Episodes

  • Day 44: The Betrayal

    Day 44: The Betrayal
    Jul 23 2024
    It’s time to crush your protagonist again. Who’s going to do the crushing? Usually your Mega-Antagonist. If you’re stuck in this downward arc of the second act, a great question to ask is, “How would my Mega-Antagonist crush a threat to his system?” ASSIGNMENT: Write for one hour. Record your time and results. If you’re not […]
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    6 mins
  • Day 43: The Philosophical Conflict

    Day 43: The Philosophical Conflict
    Jul 22 2024
    You must trap your protagonist between two incompatible worldviews. Which one will he choose? The Novel Matrix’s “philosophical conflict” forces you to make this conflict specific. Every character on the page has a paradigm—things he or she believes about the world—it can’t all get a spotlight. We have to choose two perspectives that will carry […]
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    7 mins
  • Day 41: Are you a 1-percent writer?

    Day 41: Are you a 1-percent writer?
    Jul 20 2024
    Whether you have a finished novel manuscript 50 days from now all hinges on one critical question: will you place your butt in the seat and put words on the page today? Writers with finished manuscripts aren’t better writers or better people—they simply engaged the discipline to show up day after day until they typed […]
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    5 mins
  • Day 40: The Icarus Moment

    Day 40: The Icarus Moment
    Jul 19 2024
    If you’re on the faster or shorter side, you may be approaching the Icarus Moment. This critical point in your plot structure will keep your reader engaged, and propel your protagonist toward real change. It’s important that the Icarus Moment couples a rousing victory with a crushing defeat. What great thing will your protagonist do? […]
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    6 mins
  • Day 39: Always Create New Material

    Day 39: Always Create New Material
    Jul 18 2024
    This simple tip will revolutionize your productivity. Don’t allow yourself to read what you’ve written at the beginning of each writing session. It’s a recipe for wasted time…or worse. Commit to sitting down and applying new words to the page, every single day. There is only one direction: forward. ASSIGNMENT: Write for one hour. Don’t re-read […]
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    5 mins
  • Day 38: The Valley of the Shadow of Death

    Day 38: The Valley of the Shadow of Death
    Jul 17 2024
    This is where good stories die. Don’t be a casualty. It’s really natural. Your initial excitement for the project has worn off, but the end still seems like it’s a long way away. Don’t give up! Push through the middle, and you’ll see the light at the end. ASSIGNMENT: Write for one hour. Record your time […]
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    5 mins
  • Day 37: Is 1,000 words per hour a lot?

    Day 37: Is 1,000 words per hour a lot?
    Jul 16 2024
    A thousand might seem like a big number, but 1,000 words per hour is not as much as it sounds. Try talking at 1,000 words per hour. That’s one word every 3.6 seconds! You’ll be miserable. If you’re struggling to reach 1,000 words per hour, it’s rarely a writing speed issue. Instead, there is a […]
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    11 mins
  • Day 36: Skip the Summary

    Day 36: Skip the Summary
    Jul 15 2024
    How do you write a story in which the events happen over a long period of time? The advice is the same whether the events happen over a day or a hundred years: skip to the next important part of the story. Don’t use the reader’s time to summarize the gaps between important events. Instead, […]
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    5 mins