Write a Novel with Me

About the Class

Plan and draft your middle grade novel in a supportive and craft-focused environment.

Write a Novel with Me is a course designed for those who’ve completed Writing MG for PB Authors. It’s an opportunity to draft a novel with guidance in both process and craft.

Each session will include check-ins and a time for Q&A, and you can sign up for slots to talk through your novel problems and progress so you can get feedback from me and from the group. We’ll also have a dedicated Slack workspace for mid-week discussion, accountability, and Q&A.

Who Is the Course For?

This course is for you if:

• you have completed Writing MG for PB Authors

• you have a middle grade novel idea

• you’ve developed a middle grade novel idea, and you’re ready to start/keep drafting

• you’ve tried drafting on your own and gotten stuck

• you want to write in a community of authors with guidance through the process

Not sure if this course is right for you? Schedule a call with me.

Complete a Full Draft

I know how you feel.

I had written parts of novels but never gotten very far. I kept revising my opening chapters, only moving forward in small increments. In the third semester of my MFA program, my advisor said, “You’re going to write an entire novel this semester.” I didn’t know if I could do it, but because he believed I could, I felt confident enough to try.

I did complete that novel in one semester, and it was the most amazing feeling. Typing THE END is a powerful thing. Novels do take revision, but you can’t revise without a draft. And you can’t know what a novel wants to be until you have a full draft completed.

You can do it! 

We’ll break down the process into bite-sized chunks and approach it together. We’ll spend a couple weeks focused on pre-writing and planning, and then dive into the draft. You’ll set your own goals for the class and for each week. We’ll have check-ins, time for Q&As, and problem-solving sessions. The class is designed to be responsive to where you are in your process and what support you need.

Time Commitment

We’ll meet for a 75-minute class on Zoom each week. You’ll also need to set aside time for your writing, and we’ll strategize about fitting writing into a busy life. We’ll work to figure out your writing pace and work out how to set goals accordingly.

How Each Class Session Is Structured

Welcome. We’ll start each week with a brief welcome and check-in.

Topic of the Week. I’ll provide a mini-lesson on an element of craft or process. Topics range from how to plan for revision to digging deep into character, from structural elements, like the Midpoint and Dark Night of the Soul, to process strategies, like estimating your needed writing time and mapping out your scenes.

Spotlight. Each week, we’ll have one or two people signed up for a Spotlight. In a Spotlight Session, the person can turn the spotlight on whatever they want–their writing process, their story structure, an element of story, or a place where they’re stuck in their writing. 

Writing. If we have time, we’ll spend 10-20 minutes writing to provided prompts. 

Lightning Round. Each class ends with a Lightning Round, where each person has 2 minutes to answer a prompt, like “what’s a win from the week?” or “why is the story you’re telling important to you?”