five months to
write your book
Are you ready to finally tell your story?
Have you been dreaming of writing your book?
Have you started but don’t know where to go with it?
Have you already finished your draft but feel like you need a space to workshop your book?
Because if so, Five Months to Write Your Book is the space to begin.
In this five-month course, we will work through the building blocks of developing and writing your book. Five Months to Write Your Book begins on Thursday, March 19th and goes through July 9th. Sessions are from 10:00am-12:00pm PST every other week with a total of nine bi-weekly two-hour group workshops, eight one-hour creativity sessions, and two 30-minute private coaching with a Big Five book editor. Classes are recorded and private sessions are offered between live workshops.
Upgrade for more private coaching and five one-on-one hour-long sessions with NYT-bestselling editor and LA Times bestselling author Kristen McGuiness. Five Months to Write Your Book begins on Thursday, March 19th and goes through July 9th. Sessions are from 10:00am-12:00pm PST every other week with a total of nine bi-weekly two-hour group workshops and eight one-hour creativity sessions to help you craft your story. Classes are recorded and private sessions are offered once a month.
Upcoming Session
19 MArch 2026 - 9 July 2026
Sessions are from 10:00am-12:00pm PST/1:00pm-3:00pm EST Thursdays every other week.
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What can you expect from five months to Write Your Book?
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Month One
Develop Your Story
In this first month, we discuss and develop your story, determining your message, confidence, and genre. By the end of the month, we create a rough outline for each book, guiding your writing journey over the next four months.
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Month Two
Develop Your Plot
In this month, we focus in on the people, places, and action that create the whodunit of your book, determining what happens and how you should share about it, how to handle problematic characters (and people!), and discussing the ever important need for dialogue.
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Month Three
Develop Your Narrative
We begin to establish the mechanics of your story, crafting your reflective voice, and determine the best choices around plot, polemic, poetics, and personal reflection, creating not just an engaging story but an inspiring and important message.
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Month Four
Develop Your Structure
Wait? Structure? Shouldn’t we start there? Actually, no. We give everyone a few months to find their voice, figure out the action, determine the characters, and then begin to develop the best ways to organize and structure their story.
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Month Five
Develop Your Strategy
In our last month, we go over the editing and querying process, helping writers determine the best plan, timeline, and strategy to get their books done and submitted to agents and publishers.
“Publishing with Rise has been a deeply personal journey, being welcomed into a family that genuinely cares about books and the authors that birth them.”
— Maggie Boxey, author of The 3 Things (Rise Books, 2024)
Find the community and creativity to finally write your book
Author and publisher, Kristen McGuiness
Five Months to Write Your Book is where you move from fantasy to first draft. Every other week, we gather for live group coaching sessions where your pages are read, shaped, and strengthened through thoughtful feedback and strategic direction.
On alternating weeks, we enter creative space together. Each session includes live craft lecture, focused free writing, and breathwork to steady your nervous system and reconnect you to your voice. In rhythm. In practice. In motion.
Throughout the program, you’ll receive carefully designed worksheets, prompts, and structural guides to help you outline your book, shape its architecture, and draft with intention.
Five months. A real manuscript. Write Now.
DEFINE YOUR VISION.
WRITE YOUR PAGES.
DEEPEN YOUR CRAFT.
FIVE MONTHS. ONE BOOK.
Worksheets and Prompts on…
01
DEFINING YOUR
BOOK’S CORE
Clarify what you’re actually writing — and why it matters. We’ll help you refine your central premise, reader promise, and narrative throughline so your book has direction from page one. A strong draft begins with a strong spine.
02
DRAFTING YOUR STORY OUTLINE
Using guided prompts and structural frameworks, you’ll map your chapters, define your arc, and create a working table of contents. This outline becomes your drafting compass — flexible, but intentional.
03
WRITING IN RHYTHM
Through bi-weekly coaching and alternating creative sessions, you’ll establish a sustainable writing practice. Live craft talks, free writing, and breath work help you access clarity and momentum so the pages keep building.
04
STRENGTHENINg YOUR CRAFT
You’ll receive focused craft talks and tools, including: pacing and narrative momentum, character development worksheets, scene structure and emotional arc guidance, and revision frameworks. This is where your writing deepens and sharpens.
05
TRACKING YOUR PROGRESS
Stay accountable with: a chapter tracker, structured outlining prompts, drafting worksheets, and weekly writing benchmarks. No more guessing where you are. You’ll see your book taking shape in real time.
06
PREPARING FOR NEXT STEPS
When your draft is complete, we equip you with: query letter samples, agent resources and submission insights, and guidance on positioning and pitch. Whether you pursue traditional publishing or another path, you’ll understand your options and how to move forward strategically.
Upcoming Session
19 MArch 2026 - 9 July 2026
Sessions are from 10:00am-12:00pm PST/1:00pm-3:00pm EST Thursdays every other week.
Have you been dreaming of writing your book? Have you started but don’t know where to go with it? Have you already finished your draft but feel like you need a space to workshop your book?
Five Months to Write Your Book is a fun and engaging deep dive for those who are ready to start THEIR path to publishing.
Classes are offered live and recorded (with two private sessions) and include craft talks, live feedback, deep content development, and most importantly, a writing community to support your work, offering accountability, friendship, and the push we all need to just keep writing!
In addition, all writers will have the chance to do two private sessions as we work through your book in and outside of the group.
Are you finally ready to get serious about that book you’ve been writing? Because if so, Five Months to Write Your Book is the space to begin.
We can't wait to help you get there!
“Rise Literary helps and allows an author's highest voice to come through. If you are looking for a collaborator - someone brilliant and funny - Kristen is your person and Rise Literary is the place to be! They are book doulas in the highest form.”
— Christopher Rivas, author of Brown Enough (Row House Publishing, 2022)
Your story has the
power to disrupt the world.
It’s time you tell it.