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| July 13, 2016
Oakland, California
Hi Friend,
Did someone hit the accelerator on life? After the Fourth of the July, it's like everything has sped up. Good things and bad things...
Not sure if you're experiencing that too, but I do know that to get anything done on my writing, I need to focus, and -- this is important -- cut myself some slack on days I can't get to my project.
Now more than ever we all need to be gentle with ourselves, and others.
Some days though I forget why I'm so busy (running a business; volunteering at Camp Reel Stories this week -- a media camp for teen girls who make a movie in 5 days!; and sleep/downtime/play), and need to refresh my memory with the who, what, when, why, and how of my fiction project.
When you need help re-focusing on your writing project, take a few minutes to answer the most basic journalist questions -- called the 5Ws in my school days --, and brainstorm to complete each question as you see fit.
Project name:
Who:
What:
Where:
Why:
When:
How:
Here's my example:
Who is this for?: Henrietta! Who am I doing this for? Me, the readers, for a legacy.
What am I doing?: I'm completing edits for the print draft.
Where: I work at home mostly, and at cafes sometimes.
Why?: Why am I doing this? So I have a print edition; I want my teen and adult readers to be able to hold this book in their hands.
When?: I want this stage completed by August 15th
How?: 30-60 minutes at a time, 4-6 times a week.
Next steps: Schedule and Reward: Open my calendar and book the next few time slots for editing. I have time Thursday and Friday, and perhaps some time on Saturday or Sunday. I am so close to finishing this stage of the edit. I can do it by the end of the weekend. I can feel the sense of satisfaction now. That's my reward! :)
Some writers think that there's something wrong with them if they lose their focus on their writing. But actually re-remembering, re-committing, and re-focusing is an opportunity for a new beginning. And how wonderful is that.
Your turn: If you need to re-focus on your writing project, try the 5Ws, put time on your calendar, and clarify your reward.
Hit reply and let me know what you discover. Happy Focusing!
♥
In the rest of this email: -- Upcoming Appearances -- Plan Your Novel course this October
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UPCOMING APPEARANCES
September 2016: I'll be part of the online Publishing Success Summit http://PublishingSuccessSummit.com. Sign up to get notified with registration for the free event opens.
October 14-16, 2016, Seattle, Washington: Emerald City Writer's Conference, teaching the Master Class Friday, October 15 on "Rapport and Specificity: Enrich and Enliven Your Writing and Your Career" the day before the conference. Requires separate registration.
I'll also be doing a workshop "7 Essential Keys to Planning Your Novel For Pantsers" during the conference.
Hit reply and let me know if you'll be attending the conference and/or the readers' event. I'd love to say "Hi!" in person.
New! I'll be presenting at the Olympia, WA RWA chapter on Thursday night, October 14. Let me know if you'll be there. More details coming soon! |
| | | Registration is now open for our Indie Self-Publishing Course!
We'll be teaching you how to actually upload to the vendors: Kindle, Nook, iBook, Kobo, Smashwords, and Draft2Digital.
This class is great for those who are a little nervous about the technology. We'll also discuss the importance of choosing the right keywords, categories, and cover the basics of how to write a good book description and author bio.
Lastly, we will cover the pros and cons of indie publishing so authors can take this path with their eyes open.
Dates: July 27-August 16, 2016 (3 weeks/21 days)
Delivery method: 3 live classes, 90-120 minutes each; lots of short lessons, video tutorials, templates, and worksheets; and a private Facebook group. (All live course calls are Tuesdays 5pm PT/8pm ET.)
Cost: $129
*Students/members: Be sure to use your coupon code.
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♥
Annual Plan Your Novel: 30-Day Writing Challenge course Join us for our Third Annual Plan Your Novel Course!
This course is designed for the writer with a life.
In our 30-Day Writing Challenge, we will help you think and write through the steps to create your novel — from character development to plot structure to story themes and world building — so that you can start NaNoWriMo prepared.
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.
-- If you’re an experienced novelist, with 1 or 2 completed or partially completed novels under your bed. 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 structure:
Week 1: Elevator Pitch & Short Synopsis
Week 2: Get to Know Your Main Characters
Week 3: Story Plot & World Building
Week 4: Scene-by-Scene Outline & Plotting
Dates: Oct. 1-31, 2016
Delivery method: 4 live classes, 90 minutes each; 30+ lessons; lots of video tutorials, templates, and worksheets; and a private Facebook group. (All live course calls are Tuesdays 5pm PT/8pm ET. Option for 1-1 support.
Cost: $219
**Click here if you'd like to be notified when registration open.**
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Have a Happy and Creative Week!
And thanks for showing up for yourself and doing your creative work!
All our best,
Beth & Ezra
beth@bethbarany.com
Barany School of Fiction
Writer's Fun Zone blog
PS. If you found this newsletter useful, please forward it to your friends,
writing buddies, and people who you know want to write a novel, but
gosh darn it, haven't yet.
♥
ABOUT US
Beth and Ezra Barany
are award-winning, best-selling novelists, with 18 books and 5 awards to their name. They are teachers who have worked
with over 100 authors to help them get their books written and
published and into the hands of their readers.
♥ Happily married for over 15 years, we’re passionate about writing, storytelling, and guiding authors to achieve their dreams.
♥ We
offer coaching, change work sessions, book marketing coaching (Beth)
and cover design (Ezra), all for genre novelists. More at bethbarany.com.
WHAT I DO + WHY
I support writers and aspiring authors through classes and workshops, articles, books, group programs, and consultations with private clients.
I also help authors because I walk my talk; everything I or my teachers teach is based in real experience and matured through the school of hard knocks.
I believe that the creative life works better with play and love, so with playful joy, I offer you goodies to support you in your writer's adventure.
ABOUT BETH BARANY
An
award-winning novelist, certified creativity coach and Master NLP
Practitioner, Beth runs Writer's Fun Zone, a blog for and by writers,
and her recently launched school for novelists, the Barany School of
Fiction.
In
her downtime, Beth reads, colors, watches movies with her sweetie,
travels, and has coffee with friends and family. And plays with her cat, gardens, and walks. And sleeps. She loves sleep.
Photo Credit: by c. 2014 Vivienne McMaster
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