Subject: Upcoming Classes + Story Planning Tips ❤️ 📚

Sci-Fi Fantasy Fiction + Genre Writers, Tools and Events to Feed Your Creative Soul

🚀 Empowering you with core principles, mindset tools, and doable roadmaps for science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction writers & creative entrepreneurs serving writers -- as a coach, teacher, and consultant -- to build your sustainable creative career on your own terms. 🐲



Upcoming Classes + Story Planning Tips ❤️ 📚


Jump right in!


Weekly Podcast


This week's How To Write The Future podcast episode:


Getting ready to plan your next novel and you're mostly a pantser but want a roadmap? Then check out my story planning tips here on the blog:




Not for everyone... Maybe for you or someone you know... Registration now open for the Creative Writing Professionals apprenticeship program. 




Quiz! Then take the Creative Business Style quiz!

❤️

** This email is long, so you may need to click to expand and to read the full email. Or read online.

Friday, September 5, 2025

Hi Friend,

Are you in the back to school energy?


This time of year I start thinking about starting a new book, even though I'm still in edit mode.


It's so exciting to be planning a new story.


So, to tap into that energy, I'm going to dedicate some writing time once a week and do some timed writing on planning a new story.


You heard it here first!


Want to know how I get started?


Here's the summary list:

  1. Identify my genre.

  2. Draft my elevator pitch.

  3. Write a short synopsis.

  4. Write your short character sketches for your primary characters.

  5. Sketch the key points of your story world.

  6. Identify your main plot/story building points.

  7. Amp up the conflict via character (awesome exercise!)

  8. Tighten the story flow with this problem-solution.

Download the checklist here. (No sign up needed.)

Read all the tips here.

Or get the book: Plan Your Novel Like A Pro.


Which one of these 8 points is the hardest?

Easiest?


Lemme know!


❤️


Oh...


I've created an easy and fun way for you (and no cost to you except your time) to get coaching and a marketing boost in one fell swoop.


Be a guest on my Story Success Clinic of my How to Write The Future podcast.


To learn more, listen to this recent podcast episode. Or read the transcript. All the links are next ⬇️

On to the weekly podcast...

Upcoming classes in the Barany School of Fiction

“We have a fabulous program that we are launching for the first time. It's a pilot program. And this is for you if you are a writer and you want to serve writers, that is you want to build a business helping other writers.” - Beth Barany


In this How To Write the Future podcast episode, I share upcoming classes, including how you can sign up for them, and how they will benefit writers.


From a critique group to a creative entrepreneurship training program, craft and mindset trainings, listen to the episode for details.


To listen or read this episode's transcript, go here (Writer's Fun Zone):



The How To Write The Future podcast is for science fiction and fantasy writers who want to write positive futures and successfully bring those stories out into the marketplace.


Enjoy!


🤩 Sneak peek


In the next episode, Ep. 169, I talk to children's book illustrator Melquea Smith, where she shares the inspiration behind her unique art style.


⭐️ 🎧🎙️ All previous episodes of How To Write The Future podcast listed here.


❤️


I'm so excited to bring you my latest media creation: the Creative Entrepreneurship Interview series, co-created with novelist and strategist, Gala Russ.


Our focus is on how creative writing professionals, like coaches, editors, promoters, etc. build thriving businesses.


We've interviewed 16 people and all the interviews are up on Youtube now!


Check them out!


All are authors and all run businesses supporting authors.


  • Nicky Blewitt on how his punk rock roots and social work background shaped his mission to empower authors with marketing skills.

  • Matty Dalrymple on her journey from novelist to podcasting expert.

  • Bailey Lang on building sustainable writing practices for authors.

  • Romy Sommer on how she built Gemini Writers Studio by starting small—offering free editing at charity auctions, then scaling up.

  • Melquea Smith on valuable insights for children's book illustrators and creative entrepreneurs.

  • Sarah Ramsey on insights about PR for creatives, emphasizing when to delegate tasks versus doing them yourself.

  • Miranda Darrow on how she balances a corporate attorney career with her editing work while practicing the crucial skill of appropriate pricing.

  • Savannah Gilbo on her journey as a developmental editor and podcast host who built her business around removing gatekeeping in the writing industry

  • Meg Hartmann on the importance of following your passion while balancing family responsibilities.

  • Nadine Shaw, developmental editor, on practical advice for creative entrepreneurs, emphasizing breaking administrative tasks into manageable pieces instead of seeking mastery before starting

  • Daniel David Wallace, founder of the Plot Forest summit, on the importance of listening to clients' real needs rather than assuming what they want

  • Danika Bloom (aka Donna Barker), teacher and consultant, on community building as crucial for success

  • Ainsley James (AJ), book coach, on maintaining creative energy while supporting others through clear boundaries

  • Megan Fuentes, story coach, on how entrepreneurs don't need formal credentials to start—just expertise and willingness to help.

  • Stacy Juba, freelance editor and founder of Shortcuts for Writers, on importance of organizing digital, internal, and physical spaces to enhance creativity, while adapting writing routines to life's challenges and changes

  • Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer, author and writing instructor, on the importance of finding and focusing deeply on one niche in creative business.

Along the way, Gala and I share our stories, tips, and philosophy.


Please leave comments, like, subscribe, and share our series with people you think would benefit from these conversations.


Thanks!


⭐️


Want to know your Creative Business Style? 


➡️ TAKE THE QUIZ



❤️

Timely Book News

  • Sustainable Writing Summit by Sloan Fiffer, a 4-day event, Sept. 10 - Sept. 13. I'll be speaking on "Write the Future You Want to Live In: Sustaining Hope Through Storytelling".

  • Sign up for this Weekend geteaway for avid readers, offered by LA Bourgeois, in upstate New York, Sept. 26-29. Perfect for travelers who love to read.

Happy Writing!



Best,

Beth

 


🌟 If you find my resources helpful, please forward them to a friend who may need them too. Thanks!



Beth Barany
Creativity Coach for Writers

Teacher, Speaker, Workshop Facilitator
bethbarany.com

I not only teach and coach novelists, I am one too! 

I'm the author of 12 published novels of *Magical Tales of Romance, Mystery, and Adventure* author.bethbarany.com


Into The Black (Book 1) - On sale: $0.99 - limited time only


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Beth Barany is an award-winning science fiction and fantasy novelist, and certified creativity coach for writers.


She specializes in helping writers experience clarity, so they can write, revise, and proudly publish their novels to the delight of their readers. 

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