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What the writers said about 52 Scenes

Ana

I just wrote “The End” a few moments ago, and I still can’t believe it.

Farica

I’m excited to announce that after a year and a week, I have completed the 52 Scene Challenge with a finished first draft. The monster I’ve created is 76K and 305 pgs long! I remember how daunting and impossible and anxious I felt in the beginning. 

I am so thankful for this challenge because I’ve proven to myself that I have the discipline to get the writing done, one week and one scene at a time. 

Jackie Kohler

If you’re reading this, you’ll be wondering whether or not to sign up. Do it. Do it now. Don’t hesitate any more. You will not regret it. Instead, you will develop regular writing habits, have consistent constructive feedback on your writing and best of all, you will have an antidote to the isolation that can come with writing. 

I have done week long writers’ retreats, attended regular in-person evening classes, and other online courses and challenges, including NaNoWriMo, but I have never before enjoyed myself, or gained, so much. If you wonder if you have a novel inside you, or you’ve written one before but in the dark, behind closed doors, this experience will transform your writing. 

What Mia has created is absolutely brilliant. Writing with a community of writers alongside you is truly transformative. Good luck, and enjoy. And maybe we’ll even see you soon in all good bookshops… 

Megan Choritz

Elise Morrow

I very much appreciate this course and know that I would not be writing this book without it. I can see how I am gaining more productivity (and word count!) as I continue. The insightful support from the other writers is greatly appreciated, as are Mia’s weekly check-in/writing zoom sessions.

Graham Kennedy

I’m a deadline guy. I run a super intense business and I always make excuses for not writing, because I have other things to do. The truth is, that that writing a novel is the hardest thing I have ever done. It makes the business seem easy. 

Every week I enter into panic mode. A type of hallucinatory, drug induced, mind test.  However, I have surprised myself by never missing a deadline. I try to join Mia on zoom each Sunday and I never fail to marvel at her capabilities. She is a super clever lady and epitomises that quality of person you only seem to find when there are momentous tasks to undertake. The grow them in south Africa I think , in some sort of cubicle in a hidden chamber underground. 

I have four excellent critics, who are fellow writers, helping and encouraging me along each week. If you are reading this… don’t hesitate…. Just sign up now.

Per Ostberg

Wow, to think that two small words could make such a difference. When I typed ‘The End.’ after about 46 weeks, I was both proud and amazed. I had done it… I had created a story out of 52 weekly submissions. Mia’s 52ScenesIn52Weeks challenge works like a charm. The weekly deadlines force you to progress your story, to put word after word onto a page and weave them into a story. The weekly deadlines and writing sessions are intermingled with classes about relevant writing techniques and subjects.

I can warmly recommend Mia as a writing teacher and challenge leader! She has a great sense of humor BUT she drives us hard! I think she is as proud as we are when we finish our stories!

John Snydert

At first, I was reluctant to join 52 Scenes. I felt unequipped to climb this colossal mountain. But with every passing week, and every encouraging word from my readers, I gained the confidence to move the story forward one step at a time. The weekly deadline, interesting stories from fellow writers and eager readers motivated me beyond expectation to keep going. 

As I pinned down the whirlwind of ideas in my head, I got to know my characters and understood the story. Mia gave us pristine advice on plot, structure, POV, character development and dialogue. She guided us through each of the main sections of our novels. Sunday writing session made me feel part of a group of like-minded people.

For me, every aspiring writer must go through the process of understanding the weight of being a writer. To understand the enormous amount of effort and dedication required to finish a novel. The 52 Scenes challenge made it much easier to gain the discipline to be a writer and continuously grow. Such a wonderful community!

Patty Panni

It is not an exaggeration to say that 52 Scenes has changed my life. In 2020 I experienced a catastrophic health issue, and by late 2021 I was still reeling from, and coming to terms with, all that entails. I desperately needed something else to focus on. Unlike most of my fellow 52S writers, I had only ever attempted short stories.
 
On a complete whim, I signed up for 52S first, then scrambled to figure out what I could possibly find to fill a whole book. I chose a 12SS story I’d written, and decided to give it a go. 
 
Today, 45 weeks in, and 65,715 words later, I’m on the cusp of having an actual first draft of a novel. A novel! 
 
The support and pure buy-in from my beta reading group and Mia has kept me going week after week. Their suggestions — and Mia’s ongoing classes — have transformed and refined my writing. I’m not the same writer I was a year ago. I’m better and more confident in my wording. 
 
So, would I recommend 52 Scenes? YES. A hundred times yes. You’re not just writing your novel…you’re joining a community of fellow writers who will teach you through their own writings, who will believe for you when you falter, who will cheer you on to the finish line. Your novel is on the other side of that finish line. You can do this.

2021 Testimonials

David Weimer

Martin Haworth

Becky Crookham

Deadlines are my anchor. They’re the difference between desiring to become a writer “when I grow up” and actively being an author. I am proud to have accomplished the goal of weekly scene submissions over an entire year. Participating in the 52 scenes challenge has been a positive experience, never once have I regretted signing up. 

My personal journey consisted of converting a rough Nanowrimo manuscript into a longer, more polished manuscript with weekly feedback from six loyal followers. It’s almost complete–ready to be pushed into a drawer for a month before being another round of rewriting, again anchored by deadlines. A pleasant surprise along the way was the privilege of reading six amazing novels as they were being created, encouraging these writers and influencing their stories. 

Mia says she doesn’t want our best work, but our bravest work. You just need courage to show up for your story. You’ll be amazed where your characters, some of which you haven’t even met yet, will take you.

I am grateful for Mia and my writing community.
 

Elizabeth Strehl

I have participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) several times and I have an MFA in creative writing. Neither experience had me writing as consistently as 52 Scenes has. For the first time, I’m on a regular schedule: compose on Saturday morning, review on Wednesday before posting, brainstorm around the new prompt, repeat. Initially, I was reluctant to join because of the prompts–who was Mia to guide my novel in such a way? I decided to just ignore them, but they are slippery little suckers and I found myself working them in without much effort, sometimes accidentally. The weekly word or short phrase has forced me to think outside the box and take my novel in directions I would have not otherwise ventured. Between the prompts and the weekly pacing, I find that my writing is more coherent, more creative, and more personally satisfying. I’m writing frequently enough that I don’t lose track of my own story but not in so crammed a fashion that the plot spirals out of control. Also valued is the community online. I have three or four other writers I follow. Although I’ve never met any of them in person, I’ve gotten to know them through their writing and have enjoyed seeing their novels take shape. Our journeys and processes are all so similar yet so different. The interactions are entertaining, enlightening, and illuminating. I wholeheartedly recommend 52 Scenes for anyone wanting to establish a firm writing routine and strengthen their craft. 

Peggy Rockey, Sudha Prasad and Jan van Wyk

Susanne Bennett

Jens Grabarske

Monica Mapa

If you’ve ever wanted to write that big story in your heart but don’t know where to start, this is the challenge for you. With only a rough idea of my story, this was enough to get started. Having a weekly deadline pushed me to fill the page; and having a cohort of writers also writing their novel—their feedback and support kept me from giving up. I didn’t think it was possible to get as far as I have and this course made all the difference. As a professional copywriter by trade, one would think it would be easy to make time to write after work hours. If not for this challenge, I’d still be procrastinating. Stop thinking about your novel. Join this course and not only will you write it, but also you will finish it. Oh! And the fun you will have!

I would totally do it again.

Carolyn Bell

Jan van Wyk

Nina Heiser

Had I not joined the 52 Scenes in 52 Weeks Challenge, I doubt that Clarissa would have lived to see another day. It was the weekly challenges, the comments shared generously by an astute community of writers that allowed me to grow the first draft of my novel Tin’s Bended into a fuller work. A literary beach read, Tin’s Bended shows the evolution of a woman encountering herself.

I wrote the first draft years ago, packed it away in a desk drawer, then a moving box, and for a while a tote bag, moving it from Maine to New Hampshire to Florida, where thanks to Mia, and the community of writers she assembled, I, a reluctant writer, gave myself over to writing, finding the fun in it.

Having readers comment on a weekly basis taught me a great deal and instilled that reader in my head as I made choices. Those comments kept me honest, nudged me, and encouraged me to continue. The original manuscript changed some as I reworked the first half, but it was toward the final scenes, seeing the threads never tied in the original that I deviated from the original, creating new scenes with new characters appearing.

I would recommend this platform and this process to anyone wanting to write a first novel or improve a draft of one already written. The timing of the classes, which broaden your perspective on the art of writing, worked well for me. And the group writing sessions were a pleasure, putting faces to names and building a sense of camaraderie.

I have never been happier in my writing than I have been in this year of 52/52

Elaine Dodge - 52 Scenes, Charles Dickens, and Procrastination Dragons

52 Scenes was a Godsend! I’d been fiddling around with the novel for a couple of years. I’d even written the first few chapters. A light skirmish, nothing more. Advancing further into unknown territory was being impeded by the procrastination dragon jealously guarding the cave entrance! I had bolstered my weaponry with a very basic plot outline. I knew where it started and where it ended. Vital supplies of discipline were being devoured with glee by the motley beast.

I had once tackled the Beast of BTSOMP (by the seat of my pants) and vowed never to do so again. But that was a winged brute, with fangs. Intense plotting suits my battle-strategy nature. 52 Scenes forced upon us a different type of battle mindset. The final word limit of 80 000 words, and a weekly count of 1200 – 1500, meant spending the dark winter plotting was out of the question. Writing needed to be done. I couldn’t afford to run wild with a Cecil B DeMille size cast or a thousand sub-plots. The ferocious and devouring deadline was fast approaching. The urgency of the impending battle enabled me to write BTSOMP, and to stick to the ending. And now, thanks to 52 scenes, I have nearly finished my fourth book. It may become a series.

The idea that scattered across the known world, other writers were also hunched over their vellum, scratching out their tales by the light of earwax candles, a cat strapped to their shoulders for protection against imagination ghouls, was inspiring. As was breaking radio silence for feedback each week. It’s given me a new understanding of why Charles Dickens wrote serialised books. It has my vote.

Employing my short story strategy – only writing on deadline day – made the adventure more challenging than it probably needed to be. If the day had been a tough one fighting marsh monsters, bringing myself to the boil to create 1500 words, often needed more chocolate cake than I had in the tower. Especially when what the next chapter was about eluded me.

Although bog monsters sometimes kept me from attending each one, I enjoyed the classes and the writing sessions. Quite a different experience from writing books alone. I’m looking forward to reading the other writers’ final dispatches from the field.

Would I do it again? Hell, yeah!

Dedicated time set aside, no excuses, is the only way to get that book written. It also builds confidence and sharpens your writing weaponry.

Now, where’s that procrastination dragon?

Deryn Graham

I have been living with Fran for over ten years. She inhabits my head, has an entire drawer of my desk to herself and several gigabytes of space on numerous flash drives. Fran is the heroine of what has been a perpetual WIP. In December 2020 I  made 52 Scenes in 52 Weeks my last chance saloon to finish the manuscript. I never imagined I could do it and even had the 4 reprieves up my sleeve every week just in case. Surprisingly and thankfully, I haven’t needed a single one, and so, almost one year down the line I have those magic two words and six letters in my sights. THE END. 

My plot has changed significantly and definitely for the better, thanks to the many ideas and suggestions I received in the feedback from other writers. 

 

I have learned such a lot about myself and how far I can really take my imagination and creativity.  I have learned about the discipline of writing a whole novel. Yes, a WHOLE NOVEL! Well, the first draft of one…The entire experience has been immensely rewarding. I have also been following more than 10 other stories every week and dipping in and out of others, including genres I don’t usually read, so that has also taught me a lot about other people’s styles and approaches to writing. Well done to Nonie, Adam, Ben, Michael, Nina, Monica, Becky, Susanne, David, Lionel, Preston, Jan, Eva Maria, Marijo, Sudha, Anne…you are all amazing and you all helped me in some way. Oh, and special thanks to MIA!!!

Kathy Sanford

Susanne Bennett