Introducing The Novelry’s New 2026 Course Program

There comes a moment for every writer when the path ahead suddenly looks clear. When you realize what your story could be at its very best, and the steps to get there seem plain and simple, and the ending reveals itself, as if it had been there all along waiting ahead of you.

Over the last eight years, our writing school has been watching those moments occur in real time: the breakthroughs, the sudden leaps of insight from one draft to the next, the triumphs of offers made by literary agents and publishing deals signed. And over the course of experience, we’ve learned something essential:

Writers thrive when the journey is simple, structured, and supported.

Since the school was founded in 2017, it has always been our method to share with our writers, right from the get-go, the insider scoop on what publishers, agents, and readers really want from a book. This helps our writers leapfrog the frustration and bafflement that always obscured the process in the past, accelerating their path from writer to author.

Today, we’re delighted to announce a bold, streamlined course program that nails the most elegant pathway to take you from your first idea to a finished manuscript.

This is novel writing made simpler, with insights and advice given at the most timely moments, for big a-ha moments of inspiration combined with practical progress to save you time. This new program delivers a writing journey of daily breakthroughs for bold decision-making, as you build your story and watch it come to life. We have packed our program with game-changing moments delivered in the courses, supported with live group classes and workshops daily, along with one-to-one interventions from coaches and editors to ensure you get just the right advice and feedback on your story at just the right time.

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The three-step path

The result is a simple three-stage program that distills everything we know about the art of storytelling, the writing craft, and the realities of publishing into one elegant progression:

The Big Idea → The Big Write → The Big Edit

This is the straightest line we’ve ever drawn from “I think I have a novel in me” to “I’ve written a phenomenal novel that readers will love!”

💡 Step one: The Big Idea

This is the course we’ve been building toward in the last eight years. The Big Idea blends the best of our previous first-stage courses into one modern, intelligent, deeply inspiring starting point for any writer.

Across 30 original lessons, you’ll explore the secrets of storytelling and the prime movers of plot, and explore the treatment options that shape and pace character development and narrative structure. It’s designed to spark creativity to help you find the story only you can write, banish fundamental misconceptions, and give you a rock-solid understanding of your very best story and how to get it on the page—with joy.

By the end, you’ll come away with:

• A clean, confident outline for your novel
• A strong sense of your writing voice
• A sophisticated understanding of narrative
• A practical method for moving from idea to execution
• Excitement about the story you’re telling

The Big Idea is expert, unique, and unlike any other course available elsewhere, without being overwhelming. It’s intelligent without being dry, and structured without boxing you in. We want you to write the novel only you can write.

✍️ Step two: The Big Write

Once you’ve nailed your outline, it’s time for the exhilarating middle phase: writing your book.

Formerly known as The Ninety Day Novel, The Big Write retains its much-loved approach to drafting with daily guidance, focused progression, and instructive lessons.

This course includes six one-on-one coaching sessions with a bestselling and award-winning author, providing you with expert, personal support at critical turning points, so you can write with confidence. As with all our courses, it is yours for a year to take at your own pace, and includes membership for over 60 live classes and workshops every month, as well as daily live writing sessions.

The Big Write will transform your outline into a complete draft that is truly alive on the page, ready for the polish needed to move to publishing standards.

🛠️ Step three: The Big Edit

The Big Edit remains our most advanced course. This is where you get the very best reader-friendly version of your draft into a final manuscript, refining your story structure and sharpening your prose down to the sentence level to get the attention of the world-class literary agents with whom we partner.

Taught methodically, and with two one-on-one sessions with our expert team of professional editors, The Big Edit offers:

• A step-by-step approach to editing your novel
• Tools for diagnosing weaknesses in your story
• Strategies for elevating voice, pacing, and character
• Insight into working with agents, editors, and the industry
• Feedback from an editor with “Big Five” publishing house experience on your synopsis, chaptered outline, and the first three chapters of your manuscript
• A systematic approach for polishing your manuscript so that it’s ready for submission

We strongly recommend entering The Big Edit only after you’ve completed The Big Write.

🌟 The Finished Novel Course

For writers who want guidance from start to finish—from spark to submission—we offer The Finished Novel Course, our flagship all-in-one program. It includes:

• The Big Idea
• The Big Write
• The Big Edit
• The Ultimate Manuscript Assessment

And you’ll save 25% on purchasing the above individually.

It’s the most complete pathway for writers who are serious about bringing their book to life and starting a lifetime of happy writing for a career as a published author. It is our MFA equivalent—but more than an MFA, the course ensures you leave holding with great pride a fiction manuscript to professional publishing standards, and when ready, introductions to literary agents to move to traditional mainstream publishing contracts.

Why we made this change

We know that writing can be hard, and we want to make it easier.

A clear path means less hesitation, less confusion, and more momentum. It also means we can deliver deeper and more ambitious lessons. Most importantly, the new structure reflects what our writers consistently tell us:

You want clarity. You want to know exactly where you are on your writing journey.

This new lineup delivers precisely that.

What this means for members

If you’re already a member of The Novelry, you can relax—your membership remains exactly the same, albeit upgraded with the new events program!

You’ll continue to have access to:

• All workshops and live classes
• Our full library of Catch Up TV
• Your incredible community
• Your coaching and editorial sessions

Your progress in your current course will remain intact.

If you’re currently enrolled in The Classic Storytelling Class or The Advanced Outline Class, you are all good. The Big Idea course combines elements of those courses, so you’re not missing out, everything is covered.

Current members can get The Big Idea course at a special discounted price throughout January. Stay tuned! We will be posting news on how to get yours in the community.

Everything you already own remains in your library. Nothing disappears. Nothing is lost.

And there’s now a simpler way to stay with us... When your year of membership ends, you’ll now have one clear and straightforward way to stay on board: our new Rollover Plan, available either monthly or annually. It’s an easy way to maintain everything you already have. Available to each and every member.

What we’ve learned from eight years and thousands of writers

Each decision behind this new structure comes from what we’ve observed again and again:

• Writers flourish with focus.
• Story is everything. A big idea makes for a big write.
• A well-designed outline makes drafting easier.
• Drafts improve with bold structural editing rather than endless tinkering.
• Community engagement accelerates progress.
• Consistency of routine delivers.
• And clarity leads to confidence.

The new course lineup reflects these truths. It’s shaped by the lived experiences of real writers inside our program, by the insights of our coaching team, and by our belief that anyone can write a novel given the right tools, the right structure, and the right support.

We’re immensely proud of the results our writers have achieved so far—and we can’t wait to see what unfolds now that the path ahead is even clearer.

✨ Here’s to fresh starts and beautiful stories, boldly told

Whether you’re joining The Novelry for the first time or continuing your journey with us, we want this moment to feel like a new chapter: hopeful, invigorating, and creatively charged.

This streamlined offering is more than a redesign—it’s our promise to guide you with clarity, to challenge you with love, and to champion your progress with the full force of our experience and expertise at your side.

Here’s to the writing year ahead—brighter, braver, and bigger than ever.