Struggling to stay on track with your writing goals? SavvyAuthors' Accountability Group is a supportive group designed to help writers stay consistent, overcome procrastination, and make real progress on their projects.

We will focus on:

• Goal Setting & Check-Ins: Set writing goals and track your progress.
• Weekly Accountability Check-ins: Share wins, challenges, and next steps.
• Encouragement & Support: Connect with like-minded writers to stay motivated.

Whether you’re drafting a novel, editing a manuscript, or just trying to write more regularly, this group will keep you accountable and inspired. Join us and turn your writing dreams into reality!

Feeling stuck in your story? Struggling with plot holes, character motivation, or the dreaded writer’s block? Unlock the Block is a supportive brainstorming group designed to help authors break through creative roadblocks and get back to writing with confidence.

This group will help authors:

• Work through tricky plot points with group feedback.
• Help develop compelling, well-rounded characters (including root fear, emotional would, and misbelief).
• Get fresh perspectives on any craft story elements.
• Overcome any other writing block challenge.
• Connect with fellow writers who understand the struggle.

Writers can sign up to "share" their story or writing challenge with the brainstorming group each month and get feedback.

Whether you need a simple push or a story overhaul, we’re here to help you find the answers and reignite your creativity. Join us and get unstuck!

• Start Date: Monday May 5
• End Date: Sunday October 19

Get ready to roll up your sleeves and bring your story to life in this intensive, bootcamp-style writing event designed to take you from a spark of an idea to a polished, pitch-ready manuscript for SavvyAuthor’s Autumn Pitchfest.

Whether you’re starting from scratch or reviving a dusty draft, this event will guide you through every step of the writing process—planning, disciplined writing, editing, and preparing your book for pitching in our October event.

Are you seeking a coach and mentor who listens? Doesn't squash your writing style? And who provides positive, constructive feedback to meet your goals?

As a certified coach with a background in education and over a decade of working with writers, my goal is to offer you an individualized mentoring/coaching program to help guide you through the writing and publishing process. No part of your writing process is too small or too large for us to tackle together.

We will work as a team on the writing goals that you wish to accomplish during the three-month program.

I am as comfortable working with new writers as with those who have multiple publishing credits. I also read and write across multiple genres and have worked with writers who write fantasy, science fiction, mystery, historical fiction, horror, romance, etc.

The direction of the mentoring and coaching is founded on the goals you wish to accomplish. I am flexible, if the needs arises, in changing the mentoring and coaching to suit your needs and wants. You should come willing and able to work on your writing and be prepared for honest feedback.

Your personalized mentoring/coaching program can include, but is not limited to:

• Unlimited access via email for brainstorming, coaching, specific questions and regular check-ins,
• Regular private online chats in the Savvy Authors chatroom, by phone or Skype (schedule and time to be mutually agreed on). NOTE: Most are weekly and from 30-60 minutes.
• Reviews of your notes, outline and draft or revised manuscript with feedback targeted to take you to the next step with your story, tailored to your current goals,
• A writing schedule to complete your draft or edits with prompts to remind you of deadlines and regular check-ins to help keep you on track,
• Mini-lessons, articles, resources and recommended reading as appropriate,
• Includes coaching on the pitch and the synopsis,
• Discuss and brainstorm path options for your writing career.

This program is not a workshop or class but those elements may be present at the discretion of the mentor based on the needs of the students. Students should be prepared to engage in regular discussion with the mentor in order to get the best out of this experience.

Enrollment is limited to five (5) students so I can give the attention needed to each writer.

Ready to bend time and weave unforgettable narratives? In Writing Time Travel Stories, you’ll learn to craft stories that transport readers across eras, twisting fate and challenging reality. This workshop explores every aspect of creating compelling time travel fiction—from designing unique mechanics to handling the mind-bending paradoxes that make this genre so thrilling.

Here’s what you’ll discover:

• Lesson 1: Dive into time travel concepts and discover the perfect approach for your story.
• Lesson 2: Build believable rules and mechanics that anchor your time-traveling world.
• Lesson 3: Develop complex, driven characters whose motivations connect to time travel.
• Lesson 4: Make time periods feel like characters themselves with vivid settings.
• Lesson 5: Craft high-stakes conflicts using time travel’s inherent risks and paradoxes.
• Lesson 6: Explore universal themes like fate, free will, and the nature of time.
• Lesson 7: Master continuity and manage multiple timelines with clarity.
• Lesson 8: Design impactful endings that resonate with readers long after they close the book.

If you’re ready to create time-travel tales that challenge minds and touch hearts, this workshop is for you. Sign up and start writing stories that defy time!

Too often we call ourselves lazy when we don’t get things done, but…what if it’s not laziness? In this workshop we’ll talk about some of the reasons you may be procrastinating and how to work through them. Or around them. Or in spite of them.

Polish up your three-line pitch and get it ready for SavvyAuthors' Autumn Pitchfest. We want everyone's pitches the very best they can be!

We are offering a two week, mini-intensive workshop to help you polish that pitch through three rounds of feedback with NY Times Bestselling Author Angela Knight!

This is THREE rounds of feedback on your pitch with Angela. Don't miss out!

At the end of the week and a half, you will:

• Have run your pitch through our Pitch Production Guidelines.
• Received three rounds of feedback on the strengths and improvement opportunities for your pitch.
• Be ready to pitch your story at our 2025 Autumn Pitchfest from October 22 - October 24.
• We will be announcing our growing lined up for Pitchfest soon!

* PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS EVENT HAS STRICT DEADLINES. *

Limited spacing! Register to save your spot!

Many popular books and stories have been and continue to be written from the 1st person perspective. But even with its growing acceptance and popularity in literary circles, many writers still struggle to master this writing style.

In this course, students will learn how to determine if 1st person POV might be right for their project, how best to deploy 1st person POV, and gain experience writing in 1st person.

Short nonfiction eBooks of 10,000 to 20,000 words are popular on Kindle. They can be written in a short time and published directly to Kindle for less than $20.

This course lays out a thirty-day plan for writing and publishing your book and will include information on:

• Thirty Days to Publication
• Choosing a Marketable Topic
• Researching Your Topic
• Creating a Preliminary Chapter Outline
• Filling in Your Chapter Outline
• Chapter Structure
• Writing the First Draft
• Editing Your Book
• Create an eBook Cover in 10 Minutes
• Using Kindle Cover Creator
• Uploading to Kindle

Our Pitchfest is still your next best chance to land that perfect agent or (and) sell your book to the publisher of your dreams! We open up the SavvyAuthor’s site for three fun-filled and exciting days where you post your pitch on our blog to a bevy of agents and editors.

Not sure what Pitchfest is? Check out our information page and our FAQ.

Still have questions?

Contact Us!

This class reveals the many ways in which people lie and the proven methods used to catch a lie. Participants learn how to make their characters lie and how to set up a protagonist to catch them!

The Language of Liars includes psychological tactics to unlock secrets used by the FBI. The tactics are all real and add tension to any fiction. Very few people know this stuff!

The instructor has a degree in Criminology, is a retired federal agent and the author of two books.

As writers, we like to think we know everything about our characters and the world they inhabit. But do we? I certainly don’t always recall those details—and definitely not when I need them most. Cue the dive down an internet rabbit hole for the next hour instead of continuing to write my draft. There is a time for writing, and there is a time for worldbuilding—and they are not the same! Having a sense of where to begin to build your world in all its glory, so that the next time those townsfolk are suspicious of strangers, you know what happened the last time they trusted someone who walked into town from the world beyond. Just imagine, when you sit down to write, already knowing the answers to questions like:

• What is that song on the radio at the bar?
• How long does it take to drive from Town A to Town B?
• Who established that law about bathtubs in the street?
• Where is the best place to get a burger in this town?
• When did that family take over the monarchy?

Tackling everything from creation myths and cultural practices to building relationships and measuring time, this worldbuilding course has the questions and activities you need to help you craft a believable world for your story.

Session Outcomes:

• A practical and sustainable approach to worldbuilding
  A reusable framework to build worlds for each of your stories
  A comprehensive overview of culture starting broad and drilling down to the details

Three. It’s a magic number.

Three is used as an element in fashion, in art, in interior design. It is used to present arguments to persuade others to act or respond or believe that a particular conclusion is valid.

But most importantly, it is used to tell stories.

You might have heard of the Three Act system for story structure, but we’re going to break far more than a plot into three parts.

Break the Story into Threes does not require you to be a plotter. It does not require you to be an organic writer, a pantser. It might turn you into a combination of the two, a plantser. The goal is a comfortable template of your own where simple guidelines keep the story flowing once you key those first words on page one.

We’ll talk chapter setups, POVs, what some call “beats” but I consider percentage spots in the word count where something needs to occur. Character types, scene blocking, and more! It’s amazing the number of things that break into three elements!

Are you ready to venture forth into this forest of Threes?

• Are you a procrastinator in need of motivation?
• Hate writing alone?
• Need some extra support or assistance staying on track with your story?

If you answered yes, then join SavvyAuthors for NaNovember Write. It'll be a month where we focus on BICHOK (butt in chair, hands on keyboard) to successfully achieve our mission of 50,000 words in thirty days.

BootCamp is all about writing that new first draft. You write DAILY and you report your own words. We'll cheer you on AND help if you get stuck.

NaNovember Write Includes daily check-ins on word counts/progress, the pompom shake, assistance, sprints, and prizes. It'll be a wild thirty days! Commit and have a first draft (or close to a first draft) before the end of the year.

Please note: NaNovember Write will officially start on November 1st, but we are going to open the forum the week before for the introductions and get settled before we roll up our sleeves and get to work.

Kick off your winter boots and grab your laptop, it’s NaNo Bootcamp time!

If you’re like most writers, you’ve probably taken a number of classes and read even more about writing snappy dialogue. That’s not this class. This class will focus on using dialogue to define your characters.

The most important thing to remember when you’re creating character is to make them unique. That’s what this class about. In He Said, She Said: Define Your Characters With Dialogue, you’ll learn not only what dialogue is and what it should do, but how to use backstory, how to use accents, foreign words and phrases, local slang. You’ll also discover how and when to use speech tags vs. action tags.

Included in the workshop is Your Dialogue Workbook. This useful tool has worksheets, checklists, and assignments that will aid you in creating sparkling dialogue for your characters.

Did you know that there are 7 senses? Or wait is that 8? At any rate, no matter how many there are, a great writer uses ALL of them in EVERY place possible in their writing.

In this course, you will learn about our senses, how they work, and when, where and how to use them in your current WIP to set the scene, deepen emotion, and spark up action. Many resources for describing sensory elements will be provided.

We will cover:

• Our Senses - How they work and why writers can't leave them out
• The Magic of Touch
• Scents, Aromas, and Stinks
• Tasting the World
• Listening for It
• So Much to See
• Finding Our Balance
• Sensory Soup: Examples and cautions
• Going Beyond: Extrasensory Madness

Course Bonus: Every participant in this workshop will receive a critique of one chapter or 3000
words of their WIP, with special attention to the use of sensory language.

Social media shouldn’t feel like a grind. It's a place to meet other writers and connect with your readers. But sometimes it can feel like it's taking over your life.

This four-week course helps you develop a content strategy that fits your creative style, amplifies your voice, and grows your audience—without burnout.

You’ll learn how to balance consistency with creativity, refine your message, and create an ecosystem where your content actually works for you. Most importantly, you'll have a system that feels natural, sustainable, and effective.

You can get up close and personal with your characters by using deep third person POV. Deep POV can be used to create your character's voice and creates a connection with the reader.

• How to determine your character's "voice"
• What Deep POV is compared to other third person POVs
• Tips and examples on how to maintain it throughout your story

Are you seeking a coach and mentor who listens? Doesn't squash your writing style? And who provides positive, constructive feedback to meet your goals?

As a certified coach with a background in education and over a decade of working with writers, my goal is to offer you an individualized mentoring/coaching program to help guide you through the writing and publishing process. No part of your writing process is too small or too large for us to tackle together.

We will work as a team on the writing goals that you wish to accomplish during the three-month program.

I am as comfortable working with new writers as with those who have multiple publishing credits. I also read and write across multiple genres and have worked with writers who write fantasy, science fiction, mystery, historical fiction, horror, romance, etc.

The direction of the mentoring and coaching is founded on the goals you wish to accomplish. I am flexible, if the needs arises, in changing the mentoring and coaching to suit your needs and wants. You should come willing and able to work on your writing and be prepared for honest feedback.

Your personalized mentoring/coaching program can include, but is not limited to:

• Unlimited access via email for brainstorming, coaching, specific questions and regular check-ins,
• Regular private online chats in the Savvy Authors chatroom, by phone or Skype (schedule and time to be mutually agreed on). NOTE: Most are weekly and from 30-60 minutes.
• Reviews of your notes, outline and draft or revised manuscript with feedback targeted to take you to the next step with your story, tailored to your current goals,
• A writing schedule to complete your draft or edits with prompts to remind you of deadlines and regular check-ins to help keep you on track,
• Mini-lessons, articles, resources and recommended reading as appropriate,
• Includes coaching on the pitch and the synopsis,
• Discuss and brainstorm path options for your writing career.

This program is not a workshop or class but those elements may be present at the discretion of the mentor based on the needs of the students. Students should be prepared to engage in regular discussion with the mentor in order to get the best out of this experience.

Enrollment is limited to five (5) students so I can give the attention needed to each writer.

We probably all know someone who wanted to write a book but never actually managed it. Many people have great ideas, but the work is in the details–moving those words from a concept onto the page. As writers, we know the joy that comes with a great writing session, but we also know the bitter truth–writing is hard! This course covers 10 practical ways to keep yourself motivated when life gets in the way.

Session Outcomes:

1. A list of 10 handy ways to stay motivated when life happens
2. Strategies to cope with the ebb and flow of the writing muse
3. A realistic game plan for your writing goals

Do the names Jim Butcher, Kim Harrison, Ben Aaronovitch, Lisa Shearin, Mike Carey, Karen Marie Moning, Jonathan Howard, Kate Griffin, Kevin Hearne, Daryinda Jones, or Benedict Jacka ring a bell with you? They are merely some of the many writers who mix magic, paranormal, supernatural, and mystery into their story stew. (I’m one of them as J.B. Dane, by the way.)

Some of their protagonists are private investigators, some government agents or agents for an agency that polices things that aren’t human. The miscreants they face down have never been human or were once human and no longer entirely perking with quite the same DNA any longer. But some of the bad guys ARE human, though working with beings who are packing more power than anyone might have expected.

Whether called paranormal romance or urban fantasy, these are mystery adventure tales with the hero or heroine, or both, packing magic or enhanced abilities, or are paranormals or supernaturals in their own right. What they are is merely a switch on character type. They still need to solve a crime. Or maybe more than one!

Step into a world where wizards, witches, exorcists, necromancers, mages, grim reapers, and 2000+ year old druids, among others, step up to the plate to keep the world – at least their world – safe while catching and punishing the bad guys. There are requirements for the genre and we’ll be diving into them hoping no krakens are in those depths.

Master the art of dialogue and watch your characters leap off the page! In Dialogue for Fiction
Writers, you’ll learn how to craft conversations that capture your characters’ voices, reveal their
hidden thoughts, and drive your story forward. Each lesson dives into a unique aspect of
dialogue, giving you the skills to make every word count and every exchange memorable.

Here’s what you’ll explore:

• Lesson 1: Start with the basics—learn what makes dialogue work in fiction.
• Lesson 2: Give each character a unique voice that resonates with readers.
• Lesson 3: Use dialogue to reveal your characters’ deepest traits and desires.
• Lesson 4: Add layers with subtext, creating conversations that go beyond words.
• Lesson 5: Control pacing and rhythm to shape the mood of each scene.
• Lesson 6: Build your story world naturally through conversations.
• Lesson 7: Balance dialogue with action and thought to immerse readers.
• Lesson 8: Polish your dialogue to perfection with editing techniques.

If you’re ready to make your characters’ voices unforgettable, this workshop is for you. Sign up
and start creating dialogue that’s as compelling as your story!

Imposter syndrome can affect everyone, even successful and popular writers. But when your self-doubt starts to creep in, it’s crucial that you learn how to fight back. In this workshop, we’ll look at some of the causes of imposter syndrome as well as some tips and tricks to help you stay on track when you feel like giving up.

• Lesson One: Why We Feel Like Frauds - Learn some of the reasons artists are commonly inflicted with imposter syndrome and how to identify the source of your own anxieties.
• Lesson Two: The Preemptive Strike - Learn some tips and tricks you can put into place before imposter syndrome strikes so you can fight back more easily.
• Lesson Three: The Here and Now - Learn some tips and tricks that you can utilize during moments of imposter syndrome to help talk your down and get your focus back on your story.

Whether a beginner or more seasoned, this class will teach the author to think about ways to add or enhance conflict in their stories. Primarily, conflict is a work of looking at a characters GMC--both internal and external--but this class will also explore additional strategies such as adding character secrets, examining the false beliefs that hold characters back, and when to add conflict through dialogue rather than inner monologue.

Students will learn strategies for using external characteristics to reveal inner change, and at the end of the class everyone will receive a handout with a chart that summarizes everything studied.

Christmas is a magical time of year, and people love celebrating those traditions and seeing them play out vicariously via characters they love. After all, who doesn't love cocoa, jammies, and a Hallmark movie marathon at Christmas time. However, how do you write the perfect Christmas-themed book?

This class will look a bit at some of the wide variety of Christmas traditions around the world, as well as some of the favorite tropes of Christmas-set books, including themes like snowed in, holiday contest, going home to that small town for Christmas, and Christmas magic integrated in the form of elves and the man in the red suit himself. Come along, and find a way to channel your favorite memories, traditions, and holiday spirit for a chance to create memorable and popular Christmas-set novels.