HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL
Have you started a novel 68 times (the same novel) and only have one chapter written?
Have you shared your author dream with your friends and family so many times that they now just roll their eyes and say “uh-huh.”?
Do you find that life gets in the way of finding the time to write?
Writers come to me and they have an idea for a novel, but they’re not sure what to do next.
Would-be authors often they say things like “I’ve been writing since I was a child, it’s always been my dream to publish. I just want to see my name on a book.”
What writers don’t know is how to make the author dream happen for themselves.
At Date With the Muse, we show writers not only how to make their author dream happen, but how to make it happen well.
- So that writers can be successful.
- So that agents and publishers want them right away,
- So that readers buy their books.
- So that authors create a fan base and they can live that dream, not only of seeing their name on a book once, not only of having their name on a book twice, but as many times as they want to.
We teach them the skills so that they can be a successful author time and time again.
We take writers and make them authors. We take them through idea, into a completed manuscript. We take that completed manuscript, we turn it into a publishable manuscript.
We work with first-time writers and we turn them into authors. We work with authors on their second, third, seventh book.
Whatever stage you’re in, in the process of writing your book and getting it published, we can help you.
How would it feel to fall in love with your writing again?
To always find time to write and live in a creative flow?
How would it feel to have confidence in your writing and
finally to get the kind of feedback
that moves your writing forward toward publication?
The Writing Gym Difference
Do you have an idea for a novel, but you’re not sure what to do next? Have you started and stopped on a novel idea time and again?
If you don’t get over this obstacle, you’ll never finish your novel. And if you never finish your novel, you will never publish and live your author dream.
The good news is that what you think are your problems— writer’s block, not having enough time— those aren’t your real problems. The real problem is that you don’t have the strategies it takes so that you can:
- Finish a novel to publishable
- Have the confidence that your writing is up to snuff–because you understand the standards you have to measure up to
- Understand where, how and when to get quality feedback
Are you ready to stop wasting time and money on conferences, workshops and critique groups that only give you half solutions, that don’t get you any closer to published? Are you ready to have the support it takes to write a novel to publishable and to have the confidence to call yourself an author, and know you mean it?
The Writing Gym is accepting select writers to join our community of successful, published authors.
There are no cookie-cutter solutions in the Writing Gym. We want to get to know you as a writer to see if you’re the right fit for us, and we’re the right fit for you. The application process takes place via phone conversation. We’ll spend about an hour talking about where you are, where you’d like to go, and how you can get there.
But this isn’t for everyone.
If you’re serious about finishing a novel to publishing industry standards and you know you’re ready to give up all the false solutions, let’s chat.
In the Writing Gym, we go above and beyond craft.
Of course your manuscript should be based in solid craft principles, but a publishable manuscript needs to have a foundation in the publishing industry standards–a moving target that most authors overlook to the peril of their manuscript ending up in the slush pile.
Through regular communication with high level agents, editors, and publishers, Annalisa is able to hone in on the ever moving target of what publishers and agents are seeking now and why.
You’re looking for skills, and the standards necessary for a lifelong writing career. You want to live the author lifestyle and you’re willing to put in the work it takes to get you there.
We expand your current zone of confidence, help you identify what you’re already good at, gain confidence and expand out your craft skills from there. We work with your fear to help you not only become more confident but more competent.
What authors are saying . . .
“Annalisa is a bloody marvel. Since starting with Annalisa I’ve completed two anthologies, written a third, and started two more–not to mention making major progress on my novel. She brought things out of me I hadn’t even realized I knew and made me think about my own writing in ways I’d never done before.” -Stephen Oliver (Read more about Stephen's Success in the Writing Gym)
“My time with the Writing Gym has been nothing short of amazing. I have taken a story that has been in my brain for years and turned it into a humorous novel of which I am fiercely proud. Now that I’ve proven to myself I can finish writing a novel, I’m off to write my second while I query the first to agents. Look out, New York Times bestseller list. Here I come!” -Barbara Zito (Read more about Barbara’s Success in The Writing Gym)
“Do the Writing Gym. Jump now. If I could, I would go back and tell myself this years ago. I’d probably be so much further along than I am now, and would have saved myself so much frustration, so much wasted time and honestly wasted money too. The Writing Gym has been by the most productive, most helpful writing program, I’ve used. I wish that I’d started it years ago.” -Lauren Barker (Read more about Lauren’s Success in The Writing Gym)
“If I was going to spend the money getting my MFA or spend the money on the Writing Gym, there is no question. Save the MFA money and put it into the Writing Gym. The MFA may or may not get you where you want to be, but work we do in the Writing Gym does.” -Jeanne Covert (Read more about Jeanne’s Success in The Writing Gym)
“It’s hard finding time with a 3-month-old, but it’s been excuse after excuse for years now. I need to sit down, say I’m going to write this book. I’m really glad I joined the Writing Gym VIP because I finally have the accountability and support to get my book done.” -Allie Powers (Read more about Allie's Success in The Writing Gym)
“I met Annalisa at the Writer’s Digest conference in New York, and joined the writing Gym. Best writing choice I’ve made so far. Annalisa answered my most complex questions, created an environment of safety and creativity, calmed me down, sped me up, and helped me discover my personal writing process. All using a massive set of skills born of experience and study, and a boatload of empathy. I came out of the Gym with 65,000 more words written than I went in with. You want that kind of result and are willing to put in the work? Make a Date with Annalisa, and let her help you fly from your current volcanic peak to the next natural wonder you have hiding in your head.” -Janiel Miller
