Chris Dugan is a historical fiction writer. Before he started writing fiction, Chris was a Navy Seal and published non-fiction author.
Case Study
The Situation: A Non-Fiction Author Turned Fiction Writer
After publishing a non-fiction book, Chris knew that he wanted to focus on writing historical fiction.
He had the discipline to write every day, but he knew that what he was producing wasn’t at the level where he wanted to be. In order to get there, Chris knew he needed help.
“In the carpentry sense, I was a framer knocking out two by fours when I really wanted to be a finished carpenter. I knew I couldn’t become a finished carpenter on my own.”
Chris was very good at creating a consistent writing practice, but he was having trouble getting the story in his head down on the page in a way that immersed the reader in his story.
Looking back, he says:
“I think I was holding myself back a little bit because I didn’t want to be boring.”
He knew that he needed support with his writing to truly tell the story he wanted to write. He didn’t want another writing course or workshop. He wanted someone who could diagnose what wasn’t working in his manuscript and give him the accountability he needed to fix it.
That’s when Chris and I started working together.
The Solution: Slow Down the Scene
When we first started working together, I would give Chris weekly assignments such as a reading on a specific piece of writing craft, or sending me a page implementing what we had talked about in our most recent session.
But Chris says there was one particular piece of writing advice that has really made a difference:
“The thing that would stick with me the longest is speed up the slow parts and slow down the fast parts.”
This way of thinking didn’t come naturally to Chris at first, and came up regularly in our coaching sessions.
“Because my novel has a lot of action into it, I had to be told several times, “Slow it down. Slow it down again. Slow it down again.”
Even when the coaching process was hard work at times, he never gave up:
“There are some weeks when we have a session and I think, ‘Wow, I really think I wrote something good.’ And I just found out it wasn’t that good. But those are really high yield sessions when you learn and accept something you hadn’t been aware of before.”
By focusing on accepting feedback and growing as a writer, Chris finally felt like he was gaining real traction with his story.
The Results: A Confident Fiction Writer
Now Chris doesn’t just have the discipline to write consistently. He has the skills to bring his historical fiction story to life.
By learning to slow down, he now approaches each scene by thinking about what will truly immerse the reader in the story.
“I think Seth helped liberate me to tell the story the way I’ve experienced it, the way I want to tell it.”
But the biggest shift isn’t just in Chris’ writing skills. It’s in his confidence as a writer:
“Regardless of what happens commercially, I want to write a really good novel.”
Chris knows that trusting himself and the writing process, and being open to feedback along the way, is helping him to create a better book than when he was rushing through the story.
If you’re a writer and you’re ready to get serious about your own novel, here’s what Chris would say to you:
“If you’re committed to the project, you have a decent work ethic and you’re willing to take constructive criticism, I think you’ll have a very good journey with Seth.”
If that’s you, apply for a Strategy Session.
