this episode, I speak with Sarah Werner.

Sarah is a writer, a columnist for Forbes, and the host of Write Now, a popular podcast for writers and aspiring authors that encourages listeners to write... no matter what!

During our conversation, Sarah describes:

Why she launched a podcast on writing despite not being a published author at the time;

Her deepseated belief that everyone is creative;

Why she settled on a monologue format for her show;

How Write Now led to multiple writing gigs and other surprising opportunities;

The fear she had to overcome when the show became popular;

Her early love of reading that led to an passion for writing;

What it means to be a mentor for writers;

The importance of letting people be heard;

And much more!

Listen to the episode now:

Show Notes

Visit Sarah's website.

Subscribe to the Write Now podcast on iTunes.

Follow the Write Now podcast on Twitter.

Checkout Sarah's Facebook page.

Follow Sarah's Forbes articles.

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Kevin T. Johns is an author, writing coach, and ghostwriter. He has helped hundreds of writers from around the world get ideas out of their heads, onto the page, and into readers' hands. Get your free copy of his short guide for authors below.

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[optin_box style="21" alignment="center" email_field="email" email_default="Enter your email address" email_order="2" integration_type="aweber" double_optin="Y" thank_you_page="http://www.kevintjohns.com/newsletter-confirmation/" list="3224178" name_field="name" name_default="Enter your first name" name_order="1" name_required="Y" opm_packages=""][optin_box_field name="headline"]Do you know the 12 ESSENTIAL steps to creating a novel readers will love?[/optin_box_field][optin_box_field name="paragraph"]PHA+RHJvcCB5b3VyIG5hbWUgYW5kIGJlc3TCoGVtYWlsIGFkZHJlc3MgaW50byB0aGUgZm9ybSBiZWxvdyB0byBhY2Nlc3MgeW91ciBmcmVlIGNvcHkgb2YgPHN0cm9uZz48ZW0+VGhlIE5vdmVsIFdyaXRlcidzIFJvYWRtYXA8L2VtPjwvc3Ryb25nPiwgYSBzaG9ydCBhbmQgc2ltcGxlIGd1aWRlIHRvIHdyaXRpbmcgeW91ciBmaXJzdCBib29rLiBJdCdsbCB3YWxrIHlvdSB0aHJvdWdoIHRoZcKgPHN0cm9uZz4xMiBlc3NlbnRpYWwgc3RlcHM8L3N0cm9uZz7CoHRvIHdyaXRpbmcgYW5kIHB1Ymxpc2hpbmcgYSBub3ZlbCByZWFkZXJzIHdpbGwgZmFsbCBpbiBsb3ZlIHdpdGguwqA8L3A+Cg==[/optin_box_field][optin_box_field name="privacy"]I value your privacy and would never spam you[/optin_box_field][optin_box_field name="top_color"]undefined[/optin_box_field][optin_box_button type="0" button_below="Y"]Send me the Roadmap >>[/optin_box_button] [/optin_box]

Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors that help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work.

Later this month, my new action thriller M School will be released.

In this special episode of The Writing Coach, I discuss the books, TV shows, and movies that influenced the writing of the novel.

Listen now:

Show Notes

Get on the M School early notification list here to get free copies of my novels The Page Turners and The Page Turners: Economy of Fear.

Listen to my discussion with M School's editor, Megan Linski in episode 27 of The Writing Coach.

Books, shows, and movies referenced in this episode:

Download the episode here:

Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors that help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work.

Megan Linski is the owner of Gryfyn Publishing and the author of almost 20 books(!!!).

She's also a freelance editor.

MY editor to be exact!

As such, this is a particularly unique episode of The Writing Coach. Megan just finished editing my upcoming thriller novel, M School, so in addition to discussing her experiences as an editor and publisher, this episode also gives a behind the scenes glimpse into the author/editor relationship as Megan and I discuss the difference between mainstream and niche books.

During our conversation, Megan describes:

Her no holds barred approach to the editing process;

Why she recommends writers pay close attention the advice they get from editors;

How she wrote her first novel at 14 years old;

The advice she heard about entrepreneurism that lead her to starting her own publishing company;

Why she's transitioned from a purely artistic mindset to a business mindset;

The benefits of working as an independent freelancer vs. a cog in the corporate structure;

How an editor can tell whether an author needs supportive or direct feedback;

The common problems she sees in manuscripts time and time again;

How she finds her clients;

And much more!

Listen to the episode now:

Show Notes

Visits Megan's website.

Pre-order Megan's upcoming release Rhodi's Light:

Learn more M School here and get on the early notification list for free goodies and more!

 

[feature_box style="23" only_advanced="There%20are%20no%20title%20options%20for%20the%20choosen%20style" alignment="center"]

Kevin T. Johns is an author, writing coach, and ghostwriter. He has helped hundreds of writers from around the world get ideas out of their heads, onto the page, and into readers' hands. Get your free copy of his short guide for authors below.

[/feature_box]

[optin_box style="21" alignment="center" email_field="email" email_default="Enter your email address" email_order="2" integration_type="aweber" double_optin="Y" thank_you_page="http://www.kevintjohns.com/newsletter-confirmation/" list="3224178" name_field="name" name_default="Enter your first name" name_order="1" name_required="Y" opm_packages=""][optin_box_field name="headline"]Do you know the 12 ESSENTIAL steps to creating a novel readers will love?[/optin_box_field][optin_box_field name="paragraph"]PHA+RHJvcCB5b3VyIG5hbWUgYW5kIGJlc3TCoGVtYWlsIGFkZHJlc3MgaW50byB0aGUgZm9ybSBiZWxvdyB0byBhY2Nlc3MgeW91ciBmcmVlIGNvcHkgb2YgPHN0cm9uZz48ZW0+VGhlIE5vdmVsIFdyaXRlcidzIFJvYWRtYXA8L2VtPjwvc3Ryb25nPiwgYSBzaG9ydCBhbmQgc2ltcGxlIGd1aWRlIHRvIHdyaXRpbmcgeW91ciBmaXJzdCBib29rLiBJdCdsbCB3YWxrIHlvdSB0aHJvdWdoIHRoZcKgPHN0cm9uZz4xMiBlc3NlbnRpYWwgc3RlcHM8L3N0cm9uZz7CoHRvIHdyaXRpbmcgYW5kIHB1Ymxpc2hpbmcgYSBub3ZlbCByZWFkZXJzIHdpbGwgZmFsbCBpbiBsb3ZlIHdpdGguwqA8L3A+Cg==[/optin_box_field][optin_box_field name="privacy"]I value your privacy and would never spam you[/optin_box_field][optin_box_field name="top_color"]undefined[/optin_box_field][optin_box_button type="0" button_below="Y"]Send me the Roadmap >>[/optin_box_button] [/optin_box]

Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors that help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work.

Ani Alexander is an author, brand coach, and the host of the popular podcast, Write to be Read, which she hosted for over 150 episodes (!) before rebranding under a new title, Brand Architect.

During the conversation, Ani describes:

The moment that inspired her to quit her corporate job after almost a decade;

How a random connection via Facebook led to her writing a bestselling book;

Why she built her author platform around her podcast instead of blogging;

What it was like being the only podcaster in Armenia;

What she learned from having over 150 conversations about writing and publishing;

The role persistence and consistency has played in her success;

Why she decided to rebrand her podcast and how the new show is going to help listeners grow their audience;

How she overcame limiting beliefs about charging for her services and expertise;

And much more!

Listen to the episode now:

Show Notes

Visit Ani's website here.

Learn how you can work with Ani here.

Listen to Ani's podcast here.

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[feature_box style="23" only_advanced="There%20are%20no%20title%20options%20for%20the%20choosen%20style" alignment="center"]

Kevin T. Johns is an author, writing coach, and ghostwriter. He helps authors from around the world get their stories out of their heads, onto the page, and into readers hands. Grab a free copy of his short guide for authors by clicking the image below.

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Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors that help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work.

In episode 25 of The Writing Coach, I speak with copywriter and author Joanna Wiebe.

Joanna is the brilliant mind behind Copy Hackers, which promises to help writers craft more persuasive, believable, and usable copy... sans pixie dust... to boost website and email conversion rates. Joanna is also a speaker, a fiction author, and a copywriting instructor offering a number of instructional books and resources, many of which I've used in my own copywriting education.

During the interview, Joanna discusses:

How a movie she saw as a child ultimately shaped her career trajectory as an writer;

Why she thinks an undergraduate degree in English Literature is a great idea;

The difference between direct response copywriting and conversion copywriting;

Why she has decided to not write the final book in her young adult trilogy;

The reason templates fail to work in both copywriting and fiction writing;

What she took away from a week focusing on Facebook advertising;

Her tips for how fiction authors can write better blurbs;

How she is helping authors conquer the blank page via new software she's developing;

And much more!

Listen to the episode now:

Show Notes

Visit the Copy Hackers website.

Learn more about Airstory.

Check out Joanna's young adult novel, The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant:

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Kevin T. Johns is an author, writing coach, and ghostwriter. He helps authors from around the world get their stories out of their heads, onto the page, and into readers hands. Grab a free copy of his short guide for authors by clicking the image below.

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Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors that help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work.

In episode 24 of The Writing Coach, I speak with author, writing coach, and publisher Caroline Frechette.

Think traditional publishing or self-publishing are the only two ways to get your book into the world? Think again!

Caroline Frechette of Renaissance Press joins me to discuss the benefits of small press publishing.

During the interview, Caroline describes:

what benefits small presses can offer authors;

how small press publishing differs from self-publishing and mainstream publishing;

what publishing timelines look like for small press books;

the legality of book contracts and what authors need to watch out for;

how small presses can help authors market their books,

and much more!

Listen now:

Show Notes

Caroline previously appeared in episode five of The Writing Coach.

Visit the Renaissance Press website.

Check out Caroline's website.

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[feature_box style="23" only_advanced="There%20are%20no%20title%20options%20for%20the%20choosen%20style" alignment="center"]

Kevin T. Johns is an author, writing coach, and ghostwriter. He helps authors from around the world get their stories out of their heads, onto the page, and into readers hands. Grab a free copy of his short guide for authors by clicking the image below.

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