Thriller 101

Introduction to the Brand New Storyteller's Society

• David • Season 2

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0:00 | 12:10

Day 1: Community Introduction

David Gwyn: [00:00:00] Everyone and welcome to the thriller one-on-one podcast today. We're doing something different. Let's talk about writing communities. I'm David Gwyn or writer navigating the world of traditional publishing during the second season of the thriller one-on-one podcast, we're going to continue our focus on building the skills necessary to write the kinds of thrillers that land you, an agent and readers. 

During the season, I'll be sharing some of my own insights while also talking to agents authors and other publishing professionals about the best way to write a novel. If you want the experts secrets, thriller 1 0 1 is where you're going to find them. 

Now we can all picture that classic writing group, a place where we can share our work at feedback necked with like-minded writers. 

But. Those can be hard to come by. I mean, social media is a mess right now and finding dedicated people in your hometown or your area can be a challenge. That's why I've been obsessed with developing something more powerful. I always believed that there was like a next level of communities. Something that combined. 

Support with like [00:01:00] targeted industry level growth. 

Basically a writing community mixed with a genre focused MFA and publishing masterclass, all kind of rolled into one. And so today I'm officially launching the thriller 1 0 1 storytellers society. Now I will say if you're on my email list, you probably have already heard about this because you all got a sneak peek, but if you're just hearing this for the first time, this episode is going to explore

the three key reasons why a community like this can be a serious game changer for your writing career. But I will say this before we get any further. The deadline for signing up for the community is one week from today, November 15th is the absolute last day. You can sign up the 16th, we'll do a big launch party. We'll set up our profiles and do all that fun stuff that comes from joining a community. 

And so I really want to start on the 16th and hit the ground running, which is why I'm urging you to sign up as soon as possible. For two reasons, one, I have been setting up meetings with new community members and reading [00:02:00] their work, and I would love to do that for you. So if you sign up soon, you'll get some of that kind of personalized feedback from me. Before we even get into the community and number two, there are limited seats. Because this is a new community. I can only handle a certain. Number of writers at a time. And so I want to start with a smaller cohort. I want it to feel. Like this. Tight knit community. And so because of that, I am capping the numbers. You're also going to want the price for this one, because the next time I open up this community for cohort two, it is going to go up in price. 

And so I say all that right up front, because I want you to know and be aware of kind of all the stipulations here. Also in the description, there's a link for more detail than I could possibly go into in this podcast episode. But there are going to be more podcast episodes next week, talking about the community. 

So stay tuned for that. If you're not quite sure if this is your thing. Definitely subscribed. So you get notified when those episodes drop. Okay. Let's get into it here. Let's talk about number [00:03:00] one. Y You need more than just a writing group. Let's start with the classic writing group. They're wonderful. 

Right? They give you camaraderie a place to swap pages and feedback from people who share your passion. But here's the thing. If you're serious about honing your craft and actually taking your work to the next level, a traditional writing group can really only take you so far. Many writers find themselves wanting more than a sporadic feedback or casual meetups or people cycling in and out or writing advice from people who don't even write in your genre. 

Serious writers need an environment that offers structured growth. Guidance from industry pros and opportunities to network in the industry. Imagine a place where you could not only receive feedback, but also attend masterclasses, engage in Q and A's with guest authors and build skills through workshops, tailored to the unique needs of thriller mystery and suspense writers. In the storytellers society, every member is there with purpose and that focus will create an incredibly motivating environment for you. Here are the members aren't just [00:04:00] readers and writers are people serious about their craft and about traditionally publishing their work. 

We support each other's goals, set milestones and celebrate successes. This kind of setup creates a more results oriented space than your typical writing group. It goes beyond the kind of casual support that you'd normally get. So if you've been feeling like you've outgrown your writing group or you finally want to take the next steps in your career, this type of community could be exactly what you need. Before we get into the next section. Let's talk about one of the industry experts. 

Who's going to be presenting in the storytellers society. April Davila. April is an award-winning author speaker and writing coach. Publisher's weekly called her debut novel, a vivid uplifting debut, and the book went on to win the Willow award for women writing in the west. Writer's digest listed. Her blog as one of the best 101 websites for writers. 

And she is the creator of the sit right here, writing coaching program, which integrates mindfulness meditation techniques to help writers quiet their inner critics to overcome [00:05:00] writer's block and edit more effectively. 

She's going to talk to the storytellers society about banishing writer's block forever. We're going to truly come to understand that we don't have to suffer from writer's block ever again. We're also going to learn the 10 things that most commonly masquerade as writer's block. And she's going to share a short, easy exercise that we can use to train our mind, to drop into a state of flow at we'll talk about a beneficial presentation to be in. Okay, let's go back to the list here. Let's talk about number two opportunities. You won't find in free communities. Let's talk about exclusive opportunities, the kind you typically don't find in free spaces and free communities. 

You're often on your own. When it comes to connecting with industry professionals are finding meaningful ways to advance your career. And often what you find with these free communities is that. There's so many people in them. But there's so little interaction. There's so few genuine conversations. In fact what you find a lot. 

If you join like a free Facebook group is that it's just people promoting their own work. [00:06:00] That's not conducive to the kind of work that we're trying to do here. That's why in a structured premium community, like the storyteller society, you are investment directly support, specialized resources, like agent pitch sessions, community meetings, goal setting, and genre focused industry guest workshops, as well as the platform that we're using, which is insanely cool. 

And I'm going to talk about at a future date, all the amazing things that this platform is going to do for us. I chose it very specifically for us as writers, because I think it's going to be beneficial and next level in finding critique partners and feedback groups and things. So we'll talk more about that in a future episode. But I want you to think about this. 

Imagine, if you were able to pitch your book directly to an agent, specifically looking for. A book like yours. Or maybe you're trying to nail the pacing of your manuscript. And you attend a workshop focused entirely on building suspense in thrillers and delivering twists that leave readers wanting more. These aren't general workshops, like you'd find somewhere else. These are [00:07:00] curated specifically for the genres of mystery, suspense and thriller writing. And these opportunities create a ripple effect, being in an environment where everyone is serious about their craft. Can push you to refine your work. To grow as a writer and write your best book ever. Well, let's hear from agent and author Amy Nielsen about the importance of community. 

Amy Nielsen: I could not imagine one day going by that I don't speak with my critique partners. We are each other's biggest fans, biggest cheerleaders, best friends.

If you don't have a writing community, it is the, I think, the number one. And I think that's a really important part to your success as an author. Yeah. Because they're going to be there for you on the hard days and they're going to encourage you on the good days. They're going to be honest with you, but also give you the tools you need to improve.


David Gwyn: Let's go to number three here. The power of accountability. This is one of the core pillars of the community and why I wanted to build a community instead of a course, and definitely a community feel instead of just a typical summit. Or event. Because it's all about [00:08:00] boosting your writing, craft and output. 

We all know how easy it is to fall off the writing wagon. I mean, life gets busy project stall. Maybe you hit a creative block. But accountability groups can be game changers. They're not just motivational. Check-ins, they're actually structured to help you set realistic goals and to stick to them. In our community, we run frequent check-ins where members share their goals and track their progress. For example, maybe your goal this month is to finish an outline. Knowing that you have a group of peers expecting an update on your progress. Adds that extra layer of responsibility, but it's not just about accountability. 

It's also about inspiration. Seeing other writers achieving their goals week after we can be incredibly motivating. And it helps us push through those times when inevitably writing gets tough. I mean, writing is a difficult craft. So, if you do hit a roadblock. Imagine being surrounded by people who not only know the struggle, but can help you get back on track. 

If you're anything like me, you don't have other friends in your day-to-day life who are writers. It's hard to find people who are as dedicated [00:09:00] as we are. At building something creating on entire world. 

 That we can then share with people. And I love these numbers that I found. So researchers have found that having an idea or a goal makes us 10% likely to complete it. Consciously deciding that you will do it. Raise that number up to about 25%. Deciding when you will do it raises the number to 40%. Planning makes you 50% likely to complete it. Committing to someone that you will do it boost that number to 65%, but having a specific accountability appointment with someone you've committed to. It makes you 95% likely to complete that goal. Let's harness that power in your writing career. 

Okay. I want to do a quick Roundup here in just a second, but before I do. I want to ask you something you probably, know people in the writing community, maybe it's a friend or a writing buddy who's struggling right now. And if you do, and you think this community might be something they're interested in, do them a favor and send the podcast over to them. If. The [00:10:00] storyteller's society does something to help them cross that finish line on a project. Whether that's landing an agent or finishing a draft, they're going to be so thankful. I'm not pressuring anybody to join, but I do think, and I believe wholeheartedly that this is going to absolutely benefit writers. 

That's the whole purpose of this. And so before I wrap this episode up in a nice little bow here, I did want to just say that. If you're sitting here and thinking like, ah, this just isn't right. For me, it might be right for somebody else. 

So feel free to share this, send this to somebody. They'll appreciate it. If they end up deciding to invest. 

So let's recap. So today we talked about the three major reasons why investing in a structured writing. Environment can transform your writing craft and career. We talked about how you might need more than a traditional writing group to achieve real growth. 

And then we talked about the exclusive opportunities available in a premium community like this one from the agent pitch sessions to genre specific workshops, focus community all of those things that help members get an edge in their writing careers. And then finally, we talked about the power of [00:11:00] accountability where you can find support, stay on track with your writing goals, all in that kind of focus, results, oriented environment. If you've been looking for something structured, purposeful, and inspiring, then just take a look at the storyteller's society. 

There's a link in the description for this episode, with more information, you can check it out there. Thanks for hanging out with me on the thriller one-on-one podcast. Again, there's gonna be more information about this community next week. But again, that deadline is looming. So if you aren't all interested, make sure you go down into the description and learn more about the community I'll see you soon.



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