MENTORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Personalized Plot Intensive
In this self-paced course, you will move through a series of handouts and exercises developed by Rachel to help you evaluate and strengthen your plot according to the following concepts: character motivation, obstacles and stakes, causality, escalation, unpredictability, driving questions, emotional diversity, the intersection of plot and character, and binary opposition. Rachel will offer feedback at every step of the way in the form of written feedback and zoom meetings to help you solve current problems in the draft as it stands and avoid future problems in the subsequent draft. Evaluating your book at this meta level allows you to make many drafts worth of decisions in a short period of time, saving you many months, possibly years, of revision. This is most helpful once you have a full draft of your book. You will leave this course with a solid blueprint of a plan for revision.
"Rachel Weaver is a plot wizard! She cuts to the heart of your story, offering brilliant and practical tools you can use to improve your work and engage your readers. Rachel is also sensitive to our fragile writer egos, giving feedback that inspires, lifts us up, and makes us eager to revise. With her intelligence, wit, and spot-on insight, I feel like there's no story Rachel can't fix." -Erika Krouse, author of Tell Me Everything, recipient of the 2023 Edgar Award
Nine Months to a Complete Draft
Have you lost momentum and direction? Do you need structure, deadlines, support and guidance? In this nine-month one on one intensive with Rachel Weaver, you will work through a series of nine extensive handouts with many prompts to guide you through crafting a more compelling plot, deepening your characters, and strengthening all aspects of your scene work. You will meet with Rachel one on one every month to discuss progress, problem solve, and plan ahead. You will receive direct written feedback from Rachel twice a month on pages submitted. This is an accelerated, comprehensive curriculum designed to get you over the finish line of a solid first draft. Areas of focus will be modified to meet each writer where they are with their project from the outset and as we move along. Open to fiction and memoir writers.
As my mentor, Rachel guided me through the entire process of writing my book, from first draft through final revision. Her insight and expertise gave me the direction I needed at the start, and her unceasing support gave me the confidence I needed to finish. - Ariel Bennett, YA novelist
Nine Months to Get Your Messy Draft Working as a Whole
Do you have a big messy draft that is making you feel overwhelmed? Do you need structure, deadlines, support and guidance? In this nine month one on one intensive, you will start with a full plot evaluation to identify the ways in which the manuscript is currently working well and to identify problem areas. You will work with Rachel to brainstorm solutions and to develop an extensive revision plan with bimonthly deadlines and continued written feedback on revised pages from Rachel. You will move through a series of monthly instructional handouts to expand your crafting toolbox. Areas of focus will be modified to meet each writer where they are with their project from the outset and as we move along. This is an accelerated, comprehensive curriculum designed to help you solve many drafting issues at once and get your book working more effectively as a whole. Open to fiction and memoir writers.
"If you come to Rachel with chaotic pages, she'll help you find clarity. She'll help you analyze where your story is working and where it isn't, and teach you how to grip your reader with compelling scenes. Rachel is patient, professional, wise, and knowledgeable and she will be a wonderful guide to writing the book you want to write." - Jenny Shank, author of Mixed Company, 2022 Colorado Book Award Winner
