Full Contact Year and limited-time BWW Winter Quarter Offer

Hi – This is Elizabeth. What follows is a great look at resolutions and the team sport of writing, from my partner at the BWW, Angie Powers. We hope it gives you some fuel for a powerful writing habit in the new year!

I started playing rugby when I was 31. Most folks have “retired” by then, opting out of the bruises and beer guzzling, but I didn’t know about rugby when I was younger, hadn’t had the chance to test myself against a full contact sport that mocked protective gear.
And for those of you who have never played (or had any interest in playing) the sport, rugby’s a bit confusing for anyone more familiar with forward passing games, like basketball, soccer or football. Questions like, “How can we score if the ball keeps moving backward?” and, “If this is called the “asshole zone” why am I always in it?” plague every practice, every game, until some magic moment happens and suddenly, you stop thinking about the sport and just play.

That moment for me came during a game against Santa Cruz. It was my first maul, and as I worked myself down the field in a wall of people–backwards mind you (love this game)–I saw my scrum half blazing down the field, hands reaching for the prize I was carrying–that turkey egg wrapped in leather called a rugby ball. And off it went, into her arms, around the maul, over the tryline and down. We scored. I’d assisted, with my teammates, in creating the most perfect moment I’d had on the pitch.

The reason that moment stays with me so strongly, I have decided, is because that it defines the best of what sport can be. When we rise above our individual selves and become part of something masterful. The muscles remember, the brain fires, and we transcend ourselves even if it is just for a moment. We transcend the daily expectations of our teammates and for ever lengthening stretches, we are brilliant. We are elevated. Our actions carry meaning, even if that meaning only extends to this tiny bit of grass on this sunny afternoon. We can be seen to rise.

What’s the Point Exactly?

Say it with me: this is the year you will find your team. This is the year you will take to the pitch, or field, or mountain, or keyboard or iPad, and transcend yourself. This is the year you will elevate your voice and not be surprised it is so strong.

How?

Use advice your already have.

Lots of folks gave you tips on setting goals and following through on New Year’s resolutions. If you found some tips that work or just excite you, memorize them, make time to repeat them like they were the axioms of a prophet. Accept that you will forget them many times, and keep chanting. They will eventually posses you.

Exercise.

Really, get out there and exercise, take ten minutes of your writing time and jog around the block, do jumping jacks or if your office space and back strength permit, try some burpees. Finding something, anything, to do isn’t hard. Look: here’s a 15 minute desk work out on YouTube; the only equipment you need is a wall that won’t fall over when you lean on it. (I think I’m required by law to say check with your physician before starting any exercise program, even if it’s a just sit on your, um, chair, and lift your heels program. You know, use your brain.)

Make Friends or Use the Ones You Have.

If you don’t already have a writing group, make one. Make sure at least one person in the group is a drill sergeant, and better yet, take turns at it. But don’t join a group where everyone likes each other so much they can’t hold a deadline or make you feel like a jackass for not turning in on your go. Your story matters, your work matters. Make sure you surround yourself with people who get that and are willing to hold you accountable.

Don’t set yourself up to fail.

There’s enough information out there about how to set goals and being S.M.A.R.T. about it. You don’t need another message about how to do that (but in case you do, here’s a link to a pretty good goal setting pdf).

What you do need is the humility to accept that most people aren’t going to write six novels in a month and even if you eventually do become as prolific as Brazilian writer Ryoki Inoue, it probably won’t be your first twelve novels that get written in two months. Maybe the second twelve.

In any case, the fastest way to write a book is to write it, not bum yourself out with overestimating what you can reasonably do. Some members of the BWW are writing 1000 words a week. And guess what? After a year, they are coming up on completed drafts.

And of course, taking classes at the BWW is a great way to do all of the above–even the exercising! (Okay, not the exercising.) The Winter Quarter is about to get underway and we’ve decided to make some pretty big changes this time around.

New Choices:

Some people do really well with the structure of a course guiding them through the planning, drafting, revising or finishing process. So, like last quarter, we are offering courses in these areas. Folks taking a course get to go to the weekly mentoring call, get feedback on their exercises in the course area, attend our monthly author Q&A and get discounts on other workshops and seminars. This quarter’s bonuses include a free day-long online writing workshop.

I know, that’s not new. But what is new is our pricing structure. It’s like a grab bag you can look into before you stick your hand in and pull something out.

Starting this quarter, you can sign up for a coaching only option. What does that mean? Well, $97 a month now gets you a weekly group class led by published author Elizabeth Stark. Current class times are Wednesday evenings 6:30 to 7:30 pm Pacific Time, or Thursdays 5:00 − 6:00 pm, um, you know. Pacific Time. Mentoring-only clients still get access to our monthly author Q&A, discounts to live and online seminars and workshops and other bonuses. And if you decide before Week 4 of the quarter to add a course, we have created add on options.

No time for learning, mentoring, and friends?

No one can write your book for you, and if you’re worried that taking a class or committing to a call will keep you from your writing, you might be right. It’s tool, and like any other tool, it’s not going to work for everybody.

Who is best suited for the BWW?

It works for people who sometimes find that their commitment to getting the work done is stronger when they are accountable to other people. Or for people who find that getting a different perspective on a problem that’s been plaguing them can actually make their writing time MORE productive. And even though the BWW IS a social site, the time spent cheering on others and getting cheered on is especially helpful for those people who achieve more when they are asked to rise to the expectations of their teacher and the group.

And of course, it saves you time trying to put that writing group together yourself.

Money too tight to mention?

Comparing the BWW to courses in other programs, we feel pretty confident that we on the very reasonable side of pricing. It’s not uncommon for an 10 week class to run $395 or more. If you could find a monthly payment plan, which don’t seem that common in 10 week courses, you could still figure on about $170 a month. And these courses aren’t generally offered by published authors. If your friend Steve’s great Aunt Linda who used to teach seventh grade offers a cheaper option, it might be great. And. It might not. But the main point is, if that’s what you can afford and that tool works, USE it.

Remember, this is the year to elevate your writing.

Say it with me: this is the year you will find your team. This is the year you will transcend yourself. This is the year you will elevate your voice and not be surprised it is so strong.
Twelve weeks from now, at the end of the BWW quarter, our members will read their work to each other. From around the country and the world, writers read their achievements out. Some have been working for just this quarter, others a year, and their shared momentum moves all of us faster toward our goals, toward our books, toward transcending our expectations for ourselves.

Where will you be in three months? Six? A year? Will you have an unshakable writing habit bringing you closer everyday to your book? A community of readers who serve as your first invested responders? A book?

You don’t need the BWW to be reading out your work in 12 weeks. You know that. But you do need an audience of caring readers, or listeners, who know what it took to get you where you’ve come. Readers who are interested in the world you are building, not the one they think it should be. Find your readers and read out. Strong. Exercise, set reasonable goals, take the 200 lbs. of advice from the New Year and USE it.

Writing may seem like a solitary sport, but I say it takes a team. A book written in the forest isn’t a book until someone picks it up and opens it to the first page. Then reads it. Reader and writer are only the last in a long line of teams bringing a story to life.

Okay – What’s the Deal Winter Quarter Deal?

Here’s the offer for the BWW this quarter.

1. Coaching only option: $97 per month, author Q&A teleconferences, weekly class, community support and access, discounts on online and in-person retreats and one free online writing retreat to get you started! And before Week 4, you can add your class option if you change your mind for a $39 one time fee. Your $97 subscription rate stays for the life of your membership – even when we raise our prices.

2. Full Quarter option: $315 – Save 10% when you purchase the coaching and course together. Get everything above plus exercises to help you keep focused on and moving forward with your project, video and text lectures, a class forum, and professional feedback on your exercises . Your access ends at the end of the quarter and you re-register for the following quarter at the next quarter’s rates.

3. Annual Option: One-time payment of $1056. Save 20%! A full year–four quarters–of mentoring and classes. Great if you’re at the beginning of a project or needing something more to get your latest project done. Take one course a quarter, one mentoring class a week, everything listed above, a free day-long online writing retreat every quarter, and more. Dude, that’s a lot for basically $88 a month.

The Catch

Here’s the catch, this quarter, we have room for 12 people. We’re growing, and we want to do it right, making sure that the experience of all our members stays sweet. So, the first 12 people to sign up will be also the last 12 for this round.
You ready? START NOW!