WEBVTT

00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:10.000
Hey everybody, and welcome. Thank you for… spending a little time with us this evening.

00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:18.000
And you're going to learn something very, very cool. My name's John Bard, and this is Laura Backus. We are husband and wife, we're the owners of Children's Book Insider.

00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:28.000
It just celebrated our 35th year. Uh, in business, but we… before, uh, only a few months ago, we never had a coaching club, and we have one now.

00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:33.000
And that's one of the reasons we're here tonight. But mostly, we want you to meet Valerie.

00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:39.000
And Kate, who are the leaders of the Insiders Coaching Club, and they have something really.

00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:44.000
Really cool to teach you. So we will be doing that, and Laura, why don't you check in and say hello?

00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:48.000
Okay, well, hi everybody, thanks so much for being here with us.

00:00:48.000 --> 00:01:00.000
And, you know, you're about to receive some very powerful teaching that will provide a real aha moment that can explain why you're struggling to craft compelling stories.

00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:04.000
And I really can't wait for you to experience this amazing lesson.

00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:11.000
Now, as John just mentioned, we are celebrating our 35th year in business here with Children's Book Insider.

00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:24.000
And we're really grateful to each and every one of you for helping us reach this milestone. Some of you who are here tonight have been with us for a really long time, and so it's always, always awesome to see your names.

00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:29.000
Pop up again in the chat box. And so, over these years.

00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:39.000
Many of you have told us. That you want more… personal access to high-level experts, more guidance with your writing, more community.

00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:45.000
A greater sense of connection with your craft and to each other.

00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:59.000
And you want people. To be… you want to be surrounded by people who care about your writing journey, and who are there for you, as you continue to grow as a writer and a creative human being.

00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:03.000
And we have heard that. And that's why we're here tonight.

00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:07.000
So, that's, you know, having worked with folks like you for 35 years.

00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:16.000
We understand there's more to… growing as a writer, becoming a writer, than just learning craft, or learning how to submit your work.

00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:25.000
It's overcoming certain things. And loneliness and the feeling of doing it by yourself is one of the big things that stops people.

00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:31.000
In their track, because… you can't just generate confidence out of thin air.

00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:36.000
You can't just… uh, say, okay, now I'm ready.

00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:42.000
Without anybody around to help you and to let you know that you're ready, and to get you to the place where you are ready. So.

00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:48.000
There's always that little gap there that we had where we can give you all kinds of great information.

00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:56.000
Um, and we do, you know, you can hire Laura for a critique, but that's not cheap, and Laura can only do so many. There's only one person there.

00:02:56.000 --> 00:03:00.000
But we really knew that to get you all to the next level.

00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:08.000
We needed to create something that dealt with the isolation, the disconnection, the feeling that.

00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:13.000
I'm out of the loop. And that's what we're here to talk about tonight.

00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:20.000
Apart from also teaching you something really, really good. Um, but it is the Insiders Coaching Club.

00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:32.000
A place to create joy and connection. And meaning. So, let me paint a picture for you, because this is why we created it. We really designed this specifically for folks like you. So.

00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:42.000
You wake up, and you log in. Every day there's something new. It's welcoming, it's friendly, there are people there in the discussion groups talking about.

00:03:42.000 --> 00:04:00.000
Maybe what was discussed yesterday, talking about a new technique. Whatever it might be, if you've got some friends there. Every day there's something different, there's a writing assignment, a technique, maybe it's a live call where you connect directly with Kate and Valerie, get a teaching session, get your questions answered, maybe even get a critique.

00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:04.000
Uh, we… they do games, they do all kinds of stuff.

00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:10.000
Every day, as a result, your craft improves, but also your sense of isolation.

00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:16.000
Begins to fade, and your confidence, your pride of accomplishment expands.

00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:24.000
And you feel… like a real writer, and feeling like a real writer, we know, is one of the big things. Imposter syndrome.

00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:31.000
Is, uh, just the most common thing among writers. So, when you found guides, when you found.

00:04:31.000 --> 00:04:34.000
People who are like you, who are moving on the same path as you.

00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:45.000
That imposter syndrome dissipates. Uh, because you now know, okay, there's an outside… there's a place to look who can look at people who can look at me and say, you're doing great.

00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:52.000
You're on the way. And that is just so super important. So… After the teaching session tonight, which is coming up in just a minute.

00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:59.000
Um, we will give you a look inside this new oasis of learning and community that we call the Insiders Coaching Club.

00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:02.000
And let you know how you can be part of this unique community.

00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:07.000
But first, we want to introduce you. Firsthand to our amazing.

00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:13.000
Insiderscoaching Club guides. And how amazing Val and Kay truly are.

00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:27.000
Mm-hmm. So… I'm going to introduce them in just a second, but I want to just say… If you've been… Members of our site for a while. If you've attended our webinars, etc, you know that we only.

00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:45.000
Have the best people teaching you. And Kate and Valerie are right up there with the best that we've ever worked with. They have a way of distilling a big concept down to very accessible idea and making it applicable to your work.

00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:52.000
And they just have this wonderful, warm, and nurturing way about them that makes the process.

00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:58.000
Fun and not intimidating, which is so important, especially if you're just starting out on this journey.

00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:11.000
So, let's bring on our fabulous coaches right now. Kate Pendorf is a published middle grade author, writing coach, and developmental editor. And Valerie Heller is a writing instructor, workshop presenter.

00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:16.000
And a lead writing coach for the Bloomsburg Arts Institute in Baltimore.

00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:26.000
And if you've taken any of their Right for Kids workshops that they've done for us, Mastering the Six Modes of Narration, or.

00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:35.000
Building iconic characters that stand the test of time, or read their articles in children's Book Insiders, you know that they know their stuff.

00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:38.000
So, welcome, ladies.

00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:43.000
Oh, and by the way, before we… and they're coming in, as they come in, uh, we do have the Q&A.

00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:49.000
Afterwards, so there should be a Q&A… Is there Q&A?

00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:52.000
Go ahead and… well, what we'll do is save your questions, and then at the end, we'll take them in the chat.

00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:57.000
Yes. Yes.

00:06:57.000 --> 00:06:58.000
There is a Q&A box, but I don't know if you prefer to put them in the chat.

00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:11.000
Zoom just keeps changing things, don't they? Ah, yes, there is, I just didn't see it. I had to click more. So, go ahead and type your questions in the Q&A, and we'll get to them at the end. You can ask questions about what the ladies are about to teach you, and of course, ask anything you want.

00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:13.000
About the Insider Coaching Club. And with that, I'm going to stop sharing.

00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:16.000
Okay.

00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:22.000
These guys are gonna take over, and we're gonna leave you in their good hands. Enjoy.

00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:33.000
Hi, everyone! Thank you so much for coming! Um, we were kind of listening backstage, and I was like, Valerie, we've been like rock stars!

00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:38.000
It was a lovely introduction. Thank you, Laura and John, for setting us up so beautifully.

00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:48.000
Um, yeah, we're excited to be here. We're excited to have all of you here, and to do a little teaching first, and then we'll talk more about the community, so… Shall we?

00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:56.000
Absolutely. Okay, so let me… get this rockin' and rollin'? Did that go? No, it didn't.

00:07:56.000 --> 00:08:06.000
Okay, so we kind of wanted to play a little game with everyone tonight, because that's what we love here at the Insiders Coaching Club.

00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:15.000
Through games, we have fun, right? Through games, we think walls come down, and it makes it easier for learning. So we thought, while you guys were listening to tonight.

00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:26.000
Um, maybe you could take a guess at who is who. So these are avatars, just gonna… put them there for a second as we rock and roll through this lesson, and we'll bring them right back up at the end.

00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:35.000
So, yes, um, obviously we're super excited to be here, like John and Laura said, this is their 35th anniversary, um, of bringing.

00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:43.000
Tons of craft and knowledge your way, and we wanted to add to that by bringing community of writers and for writers.

00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:53.000
So, we like to think of it as an interactive craft book, or a conference experience. You can tap into all year round, instead of just for a long weekend.

00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:57.000
So, we design everything with the intention of helping writers, you guys.

00:08:57.000 --> 00:09:10.000
To level up your knowledge of craft and writing. Learn the art of self-editing, which is extremely important, because you are the first eyes on your own pages. And of course, to be able to connect with other writers.

00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:17.000
Um, and authors, and industry insiders. Of course, making sure you feel supported while doing that.

00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:21.000
So, let's begin, Valerie.

00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:29.000
Yeah, and you may want to have, if you don't have it yet, you may want to just make sure you have a piece of paper and something to write with nearby, just something to jot on is fine.

00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:35.000
Um, be ready to jump into the chat. Uh, cause we'll ask you some questions.

00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:37.000
So, yeah, let's jump in. Um.

00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:41.000
Okay. Go.

00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:53.000
So, um… One of the, uh… we… we start each month with a little bit of teaching, with a teaching call, and it's devoted to deep diving in particular craft topic.

00:09:53.000 --> 00:10:05.000
And we build the rest of the month there, from there. And so, um, we're gonna give you a little taste of what it feels like to be part of the community by doing a little bit of teaching tonight. And so.

00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:12.000
Um, another of the monthly features of the community is a live call that we like to call Game Night.

00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:20.000
Um, as Kate said, we like to play with writing, we'd like to encourage you to play with your writing, because that's where you learn things, where you discover things.

00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:25.000
Um, and so, it's called Game Night because it's where we invite.

00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:31.000
Members to bring their pages and play with implementing what we've learned from this month's.

00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:39.000
The month's teaching call. So tonight's focus is on, as John said, three questions that are invaluable to keeping your story on track.

00:10:39.000 --> 00:11:00.000
Um, these are the kinds of questions that might help a writer who's lost in the saggy middle of their story in order, um, to get them back on solid footing. They're the kinds of questions that a writer who just got their 15th rejection with no tangible feedback from an agent needs to ask themselves again.

00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:05.000
They're the kinds of questions an editor might ask you, so that you know what to edit for.

00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:11.000
Or, so that you can ask yourself. To guide the revision process along.

00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:23.000
So whether you call them handlebars. Um, or the spine, or the through line, whatever you call them, they're questions that will help you to keep going, or to get back to the page.

00:11:23.000 --> 00:11:26.000
When the going gets tough.

00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:34.000
Absolutely. Um, before we quickly move on, we are going to ask to be joined by Lori.

00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:45.000
Laura, I'm sorry, let's try that again, by Leah Sheng. Um, she is one of our members, but for the sake of our game tonight, she is a published author.

00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:54.000
So, Leah is gonna help kind of walk us through some of these games. Um, let me get our next slide up while she's coming on the camera.

00:11:54.000 --> 00:12:00.000
The first question that you want to ask yourself is. What's your story about?

00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:01.000
Go ahead, Valerie.

00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:07.000
Well. Yeah, and for… but before you even do that, we didn't tell you, call to mind the story that currently has your imagination.

00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:13.000
What story, uh, you're currently working on? Um, call that story to mind.

00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:16.000
And so that's the story that you can use for these.

00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:22.000
These three questions that are coming up. So question number one, like Kate just said, is, what is your story about?

00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:23.000
If someone asks you to sum up what it was about in one or two sentences.

00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:26.000
Great.

00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:31.000
What might you say? And you can jot yourself a couple little notes here.

00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:33.000
Um… And while you're doing that, we're going to talk with Leah.

00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:51.000
Perfect. Yeah, so Leah is the author of Freedom at Dawn, Robert Small's Voyage Out of Slavery, so it's an amazing picture book. Leah, thank you so much for coming tonight. We're excited to have you here, and Mallory is showing off your book.

00:12:51.000 --> 00:13:11.000
So, um, while everyone is thinking, you know, sometimes it's nice to see an example response, which is why we brought on a published author, um, to help shed light on the topic at hand, or even to get our own juices flowing. So, we love making use of mentor texts in our group, and tonight we'll use Leah as an example.

00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:17.000
Um, so we're gonna combine two features of the Insiders Coaching Club. Number one, the mentor texts, and number two, a guest.

00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:25.000
Speaker. This traditionally published author is super special, because like we said, she is a member of our group, and real quickly, Leah.

00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:33.000
Did you, um… find your publisher through Children's Book Insider, the magazine?

00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:39.000
Uh, no, I did not, and thank you so much for inviting me and having me on, so… Now, it was through a savvy author's pitch event that I was able to connect with my editor.

00:13:39.000 --> 00:13:49.000
Oh… Gotcha, okay, because we've known you here, so we're so excited to kind of shout that out, but alrighty, so, Leah.

00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:56.000
Um, could you please, in one to two sentences. How would you answer what your story is about?

00:13:56.000 --> 00:14:04.000
Yeah, it's about an enslaved boat pilot. Who sails his family to freedom.

00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:09.000
And, um, it's told from the perspective of his daughter.

00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:23.000
Awesome. Okay, thank you. Um, so hold on for just a second as we move through. We now invite all of you, if you would like, to take a moment, and you're welcome to share in the chat if you feel comfortable.

00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:41.000
What is your story about? So… Otherwise, get that written on your little piece of paper, and keep that, because we're gonna build on these as we work our way through the next two questions.

00:14:41.000 --> 00:14:46.000
Uh, I actually can't see the chat, so if people are typing… Valerie, do you see the chat?

00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:47.000
I'm keeping an eye on the chat. We don't have any answers in there yet.

00:14:47.000 --> 00:14:52.000
Okay, perfect. Okay, there is a little delay when people are typing, yeah.

00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:56.000
Right, and they may still be… still be thinking. Um, but yeah.

00:14:56.000 --> 00:15:07.000
Yeah. Oh, here we go. My story is about a boy that helps save a shrunken village from a mad scientist. Oh, that's cool, a shrunken village. I like that.

00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:08.000
Mad scientist.

00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:18.000
I'm not scientists, yeah. That's awesome. Alright, we'll give it just about another 10 seconds, because like we said, there tends to be a little delay.

00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:19.000
And there will be more.

00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:29.000
Meanwhile, we're gonna gear up for our next question. Okay, keep your story the same story in mind as we get to question number two.

00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:31.000
Right.

00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:38.000
What is it really about? So let's go back to our awesome example. Uh, Leah is providing for us.

00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:45.000
Um, in one to two sentences, Leah, what would you say when asked, what is your story really about?

00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:57.000
Yeah, I take that to mean, like, the theme. So, to me, it's about… courage and resilience about overcoming one's fears and… persevering through what feels insurmountable.

00:15:57.000 --> 00:15:58.000
Hmm… Mm-hmm.

00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:05.000
Nice. I don't know if you guys caught it, but I can already hear a difference.

00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:07.000
Right.

00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:11.000
I'm now just looking in the chat.

00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:13.000
Yeah, now they're coming in on the chat.

00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:18.000
Right. So while we take a look real quick, we'll read out some of these from the chat.

00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:26.000
Um, if you, again, are feeling comfortable sharing what your story is really about, feel free to add that.

00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:27.000
To the chat.

00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:40.000
So the… the… we're gonna… while we're waiting for those to come in, we'll read a couple of them. My story is about. So we have the Shrunken Village and the Mad Scientist. We have a young pirate wants to pillage and plunder, but her best friend wants to play princess.

00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:47.000
So when the pirate forces the princess to walk the plank, she must learn to either compromise or lose her.

00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:53.000
Um, we've got a story that… That's about exploring and experiencing Grandma's house.

00:16:53.000 --> 00:17:08.000
We have… Somebody asked, you don't want these in the chat, so we can see what others are doing. We do want these in the chat. Yes, the questions, any questions that you have about the community and about other things.

00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:14.000
Those can go in the Q&A. But these… these answers, we absolutely do want in the chat.

00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:22.000
So hopefully they haven't been filling up the Q&A. Um, there is a story about growing up in Fort Sill, Oklahoma in the 20s and 30s.

00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:30.000
So, adventure and History. Um, there is… so you've got a dandelion who really wants friends, believes she's a.

00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:35.000
Flower until the garden, roses, daisies, and tulips seller differently and shun her.

00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:44.000
Oh, no! Poor little dandelion! It's a story about a stuffedale that takes a journey from family to family and finds he loves the adventure.

00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:50.000
And a story about a fun family memory of a tea party using imagination richness of family and perspective.

00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:58.000
So… As you pick out what your story is really about, we would love to see.

00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:01.000
Those come into the chat now as well.

00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:11.000
We have a couple new ones here, so what it's really about is navigating friendships and finding creative ways to compromise. Nice, you guys.

00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:24.000
Groovy granny. Oops, this one went too fast, hold on. And the food fight, showing how scary and frustrating food allergies and sensitivities are to a child. Groovy Granny uses her superpowers to capture gluten, lact.

00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:34.000
And shellfish bugs. That is really clever. 12-year-old Mattie in occupied Belgium in 1944 becomes part of the Renaissance.

00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:35.000
Existence. Yeah. Yeah.

00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:41.000
When she discovered… or resistant, that would make more sense for a 1944, wouldn't it?

00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:42.000
Different time periods, but we're good.

00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:53.000
I'm gonna get closer to the screen, the resistance when she discovers her grandmother knits code into scarves to pass info to the Allies and resistance.

00:18:53.000 --> 00:19:04.000
Um, we have based on a true story, the swing tells of a little girl whose father builds a swing at her school shortly before his sudden death, leaving behind a powerful reminder that love.

00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:09.000
Like his well-tied knots, holds on even when he is gone.

00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:25.000
And my story is really about not being afraid to share who you really are with the people you love and the world at large. Ooh, sounds like our group. And really about belonging and finding a strong sense of self. Okay, you guys are rocking this.

00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:35.000
Um… Right, so before we add the last layer, let's talk about why these questions are so essential to your story and to your writing.

00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:45.000
So often, our stories can get derailed, right, when we start to share them with others, critique partners, friends, agents, editors, and so on.

00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:54.000
Why? Well, it can be tempting to twist our story to fit all the feedback we get, right? But in the process.

00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:58.000
We can lose sight of the story we actually set out to write.

00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:01.000
We see this all the time, and not just the newer writers.

00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:08.000
If we start to listen to those outside voices too much, and write to their expectations.

00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:14.000
We can lose our story or lose our passion for the story we were trying to tell.

00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:26.000
Or for writing in general. Uh, which is where question 3 comes in. Um, just quickly, Valerie, were there a few more that we need to… check out before we move on?

00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:27.000
Guys, we can…

00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:35.000
Story is real. Really a family, creativity and positive outlook. Story is really an expected change can be fun.

00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:52.000
Positive. Um… yeah, they… they… every time you start reading one, they start moving. Um… It's really about discovering common imps, grandma, and seeing what gifts she has to share, so we're… we're in there. We're… they're getting it.

00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:53.000
Sounds really good. So we have one more question.

00:20:53.000 --> 00:21:11.000
Okay, so you might… you might have realized. Yeah, and you might have really just kind of maybe moved a little bit from large picture plot, if you will, to maybe interior, maybe some emotion, maybe that more universal stage. Um, you know, for those of us writing about fantasy, we caught some of you guys in there.

00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:20.000
I don't live in a fantasy world, I would love to live in a fantasy world, but friendships? Now, that's universal, you can put that in any setting you want.

00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:28.000
So, let's get to our final question, and that is. And why is it about that?

00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:39.000
So, thank you to Leah for coming on tonight to let us use her book as a mentor text, because although we could have answered questions 1 and 2 on our own, possibly about her book.

00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:54.000
It's question 3 that truly turns personal, and only the author knows why they wrote the story they wrote. And we would love to hear from Leah, why is this the story?

00:21:54.000 --> 00:22:01.000
Yeah, well, I mean, certainly from. My own perspective, I'm inspired by.

00:22:01.000 --> 00:22:08.000
Stories in U.S. History that are kind of lost, and so they're significant, but… Significant figures and events are kind of lost.

00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:16.000
So, I was personally connected to the story because I have family roots in South Carolina. The story takes place in Charleston.

00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:25.000
My family was likely somewhere in that area. Um, yeah, and the themes definitely apply to, uh.

00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:38.000
You know, all sides of my family, I'm biracial, but these themes of courage and persevering also applies to my grandparents, who… you know, came from Eastern Europe, uh, and did that, that, uh, trek to, you know, get away from the pogroms.

00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:46.000
So, I'm definitely personally connected, and I think… you know, part of this question is understanding what drives you, and we have that.

00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:51.000
That drive, you're really connected and motivated to get this story.

00:22:51.000 --> 00:22:54.000
What it needs to be.

00:22:54.000 --> 00:23:01.000
Absolutely. So we hear in Leah's answer, the why is your story about that.

00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:13.000
Is both why the story. And why are you the one to tell it? And both of… those things came through, and what Leah was just telling us about her connection to that story of Robert Smalls.

00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:20.000
Um, so take a minute, and again, add that third jot to your paper, or throw in the chat.

00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:27.000
Um, if you have a why, if you're in touch with the why, this is your story, or why are you the one to write it, share that with us now.

00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:30.000
Cool.

00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:32.000
As well. Um…

00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:44.000
Yeah, and I love, love, love, you know, we often are told writers write what they know, and I heard, Leah, you saying that you know perseverance in your family, um, you draw on your family's strength.

00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:53.000
And, first off, super universal. And also, I think that can definitely transfer to any story, whether it's.

00:23:53.000 --> 00:24:03.000
You know, about a little backpack, um, that's got a voice to speak, or whether it's about real people, like Robert Smalls. I think that's super cool that you can transfer that.

00:24:03.000 --> 00:24:10.000
Um, you know, even if your experience is not exactly theirs, so that's cool.

00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:12.000
Nice! Valerie, do we have some in the chat?

00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:27.000
Um, we're starting, so someone says my story is, uh, Jesse says, my story is semi-autobiographical. I was a shy kid who was afraid to put myself out there, and I want kids who might feel the same way to know they're not alone.

00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:31.000
Um, Lori says, I remember as a child worrying about my stuffed animals.

00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:40.000
Feelings, and if one got lost or donated, I felt sad for them. I wrote this story as a way to let children know that letting them go can be okay, and even a good thing.

00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:41.000
Sweet. That's very sweet.

00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:52.000
That's cool. Well, awesome. We really want to thank you, Leah, so much for jumping in, for sharing your book. Um, Valerie, do you want to share the.

00:24:52.000 --> 00:25:00.000
The cover one more time, everyone can go check it out. This is Freedom at Dawn, the Robert Smalls Voyage Out of Slavery.

00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:08.000
Thank you, Leah, and thanks for being part of our community, and being here to talk about your group. I'm gonna… put you backstage again?

00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:11.000
Thanks!

00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:22.000
All right, everyone, um, if I did that correctly, there we go. Okay, let's move just a little bit forward, so thank you to all of you guys as well. All in the hearts! That's awesome. We got some love.

00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:38.000
Um, thanks for playing along, and we hope it got you thinking about your story's layers. This is something that's really key to the Insiders Coaching Club, is that we can dive deeper into our stories, right? We're always looking at where those different layers can shed light.

00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:59.000
So, um, we'd like to now pause for just a moment and pose a few questions to you. That's another section we do. Um, uh, this is a feature you will see every month, something called Questions to You. It's our nod to passing the editor's hat over to you.

00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:05.000
So, a few questions. That you might, um, take a moment to reflect on.

00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:10.000
Uh, number one, do you see or feel a difference between what the story's about.

00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:18.000
And what the story is really about. When you went to jot those, did you… did you see or feel that difference in your responses?

00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:25.000
Um, which one feels like it has the potential to drive the plot or the action of the story?

00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:34.000
And which one speaks to the character's transformation, or their ability to succeed in their quest?

00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:39.000
You may notice… Or you may have noticed in your answers.

00:26:39.000 --> 00:26:46.000
That that first question leans more into the external action of the story, that what's-it-about question often brings up more.

00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:51.000
Of the plot, um, and what's happening in the plot, while the second one.

00:26:51.000 --> 00:27:00.000
Tends to speak more to the internal, or the transformation that that character will undergo. So there's the story, but then really what's going on in the story.

00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:06.000
Is that other thing.

00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:19.000
All right, so these are questions to you. We don't necessarily need to put them in the chat, um, but we would like to do a little mini debrief, right? This is also one of our favorite things, um, when we've got our live calls with everyone.

00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:34.000
This you are more than welcome to put in the chat if you feel comfortable doing so. Um, we always end our game nights where we can do some debriefing, because we've worked on our manuscripts, maybe we've had time to converse with other members in the group.

00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:41.000
And so, we'd like to invite three of you, maybe, to come on camera. You can raise your hand.

00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:49.000
Um, and maybe we could do just a little bit of coaching with you, right? So, we'll kind of walk you through some of these questions.

00:27:49.000 --> 00:28:01.000
Um, color, do you see anyone's hands up? Because I'm sharing screen, and some of my little… The tabs go away.

00:28:01.000 --> 00:28:02.000
Oh, perfect.

00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:11.000
Yep, Sheila just raised her hand. Hang on a minute, let me bring up… There's another one…

00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:12.000
Are you getting them in?

00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:13.000
It… it looks like I see at least two… three people have raised their hand.

00:28:13.000 --> 00:28:18.000
Okay… We're only…

00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:19.000
Do you see, Valerie, if you pull up the participants list?

00:28:19.000 --> 00:28:23.000
Alright… Pios… Are they at the top? Did they move to the top?

00:28:23.000 --> 00:28:28.000
I don't see shoes.

00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:29.000
That's why, because I was thinking, okay, yeah, they're right at the top. Great.

00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:31.000
The three top ones, yes, they moved to the top. Yeah.

00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:38.000
I'm going in alphabetical order, you guys, and I'm like, how is Sheila not under the S's?

00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:41.000
Right. All right, so…

00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:48.000
Perfect. Sheila, you are welcome to unmute and turn on your camera.

00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:53.000
I've got… Lori, it looks like, coming in, and Gwyneth is also trying to come in, possibly.

00:28:53.000 --> 00:28:56.000
Yeah.

00:28:56.000 --> 00:29:06.000
Perfect. Okay. So let's see if we can play just a little bit of our, kind of, coaching, you know, how it would be at the end of a game night.

00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:16.000
Oh, that was a wrong button to hit. So, hi Lori, welcome, and I believe… is Sheila here?

00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:18.000
I'm here! Can you hear me? I can't… I can't find the camera, sorry!

00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:19.000
Yeah?

00:29:19.000 --> 00:29:23.000
Yes, we can. Thank you so much! Oh, that's funny, don't worry!

00:29:23.000 --> 00:29:24.000
Okay. Gwyneth, yeah.

00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:29.000
And I think there's a third person, too, right? Is she in here?

00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:31.000
From here, I just don't know how… And can you hear me?

00:29:31.000 --> 00:29:33.000
Oh, yay! Perfect. Yes.

00:29:33.000 --> 00:29:35.000
Yeah. Yes.

00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:38.000
Oh, hi! Hello! Good evening. Thank you.

00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:39.000
Found it! Where is that video button hiding?

00:29:39.000 --> 00:29:43.000
Perfect!

00:29:43.000 --> 00:29:47.000
Maybe it can help Sheila find hers.

00:29:47.000 --> 00:29:54.000
Um, so if you kind of hover over your name, and it says mute, and then there's the three dots, if you click on the three dots.

00:29:54.000 --> 00:30:02.000
A little… box will pull up with all of your options.

00:30:02.000 --> 00:30:03.000
Be easier. Great!

00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:10.000
Perfect, thank you. All right, so, um, otherwise, as long as you're unmuted, we can still hear you girls.

00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:11.000
Okay.

00:30:11.000 --> 00:30:17.000
So, did these answers come easily? Let's chit-chat about that for just a quick second. How'd it go for you girls?

00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:20.000
I would say yes. They came very easy. Yes.

00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:21.000
Yep.

00:30:21.000 --> 00:30:22.000
Yeah.

00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:29.000
Nice. Okay, then that tells me you probably are not still coming up with the idea for your books.

00:30:29.000 --> 00:30:34.000
Maybe you guys have been drafting for a while, or you've been plotting, and okay, perfect.

00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:40.000
Playing with structure and determining which is the right fit, but definitely stuck.

00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:45.000
Ooh… Are we allowed to ask what she's stuck on right now, Valor? I'm like, I want to call there!

00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:49.000
Yeah, yeah, yeah, well, it says, did you pause or get stuck anywhere? I mean, that sort of… sort of… Fits?

00:30:49.000 --> 00:30:50.000
I… I think with… with mine, it's… I'm trying to do a parallel narrative.

00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:54.000
Yeah.

00:30:54.000 --> 00:30:58.000
And, um… Making sure that the two narratives.

00:30:58.000 --> 00:31:08.000
Have the common theme, and mine is, um, the second question, it's self-discovery and acceptance in the world.

00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:17.000
And my why is, um, finding home within self. And so it's really strong with one character, but the other one.

00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:21.000
How to weave that in and make it, um, applicable to.

00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:23.000
5-year-old.

00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:28.000
Oh… How old is the other character that this person is parallel to?

00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:33.000
The other character is a ladybug larva who is going through a life cycle.

00:31:33.000 --> 00:31:50.000
And so that is their changing world, and then finding another changing world for a 5-year-old. So I kind of… I had moving away to a new town as the storyline. I'm not sure that's universal enough, and it might be… I have… I have a 5-year-old.

00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:55.000
It might be leaving pre-K and entering kindergarten. Which might be a little bit more universal, and saying goodbye to their old.

00:31:55.000 --> 00:32:00.000
Mm-mm.

00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:01.000
Yeah.

00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:16.000
School home, but then eventually finding the confidence and their, um, their home within themselves. And I don't know if that concept is actually too… Grandiose for a 5-year-old, um, but that's… That's currently what I'm… uh, juggling with.

00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:23.000
Oh, I… I don't know that the 5-year-old would… speak it as articulately as you can.

00:32:23.000 --> 00:32:30.000
But I think there's definitely feeling… I mean, look at how many books are out there on, like, the night before kindergarten.

00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:31.000
Sure.

00:32:31.000 --> 00:32:37.000
Or go at first day of kindergarten. I mean, it is so huge and pivotal for young children.

00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:51.000
You know, all those major changes, like going into sixth grade, if they have a middle school system, going into 9th grade, if they have a different high school system, you know, going to college. So, I think this is hugely relatable. I think there'll be a lot of kids who can.

00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:55.000
Can have those feelings, even if they can't quite name them.

00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:56.000
Yeah, it's definitely entering…

00:32:56.000 --> 00:33:03.000
Okay, thank you for the encouragement. I got a front row seat with my daughter actually coming up this next month, so hopefully it'll, uh, it'll all come together, but thank you for the encouragement.

00:33:03.000 --> 00:33:06.000
It's definitely entering a new phase. Definitely interesting, yeah.

00:33:06.000 --> 00:33:07.000
Yeah. Yeah. Well, how about Lori? Yeah.

00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:08.000
Yeah, for sure.

00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:09.000
Yeah. What about…

00:33:09.000 --> 00:33:20.000
Um, I… my answers came very easily. But, um… I didn't really think about them while I was writing.

00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:27.000
I didn't think about… they… I just wrote the story. And then I went back and… answer these questions.

00:33:27.000 --> 00:33:35.000
And I'm like, oh. Okay, I didn't really realize it was that deep, you know?

00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:39.000
So then I could go back into the story and make sure that I was answering.

00:33:39.000 --> 00:33:55.000
One particular… question versus, you know, diverging and maybe answering several questions. It's like, no, I have to stay focused on those one questions, so… Um, answering those questions really helped me, and that's because I went.

00:33:55.000 --> 00:33:59.000
I'm a part of the community, so I have heard your questions before, but I didn't have this story to that.

00:33:59.000 --> 00:34:04.000
Yeah, I know!

00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:17.000
Preparation point where I was ready to, you know, talk about it or do that, so I came tonight so that I could, um… kind of reapply the things that I'd learned first when I joined the community, so… That was great.

00:34:17.000 --> 00:34:19.000
Love that. And often those questions, too, are… even if you didn't write with them.

00:34:19.000 --> 00:34:28.000
Yeah, we love…

00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:29.000
And, yeah.

00:34:29.000 --> 00:34:36.000
In mind. They're good to have in mind as you start to go back and revise, and as you get critiques from other people, right? Because that's when you start to get little… advice about maybe you should do this, or maybe it's really about that, and then you… you…

00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:37.000
Yeah.

00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:44.000
It's easy to get kind of caught up in some… what somebody else brings to your story.

00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:49.000
Because we all do that, we like to connect with stories, and we're like, oh, that reminds me of this, maybe it'll go in that direction.

00:34:49.000 --> 00:34:58.000
But for you as the writer, it'll be super important to have those answers as sort of your handlebars of, this is the story I'm setting out to write.

00:34:58.000 --> 00:35:03.000
And when you give it to other people, then you can go, is it landing this way? Are they getting this?

00:35:03.000 --> 00:35:11.000
Can they see this, or do I need to kind of go back and revise so that it does land in the way that I want it to land?

00:35:11.000 --> 00:35:12.000
Yeah.

00:35:12.000 --> 00:35:18.000
So, those can be super helpful, even as you keep going. So I'm glad you… Glad you popped in. I knew I recognized the name. I was like, wait, wait, Lori is one of our members!

00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:31.000
Yeah, I, um. I… I think one of the things that I don't do very well is narrow down, so when I'm writing it, I just write it, and then I go back, and then I realize.

00:35:31.000 --> 00:35:40.000
That I… I've gone, like, maybe. Five… five different directions, and then I… so I really like these.

00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:52.000
Questions in particular, because they just make me narrow down. And then I have to chop a whole bunch out of the story, but that's okay, because that's what revising is for, so… It's been very, very helpful.

00:35:52.000 --> 00:35:53.000
Yeah.

00:35:53.000 --> 00:36:09.000
Hey, just a side note, um, a marketer once told me that all that stuff we chuck, don't ever delete it, because when your book comes out, those are great, um… oh, shoot, I just left the magnet leads, where you can email fans and be like, here's something I cut. So make sure you're saving that, Lori, somewhere, yeah.

00:36:09.000 --> 00:36:11.000
Oh, okay. Thank you.

00:36:11.000 --> 00:36:12.000
Good.

00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:17.000
Yeah. How about Sheila? Was there someplace you got stuck, or any ahas that you discovered or wrote?

00:36:17.000 --> 00:36:31.000
Yes, this is wonderful. I am so excited that I got to be a part of this, and I'm so sorry that I can't figure out how to make the video work, but um… I, uh, just recently, uh.

00:36:31.000 --> 00:36:38.000
Published through KDP and got that Amazon. Bestseller list with the Groovy Granny and the Food Fight.

00:36:38.000 --> 00:36:44.000
But from talking… hearing this, it's like, oh, this is a series now. I need to go in and.

00:36:44.000 --> 00:36:51.000
And gutter is the gluten bug, and he needs his own book, and that was a huge aha moment.

00:36:51.000 --> 00:36:55.000
To take those bugs and break them down, talking about the symptoms.

00:36:55.000 --> 00:37:01.000
With the wrap sheets for the kids, because the color illustrations of my illustrator.

00:37:01.000 --> 00:37:09.000
Are very big and bold, and she's an award-winning artist, and so it was real exciting to do the first book.

00:37:09.000 --> 00:37:13.000
Then it took us about 10 years with the research that we've put into it.

00:37:13.000 --> 00:37:17.000
Uh, but now to see that I need to break that down.

00:37:17.000 --> 00:37:23.000
Into individual books as well was a huge aha moment for me. Thank you so much.

00:37:23.000 --> 00:37:25.000
Oh, great!

00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:29.000
That's probably the coolest aha we've ever had. That is really neat!

00:37:29.000 --> 00:37:31.000
It's super exciting!

00:37:31.000 --> 00:37:39.000
Yeah, I think a lot of people kind of set out saying, I want to do a series. I think it's super neat that you're going to break all these down, and I think what a cool way to do it.

00:37:39.000 --> 00:37:40.000
So, that's awesome. Yay!

00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:42.000
Thank you.

00:37:42.000 --> 00:37:51.000
And each one of them might have a slightly different… what it's really about then, right? I mean, that's the piece that might change in the middle.

00:37:51.000 --> 00:37:52.000
I would think he's really the, huh, what is this… what's this one really about?

00:37:52.000 --> 00:37:57.000
Oh, yes!

00:37:57.000 --> 00:37:58.000
So…

00:37:58.000 --> 00:37:59.000
Oh, that's good. Oh, brilliant, thank you.

00:37:59.000 --> 00:38:02.000
Mm-hmm. Yay! Well, thank you, ladies, so much for playing along and coming slightly on camera.

00:38:02.000 --> 00:38:07.000
Good.

00:38:07.000 --> 00:38:08.000
Thank you.

00:38:08.000 --> 00:38:18.000
You're welcome! Hey, Valerie, if you don't mind, um, do you know how to take them off? Because someone asked, they came in just a little bit late, and I'm going to repeat the questions for, uh, them.

00:38:18.000 --> 00:38:19.000
Not that way, I won't. So… Here, hold on, please.

00:38:19.000 --> 00:38:24.000
Yes. So I'm going to go ahead and remove, and… Hopefully, they will just go back to… Where are they? Oh, wait, once removed, we'll not be able to rejoin. Hang on, hang on, hang on.

00:38:24.000 --> 00:38:33.000
Okay, here's question number one. Uh, you have to go not on their face, you have to go under the… at the top of your screen, under participants.

00:38:33.000 --> 00:38:41.000
The dots… Remove permission to talk… Because I hit remove, and it gave me the… She won't be able to rejoin the webinar.

00:38:41.000 --> 00:38:47.000
Yeah. Here, I think I promote to panelists.

00:38:47.000 --> 00:39:01.000
Got it. So this is question number one. Um, for our person… Here is question number two.

00:39:01.000 --> 00:39:09.000
Hold on, I'm trying to find… I don't see promote to panelist for Gwyneth. She's enjoying her extra time here.

00:39:09.000 --> 00:39:15.000
So, and here is question number 3. And why is it about that?

00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:23.000
So maybe if John or Laura can help us. We are coming to the end of our little portion.

00:39:23.000 --> 00:39:26.000
I'm working on removing, so… oh, he got it. Cool.

00:39:26.000 --> 00:39:30.000
Thank you, yeah, because it was going to remove them permanently, and I didn't want anyone to get kicked out after they were so helpful.

00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:33.000
Oh, yeah, no. We don't want to do that.

00:39:33.000 --> 00:39:34.000
Well…

00:39:34.000 --> 00:39:43.000
Pretty much it there. Okay, so now, of course, we get to play the little game, Who Do You Think is Who? Feel free to put in the chat.

00:39:43.000 --> 00:39:51.000
This has been lovely getting to know a bunch of you guys, reading what you all are writing about. Some of these are super cool ideas.

00:39:51.000 --> 00:39:55.000
And of course, thank you to everyone who was able to come on camera.

00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:56.000
Um…

00:39:56.000 --> 00:40:03.000
So, I just wanted to mention here, what I love about this… so, my favorite thing is, like, when I go on YouTube or whatever.

00:40:03.000 --> 00:40:07.000
And somebody does something in, like, 5 seconds that blows my mind.

00:40:07.000 --> 00:40:18.000
Right? Like, I'm watching one where, you know, you're struggling, like, with banana. You ever try to open a banana that's not quite ripe, and… I saw a video going, oh no, flip it, this… here's how… here's how monkeys eat it. You flip it over, you open it from the bottom.

00:40:18.000 --> 00:40:27.000
And I was like, it's a simple little thing. That's what I love about East Questions. They're super simple.

00:40:27.000 --> 00:40:36.000
But amazingly powerful, and the difference. Between asking these questions as you write and not asking these questions as you write.

00:40:36.000 --> 00:40:43.000
Is profound. But it… it only really takes a minute to think about those things.

00:40:43.000 --> 00:40:50.000
But as a… I don't know if it was Gwyneth or one of the folks who was just on mentioned, they went ahead and wrote their whole book.

00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:58.000
And now they're answering the questions, now they'll go back and change it, but if they had asked… if they had known about it, they had met you guys beforehand.

00:40:58.000 --> 00:41:03.000
And had asked at the beginning, it would be already suffused into.

00:41:03.000 --> 00:41:09.000
What they wrote. So, I just love these three questions, because they're just so simple, and I mentioned earlier on.

00:41:09.000 --> 00:41:14.000
Developmental editors, when they look at. A manuscript.

00:41:14.000 --> 00:41:18.000
These are probably the first three questions they ask about it.

00:41:18.000 --> 00:41:24.000
And… because they are the most important, and yet people don't know to ask them.

00:41:24.000 --> 00:41:31.000
When they're writing. Uh, so that is the power of… of the Insiders Coaching Club.

00:41:31.000 --> 00:41:41.000
Because what you all got tonight. Is a tiny taste. I mean, this is… this represents a little tiny bit of what you get over the course of a month.

00:41:41.000 --> 00:41:47.000
Which is nothing but ahas. And opening the banana from the other side.

00:41:47.000 --> 00:41:54.000
Advice. And that's what's so cool about it, so exciting, and just also to be able to see each other and know that.

00:41:54.000 --> 00:42:02.000
Other writers are going through what you are, and it's really great. It's taken us, like I said, 35 years to… get around to doing it, but we waitin'.

00:42:02.000 --> 00:42:04.000
For the right folks, and here they are. So, and you just met them.

00:42:04.000 --> 00:42:05.000
Yep.

00:42:05.000 --> 00:42:06.000
So, um, are you…

00:42:06.000 --> 00:42:11.000
Nice. Here we are. Just real quickly, here is Kate, and here is Valerie, our answers for the evening. Valerie is the cute turtle.

00:42:11.000 --> 00:42:15.000
Oh!

00:42:15.000 --> 00:42:17.000
Woohoo!

00:42:17.000 --> 00:42:21.000
Kate is the rabbit!

00:42:21.000 --> 00:42:22.000
They thought… they thought I was the bunny. And that you were the turtle.

00:42:22.000 --> 00:42:25.000
Everybody got it backwards! This is a honey.

00:42:25.000 --> 00:42:26.000
That's alright. All right, thank you, everyone.

00:42:26.000 --> 00:42:29.000
Yes. They'll get to know you better and understand.

00:42:29.000 --> 00:42:30.000
And that… that artwork, by the way, that…

00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:35.000
That's right. Has more to do with our… more to do with our writing processes, maybe, than our personalities, so… But, yeah, totally fun.

00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:38.000
Yeah.

00:42:38.000 --> 00:42:47.000
Kate and Valerie will be back in a couple of minutes. We'll do, uh, any Q&As. I also do want to mention those great, um, characters that you just saw were created by Violet LeMay.

00:42:47.000 --> 00:42:54.000
So, wonderful author and illustrator. She's also the lady who created our characters that are on the website. If you've seen Beacon, and.

00:42:54.000 --> 00:43:01.000
Lily pad, and MIDI, and all those folks, Humbug. Um, that's all about the maze, so shout out to Violet there.

00:43:01.000 --> 00:43:02.000
Hey, Violet.

00:43:02.000 --> 00:43:10.000
All right, let's talk a little bit about this amazing. Amazing Insiders Coaching Club.

00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:16.000
So I wanted to show you quickly, this is what a typical month looks like. So you can see every weekday, there's something.

00:43:16.000 --> 00:43:21.000
And sometimes they're live, and you see office hours, sprints, there's a live game night.

00:43:21.000 --> 00:43:33.000
The teaching call is really an… recorded, but it's really a big teaching. You learn a lot there. But every day, there's something going on, and there is a… discussion group that matches each one.

00:43:33.000 --> 00:43:43.000
So, you get to make friends and, um… learn something new every day, and pick up these wonderful little tidbits, put them into action, and then get direct feedback.

00:43:43.000 --> 00:43:50.000
From Kate and Valerie. Open up my chat here. So I have a question for you guys.

00:43:50.000 --> 00:43:57.000
And gals. How many of you have thought about joining a coaching club, or getting a personal coach?

00:43:57.000 --> 00:44:01.000
Or becoming part of a critique community or something like that.

00:44:01.000 --> 00:44:08.000
But just haven't really been able to do it for whatever reason. So, if you thought about it, if it sounds appealing to you, or something you've wanted to do.

00:44:08.000 --> 00:44:14.000
Just go ahead and put in the checks. I'm curious to know how many… if this is something new to you, or something you've.

00:44:14.000 --> 00:44:22.000
Mulling over in your head, uh, all this time. So you can go ahead and type that in the chat, and let me know if this is something that.

00:44:22.000 --> 00:44:32.000
Coaching is something that excites you. And, uh, let me… while you're doing that, let me just walk through, um, yeah, Donna, this is new, wow, and amazing, great, great.

00:44:32.000 --> 00:44:40.000
So, um, one of the many things that'll happen over the course of the month are office hour calls, where you can literally come on.

00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:49.000
And talk to Valerie and Kate about anything you want. And get the help that you need. And that is just one of 30 days or so a month.

00:44:49.000 --> 00:44:54.000
Of activities. This is an example of the.

00:44:54.000 --> 00:45:00.000
What goes on inside the discussion area, so you can see every day has its own discussion.

00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:08.000
Uh, so that it's specific to that particular activity, but then they also have a general chat and discussion where you just kind of can.

00:45:08.000 --> 00:45:17.000
Chat with each other and have fun. And also a specific place to ask questions for Valerie and Kate.

00:45:17.000 --> 00:45:25.000
There are… there's an opportunity every month, and it kind of rotates throughout the membership to get actual, uh, critiques on some of your work.

00:45:25.000 --> 00:45:32.000
And they'll be done for the entire group. And I think that anyone who's been part of any sort of critique kind of situation knows.

00:45:32.000 --> 00:45:44.000
You usually learn more from watching other people. Get critiqued than even getting your own work critiqued. So, you're gonna learn a lot just watching your fellow members of the coaching club get critiqued, but that is.

00:45:44.000 --> 00:45:47.000
Always a key part of what Kate and Valerie do every month.

00:45:47.000 --> 00:46:00.000
And I'd like to just jump in here. The way they do their critiques is they sort of critique on a certain level each month, so it might be, we're critiquing your dialogue, say.

00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:08.000
And so, if you submit dialogue passages, they're looking at that, which is a really great way to do it, because if you've ever had.

00:46:08.000 --> 00:46:16.000
A developmental edit or a critique on your manuscript, and you're getting information on all the different levels at once, it can be very overwhelming.

00:46:16.000 --> 00:46:23.000
And so they are really, you know, drilling it down to, we're just looking at this right now.

00:46:23.000 --> 00:46:30.000
Which I think is a very, very effective way to learn how to edit your own work.

00:46:30.000 --> 00:46:37.000
This is another example of what goes on. Excuse me. And this is, uh, called up… they call it up and down.

00:46:37.000 --> 00:46:49.000
Where you post something, then somebody. Below you comes in and comments on what you posted, then posts something and keeps going all the way down. So it's kind of a round-robin discussion that goes on.

00:46:49.000 --> 00:46:53.000
Um, and it's a lot of fun, but it also are things… these are things that are going to make you.

00:46:53.000 --> 00:47:00.000
Really think about what you're doing, what your story's about, where you're going.

00:47:00.000 --> 00:47:06.000
Um, so it's just continual. Growth process over the course of a month, not just for you.

00:47:06.000 --> 00:47:17.000
But also for whatever story that you're working on. The teaching sessions, these are really… full webinars that happen at the top of every month.

00:47:17.000 --> 00:47:29.000
There's a topic for each month. And Kate and Valerie give you… the webinar, give you the workshop, and then that, again, gets built out over the course of the entire month.

00:47:29.000 --> 00:47:40.000
And most importantly, a warm community. Um, we asked, or actually didn't even ask, these were unsolicited. Uh, I… Kate Gallery just went on the, uh, the chat area and pulled out a couple of things.

00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:47.000
That folks have just said unsolicited about their experience. This is a… we're just finishing up our third month.

00:47:47.000 --> 00:47:53.000
So these folks are not that much further ahead of any of you who are not yet part of the group.

00:47:53.000 --> 00:47:59.000
But you can kind of see it, I'm not going to read all of these, but you can kind of see for yourself, just… how, um, how meaningful already.

00:47:59.000 --> 00:48:11.000
Uh, the ICC has been. To these folks and community that it creates.

00:48:11.000 --> 00:48:17.000
So, I mentioned earlier, I asked earlier how many of you have thought about a coaching program.

00:48:17.000 --> 00:48:23.000
And one reason why. You might not have already been in a coaching program.

00:48:23.000 --> 00:48:29.000
Is the expense. Typically, in the writing world.

00:48:29.000 --> 00:48:36.000
Coaching is a very, very costly process. And it's not to say that they're not worth it.

00:48:36.000 --> 00:48:44.000
There's great coaches out there who are doing amazing work. Um, but not everybody can afford.

00:48:44.000 --> 00:48:46.000
The kind of money that you see there on the left.

00:48:46.000 --> 00:48:50.000
What we tried to do with the Insider Coaching Club was create something.

00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:56.000
That anyone… not anyone, we recognize $67 a month is not.

00:48:56.000 --> 00:49:01.000
Nothing, but something that people who are ready to invest in themselves and in their career.

00:49:01.000 --> 00:49:11.000
Can't afford. Um, and certainly get massive, massive value for. So, that is the price. The normal price will ultimately be $97 a month.

00:49:11.000 --> 00:49:15.000
But right now, because we're just still getting the ball rolling.

00:49:15.000 --> 00:49:18.000
There's an opportunity to get in a little bit, or quite a bit lower.

00:49:18.000 --> 00:49:24.000
And that price is locked in, and you could stay as long as you like, as long as you're a member, you'll be able to get that price.

00:49:24.000 --> 00:49:29.000
Um, and it includes everything. It includes the full 30 days.

00:49:29.000 --> 00:49:34.000
Every month, or however… well, some days 28, I suppose. But however many days there are in the month.

00:49:34.000 --> 00:49:41.000
Uh, you'll get every activity, and you get lifetime access to all the recordings and everything, so you can always go back.

00:49:41.000 --> 00:49:51.000
And watch the teaching sessions. You know, that teaching session right there is… about the cost of one of our, um, webinars, one of our workshops.

00:49:51.000 --> 00:49:55.000
And our workshops are pretty inexpensive. A lot of workshops are far more than that.

00:49:55.000 --> 00:50:01.000
But you're getting that plus an entire month's worth of. Activities and community.

00:50:01.000 --> 00:50:07.000
So much more. So, um, you know, this is not going to be… I'm not hard-selling it tonight, because.

00:50:07.000 --> 00:50:14.000
You don't have to join tonight. You can take some time and think about it. Uh, but if you want to get this pricing, you want to become part of the August.

00:50:14.000 --> 00:50:20.000
Cohort. The enrollment cutoff at this price is, uh, August 1st.

00:50:20.000 --> 00:50:25.000
And what we'll do is, when we have the replay up, we'll send the link out to everybody.

00:50:25.000 --> 00:50:30.000
Um, about where… and actually, I'll just give you the link right here. Also, if you want to see it now.

00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:35.000
Uh, but that link will get you to. The page where you can then sign up.

00:50:35.000 --> 00:50:39.000
And you can try it. And, you know, if you try a month, and it's just not exactly what you want.

00:50:39.000 --> 00:50:45.000
Okay, nothing… you get to keep the month, and all the videos and everything that came with it.

00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:54.000
There's no obligation to continue. But so far, just about everybody who started, and we're going into our fourth month, is still with us, and that's a good sign.

00:50:54.000 --> 00:50:55.000
That they're really getting something out of it, Laura.

00:50:55.000 --> 00:51:09.000
Yeah. Yeah. Oh, I just want to add a couple little… little clarifications. So, it's, it's, um… Every weekday of the month, there is something new to do. So we don't expect you to be.

00:51:09.000 --> 00:51:24.000
Doing stuff on weekends. Kate and Valerie need a break, too, but… So… so, you know, but it's still, it's a ton of content every month. And then you will have… correct me if I'm wrong, John, but lifetime access to whatever months that you have.

00:51:24.000 --> 00:51:25.000
Yes.

00:51:25.000 --> 00:51:30.000
Joined. So… You can always go back and rewatch the teaching call from.

00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:38.000
You know, the first month you join, maybe you weren't ready for some of that information, but 3 months down the road, you're like, oh, I want to go back and see what they said about characters.

00:51:38.000 --> 00:51:48.000
Now I'm ready for it to really, really understand it, you can go back and re-watch that. You… you… so you have access to all of this information.

00:51:48.000 --> 00:51:58.000
In, you know, indefinitely, which is really amazing. A lot of coaching programs, it's kind of… it's a live event, and then it's over, so… This is yours to keep going back to.

00:51:58.000 --> 00:52:05.000
Yeah, everything's recorded. Editing calls, office hours, game nights, if you can't make it live.

00:52:05.000 --> 00:52:06.000
Right.

00:52:06.000 --> 00:52:12.000
You can, if you have a question, you can send them in beforehand, and Kate and Valerie will deal with it on the recording, but the recording goes up the same day.

00:52:12.000 --> 00:52:22.000
Um, as the event, so you never will fall behind. If you are already on Right forkids.online, which is our website, you probably already know about the dashboard.

00:52:22.000 --> 00:52:29.000
This is part of your dashboard. You don't have to go to another site. Everything lives on rightForKids.online. Each month.

00:52:29.000 --> 00:52:34.000
Will show up individually on your dashboard, so if you want to go back and see June's.

00:52:34.000 --> 00:52:46.000
You click on June, and everything that you went through will be there waiting for you. So… Anyway, that's it. We hope you give it a shot. The folks who've done it so far, um, are really loving it.

00:52:46.000 --> 00:52:54.000
Um, Kate Valerie, why don't you come back on? Do we have anyone here tonight from… I know we have Leah.

00:52:54.000 --> 00:52:55.000
There are quite a few friends in the audience, there's a handful of friends in the audience.

00:52:55.000 --> 00:52:58.000
And… It's anybody who wants to… Anybody want to chime in?

00:52:58.000 --> 00:52:59.000
To raise their hand, and we can…

00:52:59.000 --> 00:53:09.000
Yeah, yeah.

00:53:09.000 --> 00:53:10.000
Don't be shy. Yeah.

00:53:10.000 --> 00:53:24.000
Yeah, actually, we did see, um, obviously Leah, Lori Wagner was just on, Nancy Kolb and Tracy, if you guys are still… In the house, um… maybe… I guess, raise your hand, that's the easiest and quickest way for us to pull you on camera, because Susan Lynn Rivera has a question, and I actually would love that to be answered by one of our members, because I want to see their takes on that.

00:53:24.000 --> 00:53:31.000
Versus, um… a standard response, if you will. So, if anyone has been raising hands.

00:53:31.000 --> 00:53:32.000
Also, Gwyneth… Gwyneth had a, um… Had a question.

00:53:32.000 --> 00:53:34.000
I'm not sure. Oh, I didn't see her.

00:53:34.000 --> 00:53:36.000
She had a great question, yeah.

00:53:36.000 --> 00:53:41.000
And let me read that out loud, and then you guys can answer that while we wait for folks to raise their hands.

00:53:41.000 --> 00:53:42.000
Um, Gwyneth says, you mentioned something about cohorts, I did, maybe it's not the right word.

00:53:42.000 --> 00:53:45.000
Great.

00:53:45.000 --> 00:53:51.000
Do all members that sign up within a month work together as a critique group?

00:53:51.000 --> 00:53:56.000
What do you guys think about how everybody works together over the course of a month?

00:53:56.000 --> 00:54:04.000
Oh, sorry, you guys, I apologize, I was just trying to see the, um… could you ask that question again?

00:54:04.000 --> 00:54:05.000
Okay.

00:54:05.000 --> 00:54:17.000
No, I got it. Um, it's not that every, uh… I think… no, not exactly. Um… So, the community works together. So, there are different opportunities during the month.

00:54:17.000 --> 00:54:23.000
To get critique. One of those is what John talked about with there's an editing call.

00:54:23.000 --> 00:54:30.000
Um, once a month, where 3 members get the opportunity to have their pages, where we critique their pages live and on camera.

00:54:30.000 --> 00:54:41.000
Um, and so… and through a specific lens. So there's some individual, you know, some… some… opportunity there, and then there's also a… in the post.

00:54:41.000 --> 00:54:45.000
Each week, there's something called Eyes on Pages, where we give.

00:54:45.000 --> 00:54:54.000
A specific sort of, um, prompt about what to post, something, an excerpt from your manuscript, a paragraph, or a couple paragraphs at most, probably.

00:54:54.000 --> 00:55:01.000
And to post that in one of the discussion areas, and then other members will give you feedback on.

00:55:01.000 --> 00:55:06.000
That particular thing. We give the readers something to look for and comment on as well. So there's smaller opportunities.

00:55:06.000 --> 00:55:18.000
To do the critiquing, and then as you get to know people within the community, um, I think there's always, uh, room to make friends, to find critique partners, to find people who.

00:55:18.000 --> 00:55:26.000
Whose stories you're interested in, or who writes sort of like you do, actually Kate and I, funny story, we met online in a group.

00:55:26.000 --> 00:55:31.000
Um, a few, but almost 4 years ago now, 5 years ago, maybe?

00:55:31.000 --> 00:55:43.000
Um, but we met online in a group, and we… liked what we were hearing the other person say, and what their writing that they were posting, and that one thing led to another, and here we are.

00:55:43.000 --> 00:55:49.000
You can absolutely find, I think, critique partners and people to work with.

00:55:49.000 --> 00:55:54.000
As part of the community, but you're not limited to the people that you're coming in with.

00:55:54.000 --> 00:55:55.000
Um, when you come in.

00:55:55.000 --> 00:56:05.000
One thing I wanted to mention, if you notice, as I'm showing the calendar here, um, on the 9th of this particular month was this thing called Laura Breaks It Down, and that's something that happens live every month.

00:56:05.000 --> 00:56:10.000
Laura, why don't you tell them? Because that's your role. You mean you make a cameo every month.

00:56:10.000 --> 00:56:11.000
What goes on during Laura Breaks It Down?

00:56:11.000 --> 00:56:23.000
It… that… that is specifically, I take a picture book every month, and I break it down, um, in relation to whatever the month's theme is. So I… I choose a book that is a good picture book.

00:56:23.000 --> 00:56:38.000
Example of whatever the teaching call is that month. And we go page by page, and we analyze it. And I think that even if you're not writing picture books, it's a really great exercise, because picture books are such a distilled.

00:56:38.000 --> 00:56:46.000
Pure form of storytelling, that it really strips away all the extra stuff, and if you can see how a picture book author.

00:56:46.000 --> 00:57:06.000
Works setting into the plot, uh, then you can apply that to your novel as well. Uh, so… That's what happens on the Laura Breaks It Down, and I see that there's a question here in the Q&A, is the coaching club for picture books only? Absolutely not.

00:57:06.000 --> 00:57:12.000
But Regina asks, can it be for animated scripts? So, Kate and Valerie, what do you think about.

00:57:12.000 --> 00:57:17.000
That. Have you ever worked with scripts in any way?

00:57:17.000 --> 00:57:21.000
Do you mean, like, for screenplay-type scripts, or theater-type scripts?

00:57:21.000 --> 00:57:22.000
Well, it's for animated, so I assume for… an animated short.

00:57:22.000 --> 00:57:28.000
I'm not. Well, she says animated, so… Regina, you could clarify that a little bit if you want.

00:57:28.000 --> 00:57:29.000
Uh, so they can give you a little more feedback on that.

00:57:29.000 --> 00:57:31.000
Storyboarding.

00:57:31.000 --> 00:57:32.000
But you do have… you do have, uh, writers from across.

00:57:32.000 --> 00:57:35.000
So…

00:57:35.000 --> 00:57:36.000
Categories of children.

00:57:36.000 --> 00:57:37.000
Sure, absolutely.

00:57:37.000 --> 00:57:38.000
Yep, yep, yep. Um… let me put it this way.

00:57:38.000 --> 00:57:42.000
Absolutely. Absolutely.

00:57:42.000 --> 00:57:48.000
Telling structure looks very same if you're writing a script versus, say, a novel, versus a picture book.

00:57:48.000 --> 00:57:56.000
Um, you know, you're gonna have a beginning, middle, and end, possibly your character arc, you're gonna have conflict, all of these different types of things, writing dialogue.

00:57:56.000 --> 00:58:05.000
Will it look different laid out on the page? Yes, um, will you maybe not have the interiority emphasis that a novelist would?

00:58:05.000 --> 00:58:17.000
Correct, but do you need to get to know character background? Do you need to get to know how to develop.

00:58:17.000 --> 00:58:18.000
Mm-hmm.

00:58:18.000 --> 00:58:28.000
Plot. Um, so there's so many different. Overlaps, just like even with, say, a picture book versus, you know, a 300-page middle-grade novel, like, like I write, so I learned so much for Laura when she does the… Laura Breaks It Down, and I don't write picture books.

00:58:28.000 --> 00:58:37.000
You know, but now I might! Um, so I think there's so many different craft and skill sets that you definitely, you know.

00:58:37.000 --> 00:58:46.000
Come into play. You are always so welcome to try us out and see your thoughts on it. Um, if you don't mind, I do want to circle back, because Tracy and Leah came on.

00:58:46.000 --> 00:58:51.000
Um, so Susan did ask, do you coach individually? And the reason why I wanted to ask the ladies this.

00:58:51.000 --> 00:59:01.000
Is because it is a community, but I would love Leah and Tracy, what is your take on… are you feeling you're getting, you know, tons.

00:59:01.000 --> 00:59:10.000
As if this had been an individual coaching, like, what are kind of the differences, you might say?

00:59:10.000 --> 00:59:17.000
Yes, I think that, um, because of the focus on the craft elements, you can really get what you need.

00:59:17.000 --> 00:59:22.000
And, you know, there was a mention of the aha moments. I can't emphasize enough.

00:59:22.000 --> 00:59:29.000
Like, how much I experienced that with this group. In such an, like, amazing, deep way.

00:59:29.000 --> 00:59:37.000
And whatever the subject is, it's never surface. Covering it. It's always like a deep dive, and so how you view that craft element.

00:59:37.000 --> 00:59:48.000
You'll be like, wow, I was looking at it in a limited way, and now I'm looking at it a deep way, and you can apply that to whatever story you're writing.

00:59:48.000 --> 00:59:49.000
Thank you.

00:59:49.000 --> 00:59:50.000
Great.

00:59:50.000 --> 01:00:05.000
Um, the… the group itself is just so encouraging and warm, and beside what you learn, it's just, um… overwhelming how wonderful everyone is, and encouraging everyone is.

01:00:05.000 --> 01:00:23.000
Because in the beginning, I mean, I'm very new, and um… was afraid to even come on camera, and everybody just brought that all out, and you just feel comfortable talking and putting yourself out there, and putting your writing out there.

01:00:23.000 --> 01:00:28.000
Tracy, I had a question for you. At the beginning, I talked about imposter syndrome.

01:00:28.000 --> 01:00:33.000
And how hard it is to kind of generate a feeling of authenticity as a writer by yourself.

01:00:33.000 --> 01:00:44.000
So, as someone who said you're relatively new. Uh, to writing, if I heard that correctly. Um, did you feel that your experience so far has helped you gain.

01:00:44.000 --> 01:00:47.000
Some confidence in calling yourself a writer.

01:00:47.000 --> 01:00:59.000
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. I feel… I'm very confident now in what I write. I… you… you… it's… they're like tools.

01:00:59.000 --> 01:01:15.000
That you learn, you know, through everybody else. Just even, you know, you don't have to really… um, get on camera, or, or… put your work out there, but listening to everybody else and what they're going through, you realize that.

01:01:15.000 --> 01:01:30.000
They're all in the same place you are, whether you're new or you're, um… have been writing. You all have that fear and that… insecurity in your writing.

01:01:30.000 --> 01:01:32.000
That's great. Thank you both for…

01:01:32.000 --> 01:01:33.000
Great.

01:01:33.000 --> 01:01:38.000
And there are, you know, there are opportunities to ask questions. There's office… we just had office hours this afternoon.

01:01:38.000 --> 01:01:44.000
Um, where we had a bunch of people coming on camera with, with questions that they had about their writing, about what they're doing.

01:01:44.000 --> 01:01:54.000
Um, you know, as we said, there's the critique submission, you know, the editing call opportunities, there's all sorts of ways.

01:01:54.000 --> 01:01:57.000
Um, there's the Ask Kate and Valerie part in the chat.

01:01:57.000 --> 01:02:04.000
So there are ways that you can get your questions, get eyes on your questions, get our feedback on things.

01:02:04.000 --> 01:02:05.000
Um, yeah. Yeah.

01:02:05.000 --> 01:02:12.000
And eyes on pages every week, every month, you have the opportunity to post something in the group.

01:02:12.000 --> 01:02:22.000
Specific to what we're learning, and then members, um, that was at UpDown that John mentioned, members will give their feedback, letting you know how it resonates, how it lands.

01:02:22.000 --> 01:02:37.000
So, um, you know, coaching individually, I would say… it's a hybrid of it. You know, you get the community, you get the feeling of not being alone, you get the feeling of, um, kind of rooting you on, and accountability.

01:02:37.000 --> 01:02:50.000
While also being able to go through the program at your own pace, right? Because it is a calendar and everything is recorded, and everything's there. You can work backwards, you know, hey, I was on vacation for two weeks, I'm just jumping in middle of the month. We've had that.

01:02:50.000 --> 01:03:00.000
People work backwards, um, and others are like, I like to kind of stay behind the scenes, but I… you guys letting me see what all you are posting is really working.

01:03:00.000 --> 01:03:13.000
For me to learn and up my craft. Um, another Sue, can you please talk about the critique submission? Yes, so that is going to be our deadline. Other Sue, okay. Oh, you sold me! Oh, yay! Look at that!

01:03:13.000 --> 01:03:27.000
No, excuse me! Um, so… The critique submission, this is kind of our deadline, so what happens in a nutshell is we open up the month, which is why we only let people in at the top of the month, and every so often throughout the year is what we're kind of looking at here.

01:03:27.000 --> 01:03:49.000
We talk about a brand new topic. So, this month is… Topic X, let's say, setting, and throughout the month, we kind of deep dive what it is, what it isn't, you get some eyes on your pages, and then this example here, you can see that third Wednesday, right smack dab in the middle, is, um, a green.

01:03:49.000 --> 01:04:03.000
Check mark, that is deadline day, and that is when we say, hey everybody, this is what we're going to be looking at. If you are interested in putting your hat into, you know, the.

01:04:03.000 --> 01:04:08.000
The fishbowl to pick your name out of, whatever that's called, pick your name in the hat, if I said it correctly.

01:04:08.000 --> 01:04:19.000
Um, then we draw 3… simply because of time limits, we try to give everybody about 20 minutes each, where we do exactly what you saw us.

01:04:19.000 --> 01:04:32.000
Doing earlier, where we brought the three people on, and we said, hey, you know, how did you feel, whatever, but it would be about the craft topic, and not just, you know, a question for that evening. So we would, um, I think John had a picture of someone's work.

01:04:32.000 --> 01:04:33.000
Where we kind of highlight it. Um, you know, yeah.

01:04:33.000 --> 01:04:36.000
That one, nope, yep, that one.

01:04:36.000 --> 01:04:45.000
I'm just making this up because you know I can't see, because I couldn't read resistance earlier, but the yellow, let's pretend we were looking at dialogue, how is it working?

01:04:45.000 --> 01:04:54.000
Um, maybe the orange could have been, um, a missed opportunity. Here's a great place to strengthen your dialogue, because we're teaching dialogue, let's say.

01:04:54.000 --> 01:04:58.000
And then the green, if I could come up with really cool ideas off the top of my…

01:04:58.000 --> 01:05:06.000
Well, maybe that's the element, right? The element that we were looking for that particular month, and examples of where we found, um, you applying.

01:05:06.000 --> 01:05:07.000
Yeah. Right.

01:05:07.000 --> 01:05:10.000
What we were looking for. So, yeah.

01:05:10.000 --> 01:05:28.000
So, and then we have a lot of people saying, you know, um, they either didn't have something to submit that month, no worries, but they took so much away from seeing what others submitted, and they learned so much by looking at other people's. Just like when Laura, um, breaks down and deconstructs the picture books.

01:05:28.000 --> 01:05:37.000
I walk away with notes. You know, and I'm like, oh, I didn't write that picture book, but I'm learning so much by the way you're analyzing it.

01:05:37.000 --> 01:05:44.000
I wanted to actually throw one thing in here, because I think it fits perfectly. It's one of the most profound things that I've ever heard.

01:05:44.000 --> 01:05:53.000
Someone say to me, is, um. It's a concept called the four C's, and the four C's, in no particular order, are commitment.

01:05:53.000 --> 01:06:02.000
Courage, confidence, and capability. And you ask people, okay, put those in order. What do you need first out of those four?

01:06:02.000 --> 01:06:09.000
And every time I've asked somebody. They say, well, you need confidence before you can do something.

01:06:09.000 --> 01:06:19.000
Confidence comes, and then maybe commitment, and courage, and… capability. The truth is, and I think it's absolutely the truth, is confidence comes last.

01:06:19.000 --> 01:06:25.000
The first thing is courage. To do something. The second thing is commitment.

01:06:25.000 --> 01:06:31.000
I'm going to do this. The third thing is capability. I'm going to learn how to do it.

01:06:31.000 --> 01:06:38.000
Only then do you become confident. And, for whatever reason in our society, people expect.

01:06:38.000 --> 01:06:43.000
They need to be confident first. Before they try something.

01:06:43.000 --> 01:06:49.000
But it's exactly flipped around, and when you see it that way, you understand why something like this coaching program is so powerful.

01:06:49.000 --> 01:06:54.000
Because you're not coming in with confidence, necessarily. And you aren't necessarily coming in with capabilities.

01:06:54.000 --> 01:06:58.000
You just bring the courage. And the commitment. There you go, they got it right. Courage, commitment, capability, and confidence.

01:06:58.000 --> 01:07:02.000
Mm-hmm. Yep.

01:07:02.000 --> 01:07:08.000
It's super powerful, and I think it's just really relevant to what we're talking about here. So, all we're asking of you.

01:07:08.000 --> 01:07:15.000
Tonight, except for maybe $67. For the first month, is courage and commitment.

01:07:15.000 --> 01:07:16.000
Yeah.

01:07:16.000 --> 01:07:23.000
Kate and Valerie will give you the capabilities. And you will generate the confidence.

01:07:23.000 --> 01:07:29.000
Um, someone asked about paying. Do you pay monthly… how many months in advance? Is it month to month?

01:07:29.000 --> 01:07:33.000
So, you can decide every month if you don't want to continue, you can cancel, no problem.

01:07:33.000 --> 01:07:41.000
Um, there's a question here about the teaching, about the three questions, so let's get to that, but first I have one last thing. Denise asks.

01:07:41.000 --> 01:07:44.000
How long is each day's lesson?

01:07:44.000 --> 01:07:51.000
Well, that's a great question. So, super briefly, um, John, do you mind going back real quickly to the little calendar?

01:07:51.000 --> 01:07:57.000
So, the top of the month is going to have a recorded teaching topic.

01:07:57.000 --> 01:08:09.000
Call. It's supposed to be an hour. We hit an hour and a half on one of them, Valerie. Um, but again, that's recorded. You can stop, pause all of that. That's gonna be really the longest one we have.

01:08:09.000 --> 01:08:16.000
Then, if you're looking at all of those green backgrounds. Those are posting days.

01:08:16.000 --> 01:08:23.000
So you would come on, you can see the up-down, or those arrows going up and down. That's you literally posting something.

01:08:23.000 --> 01:08:27.000
On… oh, sorry, I was looking at the… Oh, right, here's a prompt. Okay, thank you so much.

01:08:27.000 --> 01:08:29.000
In the discussion area. Right.

01:08:29.000 --> 01:08:33.000
Yeah, so you would get a prompt like that from us, so that you know what to post.

01:08:33.000 --> 01:08:44.000
And, you know, that can either take you 5 minutes to copy and paste what you've been working on, it could take you 45 minutes because you want to snazzy it up, you know, whatever level you've got there.

01:08:44.000 --> 01:08:54.000
Um, so I would say some of these. Can take even 5 minutes, maybe you're just like, I'm not at a position, I don't have something to post, but I want to go through and read everybody's things.

01:08:54.000 --> 01:08:58.000
Or, um, a live call, I'd love to make a live call.

01:08:58.000 --> 01:09:08.000
Those vary anywhere from about 45 minutes to an hour, and they are always recorded, so we want to respect everyone's time, and if people are like, oh, it's the top of the hour and I need to leave.

01:09:08.000 --> 01:09:15.000
No worries. You are still a member of our community, and we understand that life exists outside our community.

01:09:15.000 --> 01:09:21.000
So you are welcome to, you know, catch the rest of the recording when you are available.

01:09:21.000 --> 01:09:23.000
It's really about how much time you want to put into it, because you could also just sit there and get sucked into the discussion.

01:09:23.000 --> 01:09:26.000
Yep.

01:09:26.000 --> 01:09:29.000
Board and spend a day doing that, which is… there are worse ways to spend a day.

01:09:29.000 --> 01:09:31.000
Yeah.

01:09:31.000 --> 01:09:41.000
Well, and there's… there's some things that will, you know, someone was just saying the other day, there was a play on the page prompt, which is, we give you something to play with and say, set a timer for 7 minutes, and then report back.

01:09:41.000 --> 01:09:51.000
Um, and post what you discovered, or what you, you know, how it went. And, you know, there are people who will say, well, I started the timer for 7 minutes, and when it went off, I just kept going.

01:09:51.000 --> 01:09:59.000
And I discovered this, this, this, and this, and, you know, I ended up spending an hour writing po… you know, this, this, whatever the prompt was this, uh, month.

01:09:59.000 --> 01:10:10.000
Um, someone had done… it, like, took them deeper into their characters, and so… Sometimes, you don't know what you'll expect and what it will open up.

01:10:10.000 --> 01:10:11.000
And that's part of the fun of the learning, I think.

01:10:11.000 --> 01:10:12.000
Mm-hmm.

01:10:12.000 --> 01:10:17.000
We do have a question about the three questions that was the topic of your teaching tonight, so let's go and.

01:10:17.000 --> 01:10:23.000
Ask that. Uh, is it okay to go back after writing a story that, quote, comes to me.

01:10:23.000 --> 01:10:35.000
To decide what it's really about. Or should we know before we even start the story what it is really about, and work from there, and build the story around that idea?

01:10:35.000 --> 01:10:36.000
That's right, right. Rabbit or turtle?

01:10:36.000 --> 01:10:46.000
It depends if you're Kate or Valerie. No, I mean, also, I… I often discover what the story is about while I write, so I will often write.

01:10:46.000 --> 01:11:01.000
50,000 words or something of story to find the beating heart of the story, and sometimes I set out thinking I know what it is, and as I write that, I'm… pleasantly surprised, um, to find that actually, no, it's not that at all, Valerie, it's something else.

01:11:01.000 --> 01:11:06.000
So it's fine to do that, but it's also fine to do the other way.

01:11:06.000 --> 01:11:10.000
And to plan it first, to think, you know, to set out with that goal in mind.

01:11:10.000 --> 01:11:21.000
Mm-hmm. I would like to add, not to that, that was an excellent answer, um, uh, to just sort of the overall concept here of this month.

01:11:21.000 --> 01:11:29.000
One of the things that I love about it. I… when… whenever I… get involved with things like this.

01:11:29.000 --> 01:11:38.000
I tend… I'm very schedule-oriented, and sometimes I get a little stressed, like, will I be able to fit this into my day?

01:11:38.000 --> 01:11:45.000
Yes, the answer is always yes with this, because this works completely around you.

01:11:45.000 --> 01:11:52.000
The one exception is, like, office hours. If you want to be there and talk live with Kate and Valerie at a specific time.

01:11:52.000 --> 01:11:57.000
You can plan on being there then, but pretty much everything else is either recorded.

01:11:57.000 --> 01:12:05.000
Or it's on the discussion board, and you, if you go away on vacation for a week, you can come back, you can catch up.

01:12:05.000 --> 01:12:16.000
You can skip a day, you can, you know, um… if you get to the end of your day, and you're like, I really want to check in before I go to bed, you can do that. So.

01:12:16.000 --> 01:12:24.000
That's one of the wonderful things about this format. It works around you so beautifully.

01:12:24.000 --> 01:12:29.000
And so you never have to worry about, will I have time for this? It's completely what you want.

01:12:29.000 --> 01:12:31.000
To give to it, that you will get… pack. Mm-hmm.

01:12:31.000 --> 01:12:45.000
And you… you mentioned the office hours just briefly. Um, there's also a space, if you have a question and you know you cannot make it live, we still want your questions, and we want to be able to answer them for you, so there's a spot for them to, you know.

01:12:45.000 --> 01:12:50.000
Put them in advance, we read them, we've got them, and we'll address them so that you can watch the recording later.

01:12:50.000 --> 01:12:51.000
Mm-hmm. Uh-huh. Yep.

01:12:51.000 --> 01:12:57.000
That's right there, right here in the… chat every month, there's a section.

01:12:57.000 --> 01:12:59.000
Specifically for questions for Valerie and Kate. You always have them available to you.

01:12:59.000 --> 01:13:03.000
Yeah, it's great. Yes.

01:13:03.000 --> 01:13:14.000
Okay, anything else? Do we have any other questions, or, uh… comments or anything else, or are we about done? I think… folks are… had their minds blown, and no need to lead in.

01:13:14.000 --> 01:13:16.000
I think they have.

01:13:16.000 --> 01:13:17.000
Great. So again, um, if we are… we're good through the first.

01:13:17.000 --> 01:13:23.000
Yeah.

01:13:23.000 --> 01:13:29.000
And we'll be sending you some reminders. We're also going to be doing the replay. This will be up tomorrow, so you can watch it again.

01:13:29.000 --> 01:13:34.000
Um, but do give it some thought. Uh, we may not open up.

01:13:34.000 --> 01:13:43.000
Membership, again, for a little while. Uh, we… one of the reasons that we… we don't want to get too big. We want to have… make sure that we don't get to a.

01:13:43.000 --> 01:13:49.000
Where people cannot get the sort of attention they want. So we're going to be very intentional about.

01:13:49.000 --> 01:13:57.000
How many people we allow in, and how often we… We do this. So, um, you may not have an opportunity for a while.

01:13:57.000 --> 01:14:02.000
And it most likely will not be at this price. So those are the two things I would tell you, but again.

01:14:02.000 --> 01:14:11.000
Give it some thought, and you have till the 1st. We do hope that you choose to join us, and uh, ladies, any last words?

01:14:11.000 --> 01:14:17.000
We're just excited that you guys took the time out of your evening, or if you're in another country, out of your morning.

01:14:17.000 --> 01:14:31.000
Um, to come and hang out with us, and to… see us a little bit in action, and um… to get something for your own stories, you know, we want to meet you where you're at, so thanks for letting us have that opportunity to play on the page with you.

01:14:31.000 --> 01:14:33.000
Sorry. What a point.

01:14:33.000 --> 01:14:38.000
Okay, great. And thank you, very nice words, very nice words in the chat as we… as we sign off. Thank you.

01:14:38.000 --> 01:14:40.000
Yes.

01:14:40.000 --> 01:14:48.000
But everybody enjoyed it. Put those three questions to use. And hopefully we'll see you inside the Insiders Coaching Club.

01:14:48.000 --> 01:14:49.000
Thank you! Thank you!

01:14:49.000 --> 01:14:50.000
Absolutely.

01:14:50.000 --> 01:14:51.000
Have yourself a wonderful rest of your evening.

01:14:51.000 --> 01:14:52.000
Thanks, everyone! Bye!

01:14:52.000 --> 01:15:00.000
Bye!

01:15:00.000 --> 01:15:21.000
Yay!