Start Your Novel in the Right Place
Inciting Incident Workbook
A free workbook for novelists who suspect their opening is in the wrong spot.
Here’s one I hear a lot, and have watched play out many times: you finish a draft (or three), and only then realize the book started in the wrong place. Usually too early. The prose was fine the whole time. The launching point was the problem.
The Inciting Incident Workbook walks you through building, or rebuilding, yours in eight steps. You’ll work from the status quo before, through the disruption and the force behind it, to how the whole event points toward your ending. It also includes:
A checklist to run your actual pages against
Escalation prompts for when you suspect your inciting incident is too gentle
Space to work on the page, whether you’re drafting or revising
What is an inciting incident? It’s the event, at or near the start, that disrupts your protagonist’s world and sets the story in motion. A good one introduces real danger or threat, can’t be ignored, and points (subtly) toward what they’ll ultimately have to face.
Additional Resources
Voice, Tone, and Setting Workbook
Chockfull of exercises to get you thinking about these often abstract and opaque issues of craft! Explore how to develop a unique and memorable character voice, identify and deploy a clear and consistent tone, and craft an immersive setting for your narrative. Whether you’re focusing on a specific project or simply want to do a deep dive on any or all of these aspects of writing, this workbook can help you!
Know Your Why Worksheets
Want to develop a mission statement, something to keep you motivated and clear on your reasons for putting yourself through the roller coaster that is writing a book? Download the Know Your Why worksheets and craft a killer statement to post on sticky notes, frame on your wall, and repeat in your sleep. :)
Writing Practice Success Strategies Workbook
One of the ‘easiest’ ways to make sure you’ll get the book done is to find regular time to, you know, WRITE the book. But that’s often easier said than done, right? In this workbook, I give you a bunch of strategies, tips, and tools to get your butt in the chair - and then do it again, and again, and again, until you are done and ready to share your book with the world.
Project Management for Writers Course
When you’re ready to implement everything we covered in the presentation, the Project Management for Writers course gives you all the tools you need and video lessons that walk you through step-by-step.
Interested in coaching?
If you know what you want your novel to be but can't quite see why it isn't getting there yet, I'll find the reason and show you how to fix it. That might mean a Mirror Read of your first pages or a full Manuscript Diagnostic.
Not sure which one fits, or whether what you see here is what you need? Fill out the Contact form and we'll set up a free 30-minute call to talk through your project and figure out the right next step. If I'm not the right fit, I'll tell you.