I’ve written before about what the Writing Gym is and what it’s done for me, but it’s been a while, and the relationship has evolved since I first described it. So here’s a revisit; an update on where things stand now.
How It Started
Here’s a quick reminder.
Over eight years ago, I’d just finished writing a book, started another, and had an epic novel stalled at 33,000 words because I’d tried to plot it. Annalisa had just published a book (Storytelling for Pantsers) that made me feel understood as a writer for the first time. I realised I was a Pantser, not a freak, and that there was a whole spectrum of writers like me.
I contacted her to ask whether she could edit my work. She replied that we could edit the book together. Before I knew it, I was in the Writing Gym.
That’s where the relationship began, and it’s grown considerably since.
What’s Different Now
In the early days, working with the Writing Gym was mostly about craft: learning to self-edit, understanding what publishers actually wanted, and untangling a manuscript that spanned too many genres for its own good. Then came revision and rewriting, submission, marketing, etc.
Along the way, she not only helped me edit Paranormal City but also taught me how to edit. We would look at 30 pages at the beginning of the week. I would make the changes she suggested, plus some of my own, of course, and then we would review them again later in the week. The following week, we would do the same with the next 30 pages.
As I said, she was also teaching me about editing. When it came to editing Shuttlers after I’d written it under the aegis of the Writing Gym, I had learned so well that in the first session there was often just one thing to change. The following session, later in the week, covered the next 30 pages, where there might be only one or two minor changes.
The biggest work we did together was more along the lines of foreshadowing, backlinking (always important when writing a YA novel), and removing my Britishisms so as not to limit it for the American market. Oh, and adding an extra chapter to segue between two parts of the story. I wrote that in a couple of days.
These days, the conversations are different. Less “how do I fix this scene” and more “how do I manage thirty-seven books at once without losing my mind entirely.” Some reckon I already have. Lost my mind, I mean.
The problems have grown alongside the output.
The Community Side Still Matters Most
What I didn’t fully appreciate at the start was that I wasn’t just getting editing help, I was joining a community. That hasn’t changed, and if anything it’s deepened. There’s a comfort in being surrounded by people who understand exactly why you’d stop a conversation mid-sentence to write something down before it escapes.
Moreover, they are pleased with my successes, just as I am pleased with theirs. This is one of the reasons I list their books here on my website, to give them more exposure. Of course, not all have published yet, but I have the pleasure of adding them to the list when they do, as I did just last week with a historical thriller by Gerry Patnode.
What I’d Tell Someone Just Starting Out With Annalisa
Be ready to hear things you don’t want to hear. Be ready for your darlings to be questioned, your favourite scenes to be cut, and your assumptions about what publishers want to be gently corrected. None of it is comfortable in the moment, but in my experience it makes the work better than it would otherwise be.
If you’re prepared to go through all this, I suggest booking a call with her here.
If you don’t want to work with her, of course, because she isn't everyone's cup of tea, you can always find another writing coach. But I suggest you do find one.
Where Things Stand Now
From a couple of hundred thousand words nearly nine years ago to well past two million now, with multiple books published, more on the way, and a Multiverse and a dark urban fantasy city both still growing. The Writing Gym didn’t write any of it for me. But I’m not sure I’d have found my way to any of it without the people there pointing the way and cheering me on from the sidelines.