How to Finish Writing Your Novel in Seven Weeks
Hannah Johnson always dreamed of finishing a novel and had tried time and time again.
Despite being enrolled in writing courses, she felt like her novel was getting nowhere. She was getting mixed feedback and, sometimes, unnecessary feedback. Instead of helping, her writing courses left her all the more lost and confused.
Frustrated by her lack of progress, of those many hours spent writing without anything to show, she felt like she would never fulfill her dream.
Hannah began to feel like a failure for not meeting her goal–until she decided that it was time to get help.
She reached out to me after reading my book, Storytelling for Pantsers: How to Write and Revise Your Novel. During our chat, I invited her to join the Writing Gym VIP Program and she accepted my invitation.
At the Writing Gym, we gave her the steps, the tools, and the guidance that she needed to complete a novel. For the first time, she began meeting her writing goals.
Now, she is receiving high-quality feedback both. Now, she has inside access to the perspectives of literary agents, publishers, and editors with whom I meet daily.
Not long after accepting my invitation to join the Writing Gym, Hannah began to realize that the Writing Gym was not only going to help her finish her book, but publish it, too–a goal that used to seem impossibly far away.
This novel that I finished in the Writing Gym is the very first piece of writing that I was proud of, partly because I finished it in a short amount of time. Knowing my strengths increased my confidence in my writing.
In the end, Hannah did not finish her novel in eight weeks as most of our authors do.
She finished writing her 100,000 word novel in seven weeks.
That is no small feat. Her genre, epic fantasy, has the longest word count in the industry: 120,000 on average. To finish such a book in seven weeks is incredible.
Not only that, Hannah’s short story made the final cut for Written Tales Magazine Volume 3: Tis the Season. Her short story is the first of her works that has been officially published.
Here is what Hannah has to say about her time in the Writing Gym:
If you’re interested in becoming a published author, the Writing Gym is definitely the right path. Annalisa talks to publishers, agents, and editors and she can get you an early start–get your manuscript on the top of the pile that agents get from many authors. It’s also been a great experience because not only do you improve as a writer alone, you also improve with the community. You work together and help improve each other and learn from each other.
If you are serious about finishing your book and putting in the work but need the right kind of feedback to fully realize your writing goals, the Writing Gym may be the right place for you. I’ve opened time in my calendar this week to talk with you about where you are, where you’d like to go, and how you can get there.