Tag: writing lifestyle

YOU GUYS.

NOVEL NOVEMBER IS ALMOST HERE! 🎉

Welcome back to Day 28 of Preptober 2026! 🎃✍️

Yesterday, we figured out HOW, WHEN, and WHERE we’re going to write our novels.

Today, we’re answering another important question:

HOW MUCH ARE WE ACTUALLY GOING TO WRITE?! 😂

We’re setting our Novel November writing goals!

And before anyone panics about writing 50,000 words in 30 days, I want you to remember something.

Your writing goals should work for YOUR life. Not someone else’s!

1. Choose Your Monthly Writing Goal

Traditionally, November writing challenges encourage writers to complete 50,000 words in 30 days.

But guess what?

YOU DON’T HAVE TO WRITE 50,000 WORDS! 🎉

Maybe your goal is 30,000 words.

Maybe it’s finishing Act I.

Maybe it’s completing your first draft (or your fourth).

Or maybe you simply want to establish a consistent writing habit.

All of those are worthwhile goals!

Personally, I aim to write at least 2,000 words a day, but that’s a goal I’ve built around my own writing routine.

Your goal might look completely different!

Choose something that challenges you without making writing feel impossible.

2. Break Your Big Goal Into Smaller Goals

Once you’ve chosen your monthly goal, let’s make it manageable!

For example, if your goal is 30,000 words in November:

• Monthly Goal: 30,000 words
• Weekly Goal: Approximately 7,500 words
• Daily Goal: 1,000 words

Suddenly, 30,000 words doesn’t sound quite so intimidating!

And here’s another tip.

Build some flexibility into your schedule!

Maybe you write more on weekends.

Maybe you take Sundays off.

Maybe you plan a few catch-up days throughout the month.

You don’t have to write the exact same number of words every single day.

The goal is to make steady progress toward your manuscript.

3. Decide How You’ll Track Your Progress

You guys know I LOVE tracking my writing progress! 😂

Personally, I use Monday.com to organize my writing projects and monitor my goals.

But you absolutely don’t need a fancy project management system!

You can use:

• Google Sheets or Excel
• Notion
• A physical planner
• A notebook
• A calendar with daily checkmarks

Track whatever motivates you!

That might be your daily word count, total words written, writing sessions completed, or chapters finished.

Every 500 words counts. Every writing session counts. Every checkmark gets you closer to THE END!

4. Remember to Celebrate Your Wins! 🎉

Here’s something I want you to remember throughout Novel November.

Don’t just focus on how far you have left to go. Celebrate how far you’ve already come!

Did you finish your first chapter?

CELEBRATE!

Did you reach 10,000 words?

CELEBRATE!

Did you sit down and write even though you weren’t feeling particularly inspired?

YOU GUYS. CELEBRATE THAT TOO! 😂💕

Writing a novel is a HUGE accomplishment, and every bit of progress deserves recognition.

✍️ Today’s Preptober E-Guide Exercise

Grab your FREE Preptober E-Guide and turn to pages 27–28: Novel November Goals & Progress Tracking!

Today, we’re creating our writing goals.

Step 1: Choose your overall November goal.

Step 2: Break that goal into weekly milestones.

Step 3: Decide what your daily writing target will look like.

Step 4: Choose how you’ll track your progress.

Step 5: Give yourself some flexibility for those inevitable days when life gets in the way!

And remember:

Big goals become achievable when you break them into small, repeatable steps.

We’re Almost Ready to Write! 🎉

YOU GUYS!

We’ve planned our stories, outlined our chapters, organized our story bibles, and created realistic writing schedules.

Now we have our Novel November goals!

And tomorrow, we’re talking about something that can make a HUGE difference when it comes to actually following through.

ACCOUNTABILITY!

🎥 Follow Along With Preptober 2026!

I’m sharing 31 FREE daily YouTube videos throughout October to help writers prepare for Novel November!

Coming Tomorrow: Day 29 — How to Stay Accountable While Writing a Novel! ✍️

Tomorrow, we’re talking about writing buddies, writing sprints, online communities, and finding ways to stay motivated throughout November!

Because while writing might be something we do alone, we don’t have to go through the writing journey alone! 💕

Now I want to hear from YOU!

What’s your Novel November writing goal?

Are you aiming for 50K words, finishing a draft, or building a consistent writing habit?

Let me know in the comments so we can cheer each other on! 🎉

We’ve got a novel to plan. 🎃✍️

YOU GUYS.

WE’VE OFFICIALLY OUTLINED OUR NOVELS! 🎉

Welcome back to Day 26 of Preptober 2026! 🎃✍️

Over the past few weeks, we’ve brainstormed our stories, developed characters, built fictional worlds, mapped story beats, and outlined three entire acts!

But now?

WHERE DO WE PUT ALL THIS INFORMATION?! 😂

That’s exactly what we’re talking about today!

We’re creating our STORY BIBLES!

1. What Is a Story Bible?

A story bible is essentially your novel’s personal encyclopedia!

It’s where you organize all the important information about your story so you can easily reference it while drafting.

Think of it as your one-stop shop for everything related to your novel.

Instead of searching through dozens of notebooks, random documents, and sticky notes, you’ll have everything in one place!

And trust me, when you’re 40,000 words into your manuscript and suddenly can’t remember a supporting character’s last name, you’ll be SO glad you created one! 😂

2. What Should You Include?

Here’s what I recommend organizing inside your story bible:

• Story Overview: Your premise, genre, themes, and central conflict.
• Characters: Names, appearances, personalities, goals, motivations, relationships, and false beliefs.
• Worldbuilding: Locations, cultures, societies, politics, magic systems, and technology.
• Plot & Outline: Your three-act structure, major story beats, and chapter outlines.
• Important Details: Timelines, rules, terminology, and anything else you might need to remember.

But here’s the thing!

Your story bible doesn’t need to contain EVERYTHING about your fictional world.

Only include information that’s useful for writing your novel.

We’re organizing our ideas, not creating another enormous project before November! 😂

3. Choose a System That Works for YOU!

You guys know I LOVE organizing things.

But your story bible doesn’t need to be complicated!

You can create yours using:

• Google Docs: A simple document with headings and a table of contents.
• Microsoft Word: Perfect for keeping everything in one organized file.
• Scrivener: Great for storing character sheets, research, and manuscript notes together.
• Notion: Helpful if you enjoy databases and interconnected pages.
• A Physical Binder: Perfect for writers who love printing things out and organizing everything by hand!

Personally, I recommend choosing a system you’re already comfortable using.

Don’t spend five hours learning a new organizational tool when you could be preparing to write your novel! 😂

And don’t forget to back up your files!

4. Keep Your Story Bible Updated!

Here’s something important to remember.

Your story bible is a living document!

Your characters might change.

Your plot might evolve.

You might discover new details about your world while drafting.

That’s completely normal!

When something important changes, update your story bible so you can maintain consistency throughout your manuscript.

Think of it as a reference you’ll continue using long after Preptober ends.

✍️ Today’s Preptober E-Guide Exercise

Grab your FREE Preptober E-Guide and turn to page 23: Story Bible!

Today, we’re bringing everything together.

1. Choose where you’ll keep your story bible.
2. Create sections for your premise, characters, worldbuilding, and outline.
3. Transfer the important information you’ve developed throughout Preptober.
4. Organize everything so it’s easy to find.
5. Save a backup copy!

And remember:

You don’t need a perfectly organized story bible before November 1st.

You just need something you can reference while writing!

We’ve Finished Prepping Our Stories! 🎉

YOU GUYS!

Look at everything we’ve accomplished!

We’ve developed our stories from the initial brainstorming stage all the way through creating chapter outlines and organizing our story bibles.

That’s AMAZING!

But we’re not quite finished with Preptober yet.

Because having a novel ready to write is only half the battle.

We also need to prepare our WRITING LIVES! ✍️

🎥 Follow Along With Preptober 2026!

I’m sharing 31 FREE daily YouTube videos throughout October to help writers prepare for Novel November!

Coming Tomorrow: Day 27 — When, Where & HOW Will You Write Your Novel? ⏰

Tomorrow, we’re figuring out how to make writing fit into our actual lives!

We’ll talk about creating a realistic writing schedule, finding your ideal writing environment, and choosing the tools that help you stay focused.

Because let’s face it.

Writing isn’t just going to happen. We have to make it happen! 😂

Now I want to hear from YOU!

Are you creating a DIGITAL story bible or a PHYSICAL binder? And what’s your favorite way to organize your writing projects?

Let me know in the comments! 💕

We’ve got a novel to plan. 🎃✍️

YOU GUYS.

WE’RE OUTLINING THE FINAL ACT OF OUR NOVELS! 🎉

Welcome back to Day 25 of Preptober 2026! 🎃✍️

Over the past two days, we’ve outlined Acts I and II. Today, we’re bringing everything together by outlining ACT III!

This is where our protagonists face their greatest challenges, confront the central conflict, and (hopefully!) experience some much-needed character growth.

And don’t worry!

We’re keeping things SIMPLE so we can head into Novel November ready to write!

1. Start With Your Major Act III Story Beats

Remember when we mapped out our endings on Day 20?

Today, we’re focusing on three important moments:

• The Darkest Moment: Your protagonist faces their greatest setback and may believe all hope is lost.
• The Climax: Your protagonist confronts the central conflict and makes a decision that determines the outcome.
• The Resolution: We discover what happens afterward and how our protagonist has changed.

Depending on your story’s structure, your darkest moment might happen near the end of Act II or the beginning of Act III.

That’s okay!

Your story beats are guides, not rules.

2. Connect Your Darkest Moment to Your Climax

Here’s where things get interesting!

Your protagonist has spent the entire novel facing obstacles, making mistakes, and learning difficult lessons.

Now it’s time for everything to come together.

Ask yourself:

• What happens after my protagonist’s darkest moment?
• What do they finally realize about themselves?
• What decision pushes them toward the climax?
• How does their character growth influence their final choice?

For example, imagine you’re writing a fantasy novel about a young knight who believes asking for help is a weakness.

At their darkest moment, they lose an important battle because they refuse to trust their companions.

But instead of attempting another battle alone, they finally ask their friends for help.

That decision changes how they approach the final confrontation!

Your climax should reflect the journey your protagonist has taken.

3. Give Your Ending Room to Breathe

You guys, don’t forget about your RESOLUTION! 😂

After the climax, readers often need a moment to see the consequences of everything that’s happened.

Maybe your protagonist returns home.

Maybe they begin a new relationship.

Maybe they’ve accomplished their goal but discovered something even more important along the way.

Ask yourself:

How is my protagonist different from the person they were in Chapter One?

Your resolution doesn’t need to be long.

It just needs to provide a meaningful conclusion to the story you’ve been telling.

4. Turn Those Moments Into Chapters!

Just like we did for Acts I and II, we’re using my simple chapter outlining method.

For each chapter, identify:

• Chapter Number
• Chapter Goal
• Setting
• Characters
• Three Important Events

And remember my favorite question:

WHAT CHANGES BECAUSE OF THIS CHAPTER?

Maybe your protagonist discovers the truth.

Maybe they make a difficult sacrifice.

Maybe they finally overcome their greatest fear.

Whatever happens, make sure each chapter moves your story toward its conclusion.

✍️ Today’s Preptober E-Guide Exercise

Grab your FREE Preptober E-Guide and turn to pages 21–22: Plotting & Outlining!

Today, we’re outlining Act III!

1. Identify your darkest moment, climax, and resolution.
2. Brainstorm the events connecting those major beats.
3. Arrange those events into individual chapters.
4. Give each chapter a goal, setting, characters, and three key events.
5. Look back at Act I and make sure your ending reflects your protagonist’s growth.

Remember, I personally like to start with approximately 12 chapters per act, but your story might need more or fewer!

And if you discover something better while drafting?

CHANGE YOUR OUTLINE! 😂

Your outline works for YOU. You don’t work for your outline.

YOU GUYS, WE OUTLINED AN ENTIRE NOVEL! 🎉

Can we take a moment to appreciate that?!

We’ve gone from brainstorming random ideas to developing characters, building worlds, mapping story beats, and outlining THREE ACTS!

That’s a HUGE accomplishment!

And if your outline still has gaps?

That’s perfectly okay.

The goal was never to have every detail figured out.

The goal was to prepare enough that we can start writing on November 1st!

🎥 Follow Along With Preptober 2026!

I’m sharing 31 FREE daily YouTube videos throughout October to help writers prepare for Novel November!

Coming Tomorrow: Day 26 — Build Your Story Bible! 📚

Tomorrow, we’re taking ALL the brainstorming, character development, worldbuilding, and outlining we’ve done this month and organizing everything into one easy-to-reference place!

Because there’s nothing worse than forgetting your protagonist’s eye color halfway through writing your novel! 😂

Now I want to hear from YOU!

Do you already know how your novel ends? And what’s the ONE scene in Act III you’re most excited to write?

Let me know in the comments! 💕

We’ve got a novel to plan. 🎃✍️

You guys.

IT’S TIME TO TACKLE THE DREADED SAGGING MIDDLE! 😂

Welcome back to Day 24 of Preptober 2026! 🎃✍️

Yesterday, we outlined Act I of our novels. Today, we’re taking everything we’ve learned about our story’s middle and turning it into individual chapters!

And don’t worry.

We’re keeping things SIMPLE!

1. Start With Your Major Act II Story Beats

Remember when we mapped out the middle of our novels on Day 19?

Today, we’re focusing on three important elements:

• Escalating Obstacles: The challenges standing between your protagonist and their goal.
• The Midpoint: A major revelation, victory, defeat, or turning point that changes the direction of your story.
• The Act II Turning Point: A major setback or decision that pushes your protagonist toward the final act.

Think of these moments as the foundation of your Act II outline.

Now we need to connect them!

2. Make Things Progressively Worse! 😂

Here’s the secret to avoiding a sagging middle:

Your protagonist’s problems should become increasingly difficult to solve.

And ideally, their decisions should create consequences that lead to even BIGGER problems!

For example, imagine you’re writing a mystery novel.

Chapter 13: Your protagonist discovers an important clue.

Chapter 14: They confront a suspect, who denies everything.

Chapter 15: The suspect disappears, making the investigation more complicated.

Chapter 16: Your protagonist discovers that someone they trust has been lying.

Chapter 17: A new revelation changes everything they thought they knew.

See how each chapter builds on the previous one?

That’s what we’re looking for!

We don’t want our protagonists wandering around waiting for the plot to happen.

We want their actions, choices, and mistakes to move the story forward.

3. Give Every Chapter a Purpose

If you’ve been following along, you already know my favorite outlining method!

For each chapter, I write down:

• Chapter Number
• Chapter Goal
• Setting
• Characters
• Three Important Events

And here’s one question I always recommend asking:

WHAT CHANGES BECAUSE OF THIS CHAPTER?

Does your protagonist learn something new?

Does a relationship change?

Do the stakes increase?

Does something happen that makes their goal harder to achieve?

Your chapters don’t need constant explosions or enormous plot twists.

They just need to contribute meaningfully to the story!

✍️ Today’s Preptober E-Guide Exercise

Grab your FREE Preptober E-Guide and turn to pages 21–22: Plotting & Outlining!

Today, we’re outlining Act II!

1. Identify your midpoint and Act II turning point.
2. Brainstorm obstacles that progressively increase the stakes.
3. Arrange those obstacles into individual chapters.
4. Give each chapter a goal, setting, characters, and three key events.
5. Make sure your protagonist’s choices create meaningful consequences.

Remember, I personally like to plan approximately 12-15 chapters per act, but your story might need more or fewer!

Your outline works for YOU. You don’t work for your outline. 💕

We’re Almost There! 🎉

You guys, we’ve officially outlined the beginning AND middle of our novels!

And if you’re still missing a few chapters?

THAT’S OKAY!

You don’t need a perfect outline before November 1st.

You just need enough direction to start writing.

🎥 Follow Along With Preptober 2026!

I’m sharing 31 FREE daily YouTube videos throughout October to help writers prepare for Novel November!

Coming Tomorrow: Day 25 — Outline Act III! ⚔️

Tomorrow, we’re outlining the FINAL ACT of our novels!

We’ll take our darkest moments, climaxes, and resolutions and turn them into individual chapters.

Now I want to hear from YOU!

What’s the BIGGEST obstacle your protagonist faces in Act II? And do they somehow manage to make everything WORSE? 😂

Let me know in the comments! 💕

We’ve got a novel to plan. 🎃✍️

Sending your novel to beta readers is exciting. It’s also a little terrifying.

You’ve spent months—or years—living with these characters, building their world, and trying to tell their story. Then you hand that manuscript to someone else and ask, “Does this actually work?”

That was me when I sent draft three of Project Ember to seven beta readers. Until then, my husband, Ben, was the only person who had read that version. Sharing it with a larger group felt like a huge step toward my goal of pursuing traditional publishing.

Now that all seven readers have sent their feedback, I’m using it to plan draft four. Today, I want to share how I approach that process, from giving myself distance to deciding which changes belong in the next draft.

First, I Step Away From the Manuscript

While my beta readers had my book, I took a complete break from it.

I didn’t reread chapters. I didn’t tinker with scenes. I even avoided my writing playlists because I knew they would pull me right back into that world.

Instead, I focused on creating my free Preptober e-guide and its accompanying YouTube series.

That distance mattered. After spending so much time working on a manuscript, it can become difficult to see what’s actually on the page. I know what a character means. I know the history behind a relationship. But that doesn’t automatically mean I’ve communicated those things clearly to a reader.

Taking a break helped me return with fresh eyes—and I wanted to use those fresh eyes thoughtfully.

I Wait Until All the Feedback Is In

As responses started arriving, I tried hard to resist digging into every comment immediately.

Was I curious? Absolutely.

But I didn’t want to read one person’s reaction and start revising before I understood how the rest of the group experienced the book.

Imagine one reader loves the opening chapters and another finds them too slow. If I immediately rewrite everything based on the second response, I might remove something that was working beautifully for other readers.

Waiting gave me the opportunity to consider the feedback together before making decisions.

For me, that made the process feel much more manageable. I could approach the revision with a clearer sense of direction instead of reacting to each new response.

I Look for Patterns

This is what I look for most when I review beta reader feedback: patterns.

Where are multiple readers having a similar experience?

Maybe several people felt a relationship developed too quickly. Maybe readers wanted more grounding in the setting. Maybe the ending didn’t give them enough time to sit with everything that had happened.

Those repeated reactions help me identify where to focus.

Even readers who love the same genre have different preferences. Some want more romance. Others are especially interested in the worldbuilding. Some enjoy long descriptions, while others prefer a quicker pace.

I can’t create a different version of my book for every reader. What I can do is listen carefully and identify concerns that recur across responses.

Individual Comments Still Matter

Looking for patterns doesn’t mean I automatically dismiss anything mentioned by only one person.

Sometimes a single comment points out something important. A reader might notice a confusing sentence, a missing explanation, or a moment that doesn’t feel consistent with a character.

I want to stay open to those observations.

But I also give myself permission to consider whether a suggestion serves the story. A preference for a different adjective doesn’t necessarily require a change. A comment that reveals a genuine misunderstanding might.

The question I keep coming back to is: Will this revision help me tell the story more effectively?

That gives me a useful way to evaluate feedback without feeling obligated to act on every suggestion.

I Ask for Honest, Specific Responses

My beta readers care about me, so I made it clear I wanted honesty.

Of course I wanted to hear what they loved. But I also needed to know where they felt confused, disconnected, or rushed.

I gave them a detailed questionnaire and offered different ways to share additional feedback, including Google Docs comments and reading notes.

Those formats helped me understand different parts of their experience.

Comments made while reading showed me their immediate reactions. The questionnaire helped me see what stayed with them after they finished the entire book.

Both were useful. I wanted to understand the individual moments and the overall impression.

When they put the book down, how did they feel? Which relationships mattered to them? What did they wish they’d paid more attention to?

Those answers gave me a much stronger starting point for revision.

I Give Myself Room to Process Criticism

Writing is personal. We pour so much time, imagination, and emotion into our stories that receiving criticism can feel vulnerable.

I asked for honest feedback because I want to improve this book. That doesn’t mean every comment requires an immediate response—or an immediate edit.

I can read something, think about it, and come back to it later.

What helps me is remembering why I invited readers into the process. I wanted to understand how the story felt to someone who didn’t already know everything in my head.

Their feedback gives me access to that perspective.

And alongside the criticism, there was so much encouragement. Hearing what readers loved helped me recognize the parts of the manuscript I wanted to preserve as I revised.

Before Editing Chapters, I Revisit the Outline

After reviewing the feedback, I start with the bigger picture.

For draft four, that means revisiting my outline and chapter synopses before working through the manuscript line by line.

I want to know how the changes fit together.

If I add a scene, what does it accomplish? Does it develop a relationship, clarify something important, or create a stronger transition? How will that addition affect the chapters that follow?

It’s easy to get excited about a new idea and drop it into the manuscript. But I want the revision to feel cohesive.

Looking at the outline first helps me see where the story needs more breathing room and where I can tighten things. It also gives me a plan to follow when I’m deep in the editing process.

More Depth Doesn’t Always Mean More Words

When readers ask for more development, my first thought isn’t simply to make everything longer.

Sometimes a scene needs an additional exchange. Sometimes it needs a clearer emotional reaction. Sometimes an existing passage can do more work with a few thoughtful changes.

There are also places where I can cut.

Dialogue might repeat information. A description might slow a moment without adding much. Something I loved in an earlier draft might no longer serve the version I’m writing now.

I want to make room for what matters most.

For me, that’s part of the satisfaction of editing: figuring out where to expand, where to trim, and how to give each scene a clearer purpose.

I Remember What’s Already Working

A revision plan can quickly become a list of everything that needs fixing.

But positive feedback is useful information, too.

If readers connect with a friendship, I want to understand why. If a scene makes them emotional, I want to preserve what gives it that impact. If they love the overall story but need more development in certain places, that helps me understand the scope of the work ahead.

I don’t want to focus so much on improvement that I accidentally edit away what readers already love.

The goal is to strengthen the manuscript while keeping its heart intact.

Turning Feedback Into a Plan

Before I start editing individual chapters, I want to understand my priorities.

My process looks something like this:

1. Read through all the feedback.
2. Identify recurring concerns and points of praise.
3. Consider individual comments that reveal something useful.
4. Revisit the outline and chapter synopses.
5. Plan changes across the manuscript.
6. Begin revising with those priorities in mind.

Having that direction helps me feel excited about the next draft.

And honestly? I love editing. I love slowing down, sitting with the story, and discovering how much stronger it can become.

Beta reader feedback lets me see my work through someone else’s eyes. Then I get to take what I’ve learned and make thoughtful decisions about where the story goes next.

If you’re sorting through feedback on your own manuscript, give yourself time to read, reflect, and plan. You don’t have to solve every comment the moment you receive it.

How do you approach beta reader feedback? Do you read everything immediately, or give yourself time before making a revision plan?

Until next time, keep writing worlds, dreaming big, and making every day magical.