Learn the parts every writing process is made of—and build the one that works for you.
You read how a novelist you admire works—2,000 words before breakfast, no outline, not a word revised until the draft is done—and you try it. By Friday you’re back to the way you used to work. Her method is a good one. For her.
Every writer has to find their own process, and in this FREE one-hour webinar I’ll break a process into its elements so you can see what the choices are and settle on what works for you.
You’ll discover how to:
- Name the elements of your own process—how much you plan, how you draft, when you revise, and how research fits in
- Tell a habit that serves the writing from one you’ve kept because it’s familiar
- Try a new approach without losing momentum on the book you’re writing now
- Keep moving when a sentence won’t come right, including my XXX method
Perfect for:
- Writers who’ve borrowed a well-known author’s routine and found it fits like someone else’s coat
- Writers between projects who want to look at how they work before the next book begins
- Authors with several books behind them who’d like a fresh look at the routine that got them here
A live Q&A follows the presentation to answer your questions.
Fill out the form below to reserve your FREE virtual seat.
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Your Best Writing Process:
The Elements of Writing Success
Some novelists outline every chapter, and others write to find out what happens. Some revise as they go, while some won’t reread a word until the draft is done. Every one of those approaches has produced books readers love, so the method was never the point. The fit is.
I’ll walk through the elements one at a time: how much you plan, how you draft, when you revise, and how research fits in. For each, you’ll see the range of choices published writers make, and I’ll tell you where I’ve landed and why.
You’ll leave with a plain description of how you work now, a short list of the parts worth testing, and a good reason to keep what’s already working. The elements are the same whether you write mysteries, thrillers, romance, literary fiction, or nonfiction. The combination is yours.
Join us at our FREE virtual discussion:
December 12, 2026 at 1 p.m. Eastern
Reserve your spot at this FREE virtual workshop. I’ll send you the access details shortly before the event!
In Beat the Bots: A Writer’s Guide to Surviving and Thriving in the Age of AI, published in August, Jane K. Cleland shares practical exercises to nurture imagination, spark original thinking, and resist creative conformity. Her other books on the craft of writing, Mastering Suspense, Structure & Plot and Mastering Plot Twists, both won the Agatha Award.
Jane has also written fourteen novels in the multiple award-winning Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery series [St. Martin’s Minotaur, with short fiction published by Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine]. The series has been optioned for film and TV.
In addition, Jane is a contributing editor for Writer’s Digest magazine and the chair of the Black Orchid Novella Award, presented by the Wolfe Pack in partnership with Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Jane has served as President of the New York Chapter and Vice President of the Florida chapter of Mystery Writers of America, and was on the national board.
