WHAT FOLKS ARE SAYING
ABOUT THE STORY MAGIC ACADEMY
MIKAELA charbonneau
Writer and Academic Writing Consultant
“I did Nanowrimo last year, and felt like I'd tread water for 50,000 words. After I paid for the Academy I had this moment of "Did I just sign up for something I don't really need?"
Because I've watched all Rachael's videos. But every week of the Academy, in the middle of class, I was like "Oh my god Rachael, I get it finally!"
I've always felt like I didn't have enough ideas. Now I know I'm not devoid of ideas, I can actually sit down and take a day and create a bunch of stories. And I feel so excited about this story, I look at my plot embryos like "Oh my God, this is so totally a full novel here!"
It feels so cocky to say it, but I feel really confident and competent that I can go forward and with any story seed I have, I can turn that into a fully fleshed out narrative again. I'm starting to feel like "I can actually do this in a day next time."
The videos are just the tip of the iceberg. And the Academy is everything underneath that. If anyone has already used the plot embryo method to craft stories, it's so worth the investment to get the bigger picture.”
"Can I just give a shout out to how AMAZING this system has been for me so far?! Just finished doing a plot embryo for a subplot that popped up. After finishing about six chapters of drafting I noticed a very substantial subplot coming through and after some stewing decided it was worth pursuing.
Usually, this would tailspin into me forgetting what I’m doing and a massive mess. I wrote up another Plot Embryo and now I KNOW I won’t forget about it AND it’s tied to other events! Amazing. I couldn’t ask for a more brilliant system. Plus I’m actually excited to get back to writing
I’m so thrilled with this method. I’m one of those who was a bit cautious going in. But honestly, worth every single penny so far. Thank you so so much, Rachael!"
rachel gerlach
writer and academy student
tabetha hedrick
Writer and Design Director
“I started writing my second novel, and I just kept hitting roadblock after roadblock after roadblock. I was fifty thousand words into a book that was going nowhere.
When the Story Magic Academy opened, I wondered if it would be any different from Rachael’s YouTube videos, because I can already watch those for free. But it felt right. So I signed up. And breaking down the quadrants of the Plot Embryo helped so, so much, because Rachael’s YouTube videos didn’t go into that same depth.
Those specific, actionable steps were probably my biggest Wow! moment - like the missing link. For the past year, I felt dead inside thinking about the building blocks of this new book. And now… now I’m lying in bed at night, excited, thinking about my story. I’m taking lots of notes, I’m brainstorming - the middle of my story feels way less intimidating.
I wish I’d been able to take this course years ago. I feel so much more confident now. Even nearly two months after the end of this class, I still feel just as strongly that it was one of the best things I've ever done for myself.”
“I realised the story I was working on was very plotty, but it had no theme or character development. I knew I didn't want that, but every time I tried to work on it I kept getting stuck. I was worried I wouldn't have time for the Story Magic Academy, I didn't know if I'd be able to keep up with the assignments. But I thought, "You're always going to be busy, so just do it!" I knew in theory that brainstorming would help when I got stuck, but I hadn't actually done it a lot in practise. The Academy really forced me to properly brainstorm more - I think my brain adjusted to it quite quickly (or I just got lucky), because when I unlocked the antagonist of my story, a whole bunch of other stuff also fell into place. I had just been guessing, and I'm not guessing anymore. The Academy has given me a clear idea of where to start. And I still get stuck sometimes, but now I know *what to do* when I get stuck. The course was 100 percent worth it, despite my insane schedule. Especially for somebody like me who hasn't written anything and didn't know what the hell I was doing. I learned a lot. Information is valuable, and the Academy was very valuable information. This is stuff I'll be able to use forever.”
Tatiana mejia
Writer and Social Worker
