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How Story Works

I'm Lani Diane Rich, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning podcaster, and story coach. The Year of Writing Magically cohort class takes up to 20 students every year and walks them personally through the process of writing a novel, screenplay, or other long-form fiction project, while I write and work alongside them. In the cohort class, I am personally available to guide these writers from idea to draft to done.

dear writer
Featured Post

My disagreeable heroine era

Hey, Reader. I think I may be entering my disagreeable heroine era. For the past month, I've been working as a producer for my husband's YouTube channel. I love it. I came up in video production, with a special love for post-production, and between the deep satisfaction I get creating order from chaos, and the fact that I have obsessively loved editing his next video, I have been falling into it like a soft bed. He leaves for work, I'm editing. He comes home from work... I'm editing. In a...

Hey, Reader, This is a story that seems to be about one thing, but it's really about something else. Did I ever tell you that I petsit? I arrange sits through an app (reach out if you want to learn more) and it connects petsitters/housesitters with people who would like to take a vacation and leave their precious furbabies with a safe, vetted person. Most of the time, it's awesome. I get to do cross-country drives and visit places like Los Angeles and Seattle and stay in nice houses for free...

Hey, Reader! I’m thrilled to share some exciting updates about the Year of Writing Magically 2025! I wanted you to be the first to know what’s new. Lower price Originally priced at $2,000, the full Year program is now just $900. That’s five expertly crafted modules, exclusive perks (including membership in my personal writing cohort), and a vibrant writing community—all for a fraction of the original cost. My hope is that with more flexibility, I'll get more people signing up, so if you know...

Hey, Writer! Before I say anything, I wrote a Dear Writer post yesterday that some of you might be interested in; it's about how now, more than ever, writers and artists are desperately needed. And we are. So if you're reeling and not sure what to do next, my suggestion is... make something. It doesn't have to be that big. Yesterday, I finished knitting a sweater for my eldest. I've been watching restoration videos from a YouTuber who reminds us that restoring is also making. I really like...

I created a new writing challenge on impulse. Which is kinda how I do everything. Here's the thing with me. I get ideas and... I just do it. That's how I started writing novels, it's how I started podcasting, it's how Chipperish started, and most recently, it's how the Year of Writing Magically started. And this week, while driving back from my writing retreat in Seattle (which was amazing) instead of thinking about the book, I was thinking about the Year of Writing Magically, and what a...

selective focus photography of pen

The story matters. But so does the experience Hey Reader, We focus so much on how the writing ends. With an agent, with a contract, with a bestseller. What we don’t talk about enough is how the writing experience is. Make your experience of writing better. First, sit with yourself and have a good talk with yourself about your fears. Look each one of those buggers in the face and say, “I acknowledge you. Now here’s a coloring book, get in the back of the van and stay as quiet as you can.” If...

Hey Reader, I get it. Signing up to be part of the 2024 Year of Writing Magically cohort is a big commitment. There are time considerations and money considerations and also the overwhelm of imagining yourself starting and finishing that long-form fiction project you've been wanting to write. So what if I told you that you could get the first Year of Writing Magically class, plus a PDF with a full Year of Writing Magically schedule laid out for you, no commitment? Tomorrow night at 8 p.m....

selective focus photography of pen

Your story matters. That's why you should write it. Hey Reader, I'm gonna be straight with you... last year, when I first came up with the idea for the Year of Writing Magically workshop, I had no idea if it was going to work. At all. I knew that I wanted to write again. I knew the value of community while writing. I knew that I wanted to share what I'd learned in the process of writing and traditionally publishing 12 novels. And I knew that there were writers out there who had stories inside...