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| You've Finished Your First Draft, Now What?
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September 27, 2019
Oakland, CA
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| | | Recently one of my students asked me what to do, now that she and her writing partner had finished the first draft of their novel.
She wondered if getting beta readers to read their first draft was a next step or was there something else they could do?
I supported their instincts.
"So, how do I go about finding them," she asked. "And once I do, what do I ask them?"
So in the coaching call, I gave her a short lesson, then gave her, and the entire class, a handful of resources that will lead her through the process of finding beta readers and gives what to ask them.
I thought you'd like the four resources too. If you would, then read on...
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| | Good News! Community Kudos!
I'm starting a new feature of sharing good news and celebrations by our newsletter subscribers, blog contributors, and students and co-teachers at Barany School of Fiction. So -- send me your news so I can include it in our weekly Friday newsletter.
♥
Congrats to Fellowship of the Pen members!
Congrats to Gordon Sauders for his new book, A Light through the Cave, a young adult fantasy.
ABOUT A Light through the Cave
If rocks could speak, what would they say?
If a bird is killed, how can he live?
What can four kids do against an army?
How can a slave possibly help?
Kentucky, 1836. Joshua and Marie were only going to tour Mammoth Cave. Amanda and Steven were only going for a picnic. Only the way out didn’t lead out. It led in. In to another world where they were desperately needed to save the lives of dozens of women and children. But it wasn’t what they thought.
It wasn’t against an army. The army only wanted them to fight… something else.
Something worse. Something worse than their worst nightmares.
Will they defeat it? Can it even be defeated? Will the rocks cry out to help them? And where is that glowing bird, the one they saw killed, the one who lit up the sky not long after?
The only one who can get them back home. Will he come?
Join Joshua, Marie, Amanda and Steven in their first Verduran adventure. Or maybe their last adventure. Anywhere.
♥
Reminder: Send me your news so I can include it in our weekly Friday newsletter. Just hit reply and let me know!
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| | | Upcoming Workshop
“Plan Your Novel Like A Pro: A Writing Workshop"
Saturday, October 5, 10am to 1pm, Napa, CA
I’ll be doing a 3-hour workshop for the Napa Valley Writers, a branch of the California Writers Club on “Plan Your Novel Like A Pro: A Writing Workshop.”
Time: 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Location: Synergy Medical Fitness Center, 3421 Villa Lane in Napa, 2nd Floor
Advance registration recommended. Workshop registration fee is $25 for members of Napa Valley Writers, and $45 for non-members.
For more information, or to register with pre-payment, please contact workshop coordinator, Sarita Lopez at lopezs10@live.com (707-508-9845).
ABOUT THIS HANDS-ON WORKSHOP
It’s your dream to be a novelist, to touch readers’ hearts and minds, to excite and wow them, to transport them. And to build a career with your books.
But you don’t know where to begin. Starting is hard.
Things like creating an outline, scenes, or plot may be confusing, strange, or no fun at all.
Perhaps crafting compelling three-dimensional characters stumps you.
Or maybe you’ve been stuck in the middle of writing your first novel (or fifth) for way too long.
That’s hard.
Beth Barany knows. As a working novelist, she’s been there many, many times.
But there is hope.
In this hands-on workshop, Beth will help you brainstorm the steps to create your novel—from character development to plot structure to story themes and world building—so you can start writing your novel with clarity and confidence.
Together, we will do bite-sized exercises to help you stretch your imagination and get excited about the writing process.
An award-winning novelist, Beth’s young adult fantasy novel Henrietta The Dragon Slayer, the first in a trilogy, won the 2012 California Indie Author award and this book was also a finalist in the Hollywood Book Festival that same year. She’s also the author of 5 paranormal romances in the Touchstone Series and will release a science fiction mystery quartet in the coming year.
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More upcoming events and workshops are listed here. |
| | | Just a reminder this course starts Oct. 1st and we still have a few places left. Come join our cohort of 32 students!
Alumni to this course can get it for free. Just write me for the coupon or check your inbox for the coupon I've sent.
If you're enrolled in Barany School of Fiction, you can can get this course for 50% off. Check your inbox or write me for the coupon.
To register and for more information:
If the time is right, if you're ready to plan and write your novel this fall, and you like the cut of our jib, we'd love to have you in the course.
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| Have a happy and creative week! Happy writing!
Best,
Beth
♥
On the Writer's Fun Zone blog this week: ♥
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| NEWEST BOOK! Plan Your Novel Like A Pro
This book will help you get excited to plan your novel. The tools shared here are designed to spark your muse and give you confidence when you sit down to write your story. Plan Your Novel Like A Pro: And Have Fun Doing It! is for organic writers and pansters who want a roadmap to follow, so that they can let their creativity loose.
** Is this you? => Are you a podcaster or blogger and would like to feature PLAN YOUR NOVEL LIKE A PRO on your channel? Review copies available. Please hit reply and let me know. Thanks!
♥
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| | | You have been reading the Creativity Sparks Newsletter!
Welcome!
You may share this content intact and with no changes with this attribution:
BTW, I'm a working novelist too, with two series published in two genres, and more on the way. :)
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| | ABOUT BETH BARANY
Beth Barany is creativity coach for writers, a teacher, workshop facilitator, and speaker, who helps fiction writers experience clarity, so that they can write and polish their novels, and proudly publish them to the delight of their readers.
Owner of the Barany School of Fiction, an online training hub, Beth takes great interest in how humans learn, create, and grow, and includes all her students’ life experiences, including the ancestors, into the moment.
Want a course to help you prepare to write your novel? Discover the comprehensive Plan Your Novel course here, co-taught with award-winning, bestselling thriller author, Ezra Barany.
She's also an award-winning novelist and writes magical tales of romance, adventure, and mystery to empower women and girls to be the heroes in their own lives.
beth@bethbarany.com
Barany School of Fiction
Writer's Fun Zone blog
Photo Credit: by c. 2018 Ezra Barany
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