# The 90-Day Novel by Alan Watt (writing guide)



## Al Watt (Dec 15, 2010)

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Alan Watt wrote the first draft of his novel _Diamond Dogs_, in just under 90 days, and later sold the North American rights for $500,000 to Little, Brown in a bidding war. The book became a national bestseller, won a slew of awards and is soon to be a major motion picture.

Get the first draft down quickly! _The 90-Day Novel_ is a day-by-day guide through the process of getting the first draft of your novel onto the page. _The 90-Day Novel_ was workshopped at the LA Writers' Lab over three years and has helped hundreds of writers complete their work. Some of his students have gone on to become bestselling authors and win major literary awards.

_The 90-Day Novel_ is structured into three parts. Part One describes the process of getting your story from imagination to the page and prepares you, through a few simple, powerful writing exercises to access the story within. Part Two is The 90-Day Novel, a series of 90 daily letters that will guide you through the hero's journey. Writers often tend to get stuck halfway through, mired somewhere in their 'idea' of the story. _The 90-Day Novel_ will show you how and why you got stuck, and how to get to the end of your first draft. Part Three is a compendium of stream-of-consciousness writing exercises designed to access the primal forces in your story, as well as the Structure Questions that will invite up images at key stages in your hero's journey.

_The 90-Day Novel_ teaches you how to distill your plot to its nature, and clarifies the mysterious process of assembling vague disparate images into a coherent narrative. Working in this way, story structure (which is often taught as a formula) becomes a springboard, setting you free to explore the far reaches of your imagination. "There are no rules," Watt tells us. "Stay out of your left brain, and let your unconscious do the heavy lifting." _The 90-Day Novel_ clearly articulates the process of marrying the rigor of story structure to the wildness of the imagination, and in the process reminds us of something we so often forget...that writing is actually fun. For more information on books, go to www.the90daynovel.com. For info on writing workshops, go to www.lawriterslab.com.

"For years I have been fascinated by the industry legend of how Alan Watt wrote his masterful novel, _Diamond Dogs_, in 90 days. Now, at last, he shares his secrets. _The 90-Day Novel_ is smart, insightful, thorough and wise. It's also one of the best books on novel-writing I have ever seen. I feel confident that anyone who takes this program seriously will have a solid manuscript to show for the effort."

- David Liss (national bestselling author and Edgar winner for _A Conspiracy of Paper_)

"Let Al Watt take your heart by its hand and get your 90-Day Novel onto the page. It will be the experience of a lifetime."

- Viki King (author of _How to Write a Movie in 21 Days: The Inner Movie Method_)

_The 90-Day Novel_ is the real deal. Alan Watt gets down to it by brilliantly articulating the fusion of the muse to the rigor of story structure. If you've been struggling with your story, or really want to get dangerous on the page, read this book. Follow it, and you will have a first draft in 90 days."

- Eric Miles Williamson (Pen finalist for his novel _East Bay Grease_, and author of _Say It Hot_)

"_The 90-Day Novel_ provides the inspiration, focus, and structure that every novelist needs to finally put down on paper what has been alive inside him, perhaps for years, struggling to get out."

- Allison Burnett (author of _Christopher_, finalist for Pen Center USA's Literary Award in Fiction)

"The 90 daily letters are absolutely worth the price of admission. A friendly nudge, a gentle reminder of our commitment, a powerful blast of insight: all serve to boost our flagging morale, or comb out our confusion, or intercede with the bitter fight against our creative impulses."

- Mary Shannon (Professor of Creative Writing, Cal Sate Northridge/90-Day Novelist


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Welcome to KindleBoards, Alan, and congratulations on your book.

(If you've gotten this welcome before, it's just as a matter of housekeeping. We like to put a copy of the "welcome letter" in each book thread. It doesn't mean you've done anything wrong, it just helps us know that you know the rules.)

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## Al Watt (Dec 15, 2010)

Thank you, Betsy and Ann!

I do have a concern about my links in my original post. I used your handy link-maker, and it pulled up my paperback copy from Amazon, but not my Kindle copy. My assistant navigated the turbulent waters of coding (about which I know nothing), and has apparently fixed the links to go to the Kindle copy, but I wanted to be absolutely sure that the links are correct. 

Also, can you suggest any way to navigate this issue in the future? 

Many thanks


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Basically, with the linkmaker, to be sure you're linking to the Kindle version, you have to use the drop down and select the Kindle store before you run the search.  Otherwise it just takes you to a paper copy. . . .there's a manual version linked there too that basically requires some copying and pasting if for some reason the book doesn't come up with the simple link maker.

Check out the Writer's cafe . . .there's lots more info on making links of various sorts to Amazon. . . look especially at the threads "stuck" on the top . . . . and lots of folks who will happily help you sort out your signature section as well.


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## Al Watt (Dec 15, 2010)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Check out the Writer's cafe . . .there's lots more info on making links of various sorts to Amazon. . . look especially at the threads "stuck" on the top . . . . and lots of folks who will happily help you sort out your signature section as well.


Thanks Ann!

I can take a hint about the signature section...


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## Al Watt (Dec 15, 2010)

I hope my signature looks better now. 

A new, updated version of the paper book is coming soon, along with a slightly updated form of the Kindle version. I will work with Amazon to make the newly uploaded version of the Kindle book available to those who have purchased already. 

Happy writing!


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## JennaSaisPas (Oct 6, 2010)

Hi All!

I reviewed this just now on B&N.com. It looks like it's available for the Nook as well, and I can't tell you how much of a change it's made in my writing life! If you only buy one writing book, buy this one!!!

I'll put my review here, just in case anyone is interested...

*The Best Book for Writers EVER!!*

Writing a novel is difficult. It's also hard work. I should know, as I've tried (and failed) quite a few times. I picked up The 90-Day Novel by Alan Watt, thinking I should give novel-writing one more go. I'm very glad I did.
This is much more than a how-to book! In the introduction, Watt goes over how he workshopped this method over the course of years, and the result is a process that feels real and organic. It's approachable. It's accessible and gets results. It's not like all the other story or writing classes that I've taken, where the method is very calculated and soulless, or free and structureless. This is a process or method rather than some kind of mechanical approach, but with a road map so that you know where you're going. I found this to be inspirational and teach fundamentals at the same time, which is unique among every writing book I've ever heard of. As watt says in the book, we are "marrying the wildness of our imaginations to the rigor of structure," The results are startling.
I love how there are no rules in this book, rather guidelines and and questions that encourage curiosity about the world you're writing. There are no rules! None! "Structure is not a formula," Watt says. Structure is an experience, which leads to the understanding of surrender and transformation. 
The book is divided into 14 weeks, with the first 4 devoted to "imagining the world of the story." I cannot stress how liberating this portion was, and I came to know and understand my characters so much better than before. They became real, well-rounded individuals who surprised me and made me want to know even more about them. Every day for the first 4 weeks includes daily stream-of-consciousness writing exercises, and there is a lot of free-writing based on these prompts. If you get bored (or insanely curious, as was the case with me), there is a section of additional questions in the back of the book, and you can pick and choose more things to write about. There is also a series of structure questions, which are designed to illuminate key points in the hero's journey. Day 29, you start your first draft, armed with a fantastic wealth of knowledge as to who your characters are.
So many classes I've taken don't address fears properly, but Watt has shown a path where our fears are a way into the story, and that we can work with them to explore where our story is headed. He encourages us to be willing to write poorly in order to get the idea onto the page. Once we give ourselves permission to write poorly, and we resist the urge to go back and rewrite immediately, the story becomes alive. Our idea of the story is never the whole story, and once we get out of the way, the truth of the story appears. 
After working with this book, I'm left with one question: How is it that I've never read about dilemma in a writing book before? The concept of dilemma was an awakening for me! There is a dilemma at the heart of every story, and if you tap into it, you will literally be flooded with images for your story! It's unbelievable that I've never heard about this before! 
So did I write my novel in 90 days? Yep. It felt so good to finish! And the stream-of-consciousness prompts have proved extremely useful in the short story I'm working on. Watt's method makes this so easy!
I kept having ideas for other stories along the way. I scribbled down my thoughts into a to-be-written notebook. I'll need something to write later, now that I'm using this method!


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

Al Watt said:


> A new, updated version of the paper book is coming soon, along with a slightly updated form of the Kindle version. I will work with Amazon to make the newly uploaded version of the Kindle book available to those who have purchased already.


This book sounds very interesting. Any ETA on when the updated version will be available?


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## Al Watt (Dec 15, 2010)

CS said:


> This book sounds very interesting. Any ETA on when the updated version will be available?


The final Kindle and Nook versions are up, as of this week. The paper book has been updated as well, and is available on both B&N and Amazon.

Thank you for your interest! I've had quite a number of people come through the in-person workshop, and that's how the book came to be. I've been honing the method for years now.

Just as an FYI, I have online workshops now, and you can find more info at the link in my signature. There's a three-hour-long workshop on March 20th, and then the next round of 90-day workshops starts up in April. I have The 90-Day Rewrite and The 90-Day Screenplay workshops available, and books will be coming for those as well. You can sign up for the mailing list to get free writing tips and reminders of when the workshops start.

Talk to you soon!


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## Al Watt (Dec 15, 2010)

Thought I'd drop by... I'm working on the pre-release info for my next three books: 

The 90-Day Rewrite
The 90-Day Screenplay
and
Unlock the Story Within

Also, the book is available on Nook now, and I will post when it is live in iBooks, Sony Reader, and Kobo.

Thanks!


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## capnadolny1 (Apr 14, 2011)

Any word on when The 90-Day Rewrite will be released? Loved the first book. It resurrected my cold novel. Thanks!


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## Al Watt (Dec 15, 2010)

capnadolny1 said:


> Any word on when The 90-Day Rewrite will be released? Loved the first book. It resurrected my cold novel. Thanks!


Thank you! I'm glad that the book helped you!

I'm working on it now, and will definitely announce the release here. I will also be releasing The 90-Day Screenplay and Unlock the Story Within as they become complete.

If you go to the LA Writers Lab page in my signature, you'll see a place to sign up for my mailing list. I'll announce releases there also, and I send out writing tips, interviews, and other news each month. A few weeks ago, I gave 100 mailing list members a free telephone workshop, so the mailing list is definitely worth joining!

Thank you again!


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