"I finished writing my book! Now what?!"

[@indiegamechris4759]

This is perfect timing for me! I just finished my first draft!

[@a.allynharker835]

I am making progress on my novel. And I was so so so so stuck. But your story grid videos are making all the difference. THANK YOU for the good that you are doing. Spoiler alert: this is a flashback: I went to a writing conference with a mentor of mine years ago. We were at a panel for a writer I admired. I was so excited. She was jaded. She said that every audience member would either ask the writer (a) how did you do it? or (b) simply assert their presence in the audience to appropriate the author's spotlight. She was spot on. Every question asked fell into one of those two categories. I hated what she said next. That those who asked 'how did you do it?' would be deflected because authors never say... as they either didn't know *how* they did it...or they aren't willing to say. StoryGrid is AMAZING-FANTASTIC-AWESOMESAUCE for *saying* how it's done. You pull the curtain aside and say and explain and reveal and SHOW how it's done. That takes courage (!!!) and I want to thank you and Shawn and the entire StoryGrid universe for being vulnerable and real and saying things that help people who want to write. You doing such good work in the world. Thank you. I am benefiting. Generally I tend to voice things (many) others don't, so there is a very good chance that what I'm saying is something a lot of silent people are thinking. If you wonder if you are making a difference: YES. You are doing great work. Keep it up!!! Since I've been following you all on KZbin I've noted that your subscriber numbers have grown from 8k 11k. HOLY SHENANIGANS. WELL DONE. Keep up the good work; kudos, and thanks so much.

[@PhoenixCrown]

Really appreciate this step-by-step approach AND the overarching attitude of "You're doing amazing things, but it's only the beginning." I'm so proud of myself for being a "doer" instead of a "talker" and that's why I just WROTE my book instead of talking about it. But then it needed--and still needs--a lot of work. Of course, the people who want to help you find an agent say, "Oh it looks great, let's get you an agent!" Problem is... they aren't writers and don't know that my story is shit. This was super helpful, and I'm almost at the Story Grid phase. I'm an accountant so actually can't wait to break this shit down on a spreadsheet. =)

[@lewisharwood3870]

You know, it's funny. When you finish your novel, you never put: The End

[@feruspriest]

I dig the heuristic of six scenes or bust. The process of gridding out my WIP was worth every second. If a rando reads this, I can't stress enough: using the grid is a phenomenal act of humility and insight into your work. I'm going through and remapping a story's five commandments in each scene because I realized the me that set out to rewrite this book when I first encountered story grid was not as savvy as the me who practiced defining the five commandments by studying some masterworks and aggressively using the five commandments to define and deconstruct some other pieces of writing. I did not truly understand how to make each piece of the commandments work together. Looking forward to the Guild this year. I've learned a lot through autodidactic methods and feedback from my writer group, but I'm ready to put aside this project and just focus on writing stories as a process. The freemium version of Story Grid is a great tool to reduce self-bullshitting impulses.

[@feruspriest]

The Guild this coming year*

[@MaryMcKeown-it4kn]

Hey, Tim. This sounds so familiar! Lol. I appreciate the spreadsheet breakdown. Looking forward to your next video.

[@VictorianTimeTraveler]

It gets good 50 scenes in, also the genre is a surprise

[@susanbuckminster282]

Thank you!

[@emmanuelgonzalezcaseira9141]

Hope you can touch on that Trope Scenes in the future. Really interesting video, never expected to use the spreadsheet like that! I was anticipating the usual graph but you caught me by surprise.

[@feruspriest]

You absolutely generate a line graph in the process. Really great at a glance visual of the shape of your story.

[@carolinalenes3890]

Thank you

[@christophechalaye2361]

Thanks, Tim.

[@feruspriest]

Video on the publishing industry: I know you said SG is moving away from doing seminars where Shawn talks, but I feel like part of what birthed SG on Shawn's part was a disaffection for the existing publishing model especially as it relates to training and curating talented authors. Maybe that's me buying into the mythos of the early SG writing a little too earnestly, but I could see a seminar loke, "state of the industry: what writers need to know" would be received well.

[@WhiteBread221]

Just at the end of nanowrimo?🤔 ‘tis a conspiracy

[@feruspriest]

It's good marketing ;)

[@BryantAJoseph]

What do you think about letting it breathe for like 6 months? Really get enough distance to see it with much clearer eyes

[@a.allynharker835]

Now what? REVISE! Ugh. I've finished a book a few times. Feels great! but...then...meh.

[@Chivalrytotem]

If you mean NaNowriMo 2023, won that. Now, I am going to be busy with my office work and lots of other stuff. As for writing, it still goes, but at a small pace each day. For the manuscript, I have been working on this one (my very first one) since 2009, first version is still stuck and has sprung into 3 different versions since this NaNo.

[@stephaniethomas3449]

Can alpicable bits of this prossess be done at other levels, like at when you finish a quadrant, going back and making sure the 5 commandments for that level are in place ect?

[@feruspriest]

Anecdotally: yes. I suspect if you apply the method as envisioned though, you'd have an ironclad understanding of the five commandments for each scene prior to writing them for each quadrant. You'd be doing something closer to a quality assurance check to ensure they scaffold off each other well, rather than looking to see if they're there.😊

[@5Gburn]

Hmm...I know this'll sound conceited but some of us are quite aware of whether our writing is generally compelling from the get-go or not; we need direct, subjective feedback on plot points' continuity and which characters they take to, etc. Now, finding *six friends* willing to read and give feedback on our work and who'll *actually do so* is also out of most writers' universe. Do you possess multiverse access technology in which case I will gladly lay down some cash to find these people 😂

[@feruspriest]

8 billion people and counting in this universe. Developing relationships is foundational to any creative field. If you're serious about laying down money, pay to join the Story Grid guild. You'll meet people with similar ambitions.

[@mary_syl]

I don't have friends who read novels though 😂 Much less six! Most people I know aren't into books anymore lol

[@MrNoucfeanor]

What if my book doesn't end with "The end." but "Fin."!! I'm conflicted seconds in! Just kidding of course! Thanks for the video and info!

[@theapavlou3030]

Please please please do explain the beats of the genre of English Gangland fiction. Guy Ritchie doesn't write books unfortunately and Martina Cole isnt the same dynamic at all... I'm gonna keep asking on every YT video you post Tim because nobody else breaks it down like you do! NB: "Make sure you're not bullshitting yourself" this made me howl 😂

[@feruspriest]

But you can take the tools Tim is using and do it yourself. That's the *point* of story grid's tools. You don't need Tim to analyze your favorite things. You can do it using the tools Tim and Shawn are developing.

[@theapavlou3030]

Thank you, I was doing all of those things before I found SG tbh but my issue is regarding genre of English Gangland. There are no greats and no classics to compare to. It’s genre beats I need outlined, not method or my "favourite things".

[@feruspriest]

@theapavlou3030 English Gangland isn't a genre, if you take Story Grid's definition. Instead, you may benefit from identifying the external genres Guy Ritchie is using (thriller? Crime? Society?) And see which one your favorite films most closely resembles.

[@theapavlou3030]

​@feruspriest with respect to you I'm not asking for your opinion on this. English gangland is a genre, it's what Guy Ritchie screenplays and films are, it's what Martina Cole writes, for example.

[@feruspriest]

@theapavlou3030 I'm not stating my opinion. The Story Grid response would be, "what is the content genre of English Gangland films" and you would be asked to use the content leaf of the five leaf clover to define the story content. Then you'd expand to the other leaves of the five-leaf clover of genre. They would not call Guy Ritchie's work it's own genre. Just try it!