"I’ve known I wanted to write romance since I was 15 years old.
After publishing a romance novel two years ago (which seemed to take me 20 years to write), I thought “what a load off! I know what I’m doing now!”
So I started writing my second novel, and I just kept hitting roadblock after roadblock after roadblock. I knew my scenes had to “drive the story forward”, but I didn’t know what it meant to drive the story forward. I had to work to build this book.
I’ve read every book on writing that probably has ever come out, and they all say the same thing. I also watched Rachael’s videos on the plot embryo, and I got the gist of it.
But, I was fifty thousand words into a book that was going nowhere.
I didn’t know how to brainstorm solutions to the problems I kept running into.
I just didn’t know what the story was.
When the Story Magic Academy opened, I wondered if it would be any different from Rachael’s YouTube videos, because I can already watch those for free. But my instinct was “I think I really need this class” - it felt right. So I signed up.
I feel like every week I had epiphanies and wins - especially with brainstorming, that was really eye-opening for me. I didn’t realize where my resistance came from. But once I discovered Rachael’s brainstorming system and forced myself to try it, it’s like the answer to everything.
The Theme lesson was wonderful because you read about theme all the time in writing craft books, but suddenly it was like “Ah, that’s all it is?! Oh my god, you’re an idiot.”
And breaking down the quadrants of the Plot Embryo helped so, so much, because Rachael’s YouTube videos didn’t go into that same depth. Those breakdowns into very specific, actionable motions was probably my biggest Wow! moment - like the missing link.
I have these solutions now to help me break down a story problem. For the past year, I felt dead inside thinking about the building blocks of this new book. And now… now I’m lying in bed at night, excited, thinking about my story. I’m taking lots of notes, I’m brainstorming - the middle of my story feels way less intimidating.
Before this course, I didn’t have a full understanding of what the plot embryo meant and how it all comes together. I’m just a freaking plot embryo devotee now. I can just, boom, boom, boom, knock the plot embryos out and really translate them into scenes for my novel. It’s taken me from theory to practicality, from theory to really knowing.
I feel like this is the answer to everything in life [laughing, but really!]. I look at things in real life like “oh, he must be at plot point five in his life” or “they’re entering plot point two in that news article.”
I am so incredibly glad that I jumped into the Story Magic Academy. It answered the many questions I’ve been struggling with.
It was that missing link between everything I’ve read and everything I’ve been trying to learn, and all right here in a practical, easy way for you to understand it.
I just have zero regrets and only gratefulness. Truly. It was like the stars aligned for me to be able to take this course at a time when I needed it and didn’t even know I needed it.
I wish I’d been able to take this course years ago. I feel so much more confident now.
I feel really energised, like “I actually can be a writer. I really can.”
Even nearly two months after the end of this class, I still feel just as strongly that it was one of the best things I've ever done for myself."