Write-A-Thon

Write-A-Thon: Write Your Book in 26 Days (and Life to Tell About it)
by Rochelle Melander
Writer's Digest Books, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1-59963-391-6
ISBN-10: 1-59963-391-4
$16.99 paperback, 240 pages

Buy the book!

Read an Excerpt!
Find out how to avoid getting overwhelmed in the midst of your writing marathon.

Free Webinar: September 27!
Are you tired of trying to squeeze in writing time between everything else you have to do? In this FREE webinar on September 27, author Rochelle Melander shows you how to make writing a priority in your life. You’ll learn several invaluable tools – proven lessons from positive psychology – that will help you reorient your life with writing in the center. Learn More and Register Now!

Q&A With Author Rochelle Melander
Melander shares her insights about the writing life and how she writes books at marathon pace.

Need a speaker?
Contact Rochelle to speak by phone with your critique group, NaNoWriMo region, or book group: rochelle@writenowcoach.com

Download an Online Exclusive!
Get a 26-day countdown poster with energy boosting ideas to fuel your marathon and track your accomplishments from Day 1 to Day 26

About the Book
Find the focus, energy, and drive you need to start—and finish—your book! Everyone has dreamed of writing a book, but so many start writing only to stall out due to writer’s block, mental fatigue, and other challenges. Write-A-Thon helps you overcome those stumbling blocks and complete your book once and for all. And you don’t have to type away for years on end. Here’s a plan that’ll help you write your book—in twenty-six days!

Write-A-Thon gives you the tools, advice, and inspiration you need to succeed before, during, and after your writing race. Solid instruction, positive psychology, and inspiration from marathon runners will give you the momentum to take each step from here to the finish line.

Writing a book in twenty-six days may seem impossible—especially if you don’t write full time—but in Write-A-Thon, Rochelle Melander will teach you the life skills, performance techniques, and writing tools you need to finish your manuscript in less than a month—guaranteed!

About the Author
Rochelle Melander, the Write Now! Coach, is the author of 10 books, a certified professional coach, and a popular speaker. Melander teaches professionals how to write fast, get published, establish credibility, and navigate the new world of social media. In 2006, Rochelle founded Dream Keepers Writing Group, a program that teaches writing to at-risk tweens and teens. Get access to free tips, classes, a write-a-thon word count tool and more online at www.writenowcoach.com. Contact Rochelle to speak by phone with your critique group, NaNoWriMo region, or book group: rochelle@writenowcoach.com

Praise for Write-A-Thon
Like the best coaches, Rochelle Y. Melander will strengthen your creative muscles, get your writerly heart pounding, and show you you’re capable of way more than you’ve ever imagined. Write-A-Thon will help you go the distance with your book.
—Gayle Brandeis, teacher, activist, and author of My Life with the Lincolns and Delta Girls

Write-A-Thon: Write Your Book in 26 Days (and Live to Tell About It) gives you the information, inspiration and tools you need to write a good book in less than a month. Want to know the secret to writing successfully? You’re holding it.
—Donna Gephart, award-winning children’s book author, wrote Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen in twenty-nine days

Melander is a friendly, entertaining, fully engaged, and smart guide to hold your hand and lead you through twenty-six days toward completion of the first draft of your masterpiece.
—Sue William Silverman, author of Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir

Write-A-Thon is your no-excuses guide to getting that dream book finished. Each lesson builds upon the last, helping you to grow as a writer. Write-A-Thon is like having your own personal coach sitting on your shoulder, guiding you through the process of writing a book. I wish I had a book like this when I first embarked on my writing journey.
—Kimberly Llewellyn, author of The Quest for the Holy Veil

Loaded with exercises, motivational quotes, and real-life examples, her book doesn’t just explain how she is so productive—she shows you how to do it, too. As a runner, I especially enjoyed the marathon analogy she employs throughout the book. Sure, a marathon sounds insurmountable at first, even for seasoned runners—but with preparation, training, and practice, most runners can complete one. The same is true of would-be authors—whether you’ve been writing for years or are just getting started, you can write a book in a month with Melander’s Write-A-Thon as your guide. Motivating, insightful, and fun to read, this book is one you’ll keep handy for years.
—Kelly James-Enger, author Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: The Writer’s Guide to Making Money Ghostwriting and Coauthoring Books

Write-A-Thon is wise, user-friendly, witty, breathtakingly thorough, and fun.
—Robert McDowell, author of the bestselling Poetry as Spiritual Practice: Reading, Writing, and Using Poetry in Your Daily Rituals, Aspirations, and Intentions

A life coach as well as writing teacher, Melander infuses the text with so many ideas, and exercises, as well as energy that you’ll never again look at writing the same way. I know I won’t. If you’re serious about the craft, you need this book.
—Libby Fischer Hellmann, author of Set the Night on Fire

Write-A-Thon is the tool every writer has been waiting for. Whether a professional or a wanna-be writer, you will find the practical help, the inspiration, and the kick in the pants to get writing. This book is more than a book—it’s a whole a new life built out of words.
—Jane Rubietta, international speaker and award-winning author of Come Along: Journey to a More Intimate Faith

In Write-A-Thon, Rochelle Melander knocks down excuses for not writing and sets out a detailed plan for turning your idea into a book. The key is that she shows how to do it in less than a month—not the years that so many writers seem to think it will take. You can bet that Write-A-Thon is going to be on my required reading list for new writers!
—Jennifer Lawler, author of Dojo Wisdom for Writers

This book is filled with the energy, knowledge, and tips from an established author who has not only written a book in a month, she held me accountable to write a book in a month, too! I couldn’t have written or published Creating Your Best Life in record time without her prodding, accountability, and good humor in a difficult situation. This book will help everyone to finally write that book that is lurking in their brain and trying to get out!
—Caroline Adams Miller, MAPP, author of Creating Your Best Life

If you have been waiting for the perfect moment to begin your writing project, this book will help you stop chasing excuses and start putting words on the page.
—Jennifer Manske Fenske, author of The Wide Smiles of Girls

[Not sure] where to start? No worries. She offers easy-to-understand tips and tools to get you rolling. If you’ve ever dreamed of starting (and completing) a writing project, this is the time to do it. Buy this book and get going!
—Kathy Cano-Murillo, founder of CraftyChica.com and author of Waking Up in the Land of Glitter and Miss Scarlet’s School of Patternless Sewing

Table of Contents

Preface: Why Write a Book?

Introduction

Part One: Training

Attitude Training
Move from Wannabe to Writer
No Excuses
Vision Your Writing Life
Make Affirmations
Take Yourself Seriously
Why Write? How Writing Heals

Writing Training: Learn the Basics
Practice
Prewriting
Discover Writing Strengths
Get Support
Get the Gear
The Project Journal
Take Note
Stock Your Library

Course Training: Plan Your Novel
The Twenty-Six-Day Novel
The Story Bible
Where Do You Get Your Ideas?
The Who
The Where
The Plot
Point of View
Three More W Questions
Researching the Novel

Course Training: Plan Your Nonfiction Book
The Twenty-Six-Day Book
The Project Binder
What Do You Know?
The Power of Passion
Find Your Purpose
Determine Your Writing Project
Discover Your Market
Design Book Structure
Create Your Research and Development Team

Life Training: Schedule the Marathon
Create Your Life Priority List
Map Energy Flow
Plan Your Schedule
Manage Your Energy
Prime Your Environment
Take Tiny Steps
Design Marathon Schedule
Measure Your Progress

Part Two: The Write-A-Thon
Put Your Butt in the Chair
Get a Cheering Section
Get a Life!
Dump the Gremlins
Avoid Monkey Mind
Avoid Overwhelm
Vision Daily
Get Rewards
Pay Yourself First
Drop Everything
Make Mistakes
Conquer Sabotage
Overcome Perfectionism
Conserve Energy
Be Open to Change
Finish Anything
Write Anything
Warm Up With Poetry
Get Inspired
Write Your Dreams
No Blank Pages
Write What You Know
Question the Block
Get Help
Get in the Zone
Forget Ideal and Find Plan B
Read and Revise
Ruminate Well
The Great Escape
Timed Write
Daydreams That Work
The Care and Feeding of Your Creative Life

Part Three: Recovery
Why Revise?
The First Read
Write It Right: First Lines
Make Your Words Count
Why Hire an Editor?
Working With Editors
How to Get Your Query Rejected
Persistence

Conclusion: The Next Race

Water Stops, Strength Training, and Essential Gear: Resources for the Write-A-Thon

Download the full Works Cited from the book.