How to Make This Your Novel Year

By WU Advertiser | January 30, 2022 | Comments Off on How to Make This Your Novel Year

Hey there, WU Community, it’s Kathryn Craft here. We may have met—if not at one of the UnConferences, then in the comments of one of my posts. You may have noticed my ad on the sidebar this month. I’d love to tell you more about how my two great loves—writing and teaching—resulted in my program, Your Novel Year.

The ground was laid twenty years ago. After floundering my way through my first novel, I knew I needed more education. Not in writing—I’d already been a published dance critic for two decades—but in storytelling. Since an MFA doesn’t necessarily help you get published, I took the $20K+ I would have spent on one and sought out amazing instructors to teach me how to structure a story that actually worked.

That took me ten years.

Now, anyone who knows me will tell you that I’ve learned all of my most valuable life lessons in the School of Hard Knocks, but eventually I started to wonder: did my education in storytelling really need to be one of them?

If a magic wand would allow me to do it all over again—but better!—I’d:

arrange all the lessons I’d learned in a logical order
ask why story craft works sooner, so I’d have tools to use instead of rules to follow
compress those lessons into one year so I could apply them while drafting
identify an experienced editor—not a fellow novice—who could tell me when I was drifting off premise
find a capable moderator who’d ensure that small group interactions were useful
seek a mentor who could hold me to my goals, encourage me, and patiently re-explain with new examples when needed
spend a fraction of that money on a cohesive education so I still had funds to apply to marketing my novel when it was published

While I can’t go back, this wish list got me thinking. It would certainly bestow greater meaning to my life’s twisty journey if I could apply my teaching degree, my publishing experience, my fifteen years as a developmental editor and conference presenter—and that PhD equivalency from the School of Hard Knocks—to smoothing the path for those struggling with their own novels. So five years ago, I took all of these crinkled shoulda-coulda-wouldas, ironed them out, and used them to create my “Your Novel Year” program. A year of craft workshops, discussions, and feedback that participants can apply while drafting or revising their novels.

Sound useful? My credentials, testimonials, and fees are in my brochure, HERE. If this program would suit you, I’d love to hear from you as soon as possible! I’ve been holding off the first workshop until the program fills, but we are getting ready to roll. Only two more slots exist. It would be my privilege to help you make 2022 Your Novel Year.