Fast-track your story setup

Nope! If you write happy-ending fiction about heroes who experience positive growth arcs—become better versions of themselves—through the events in your books, you can use this technique.

I do mention romance books a few times in the audio sessions, but the character growth arc is intrinsic to all character-driven fiction.

You get access to a private podcast feed where you can listen to me walking you through each field on your digital worksheet, step by step. 

The podcast feed is pre-recorded, so you'll be listening to my general advice on how to tackle these super important story planning stages.

You'll also get access to a course area with written lessons, and you can ask questions about the technique or concepts I teach there. (I don't give advice for individual stories, though.)

The audio walkthrough of your workbook is split into 4 separate episodes. The total listening time for the full set is less than 20 minutes.

I've also designed the exercises so that you can speed through them for your first "draft" of the 5 hero Moments in that same time frame (aim for 5-10 minutes per "lesson"). But keep in mind that not all authors work at the same pace, so don't be afraid to give yourself extra time. 

The first time you do the exercises will probably take the longest, especially if you are an introspective writer. Some students need much longer—one recommended planning for a "weekend" of workshop time—because their style is to go deeper on the story from conception. You know yourself best. 

Don't be afraid to set a timer and push yourself to get a super messy rough "draft" version of your hero's 5 Moments just go get you started. We're not going for perfect here. You can always revisit the workshop and improve on what you started with. 

Absolutely! You can find the individual audio episodes and their text transcripts in your course dashboard.

It looks like this:

Even if you aren't a podcast person (and don't have a preferred podcast player), listening to the audio walkthroughs is a breeze. They're embedded right into the lessons inside your student dashboard in my online university. So you can log in there to listen to them whenever you want.

The benefit of loading the audio coaching episodes into a podcast player is that you can listen to them anywhere—cooking, exercising, walking the dog, cleaning the house, taking a bath, however you get your creative juices flowing! This workshop does not require you to be at a computer to do the thought work.

If I hosted the 20-Minute Hero Makeover audio episodes on a public RSS feed, then yes, you totally could. 

But this series is private, so only the students who are officially enrolled in the workshop course will be allowed to access it.

If that sounds complicated, don't worry! It's super simple to use, and I walk you through it in your student dashboard. 

The $7 version only covers the 5 steps of the character arc itself, and it does not come with any extra coaching insight. It's most helpful for authors who already understand the 5 phases of the character transformation arc and just need a quick, easy place to do their brainstorming.

The digital workbook is a full workbook, and it walks you through a series of in-depth sanity-check and troubleshooting exercises. It also pairs hand-in-hand with my audio coaching episodes that you will get as a private podcast feed. 

Between the digital workbook and the audio sessions, I personally coach you through each decision step you'll need to make to plan the foundational pieces of your hero's story. 

Great question!

I introduce the transformation growth arc in many of my programs, usually with a snazzy graphic where we quickly flip through a short description of each of the 5 stages. I repeat this introduction so often because your hero's growth arc is so important. It is literally (and figuratively) the heart of the story itself. 

The 20-Minute Hero Makeover was created to work with Liar, Liar, Plot on Fire and all of my other programs that build on this central idea of the hero's psychological growth. 

Where Liar, Liar, Plot on Fire does briefly outline all 5 stages, it only focuses on stages 2 and 4, which contain the two important Plot Milestones that anchor your hero's growth arc to the external plot: The Opportunity and The Turning Point (because these two stages directly hook into your hero's Lie).

The 20-Minute Hero Makeover introduces the concept of your hero's Root Fear, the most crucial Character Core Value in your entire story. In the 20MHM, I help you start iterating on the Root Fear and give you a story analysis technique to troubleshoot it yourself. Liar, Liar, Plot on also touches on the Root Fear and gives real story examples for even more context.

If you get your hero's Root Fear wrong (or if you don't dig deep enough), every piece of the story you build on top of it will have to be rewritten. The 20MHM helps you dial in that Root Fear, and Liar, Liar, Plot on Fire helps you begin building the story framework that the Root Fear anchors.

So, while there is some overlap between the 20-Minute Hero Makeover and Liar, Liar, Plot on Fire, one is not a replacement for the other. 

Yes, definitely! Most of my story planning and setup techniques can also be used as strategic revision tools, and this one is a powerful addition to my existing offer suite. 

If you prefer to write your full story before starting any sort of edits, you can use the 20-Minute Hero Makeover as a sort of sanity checklist to know where to start revisions on your story. Just follow the same exercise prompts I guide you through in the audio sessions, and then look at how your results compare to your existing manuscript.

As long as this workshop lives in my online university, you can log in and access it. Some people call this "lifetime" access, but I find that confusing. Whose lifetime? Mine? Yours? Instead of saying "for the lifetime of the course", I just say ongoing access.

This workshop is a digital product, so once you have experienced it, there is nothing to "return".

I have a no-refunds policy for this program. If you're not sure it will be right for you, email me and I'll help you decide.

I'd be happy to chat about it! Email me at hi@suebrownmoore.com

My team and I answer most emails within 48 hours unless it's over a weekend or we're traveling. Please keep in mind that we are located in the Pacific time zone and keep daytime weekday work hours.