the 90-day novel®

“Alan Watt’s The 90-Day Novel® is a treasure trove of insight, not only for beginners or aspiring writers but for grizzled old-timers like myself, who can profit, always, from revisiting the fundamentals and First Principles of the writer’s calling. Two thumbs up!”

“The 90-Day Novel® workshop taught me so much on so many different levels that I don’t know where to start. Al is not only a brilliant writing teacher, but a spiritual guide and that is what sets him apart from any other writing teacher. I don’t mean this in a new-agey way, I mean that he guides us to find the answers within – he gently nudges us towards our truth and it’s from that place that our stories emerge. I started the class with an idea – that was it, and I wasn’t even sure that it would work as a novel. 90 days later I have a story (over 500 pages) with characters who have come alive and have used me to tell the story of their transformation. I think in any other class it would have taken me years to gain the understanding that the last 90 days has given me. My characters have changed and so have I. I can’t thank Al enough.”

“I went $64,000 in debt for my MFA in creative writing. After taking The 90-Day Novel® workshop, I wonder why. This is a great class!”

“After publishing my first novel ten years ago, I became stuck in a cycle of perfectionism, procrastination, and self-doubt which left me feeling quite despondent about the prospect of ever finishing another novel. Al’s course, his assured but also gentle guidance and teaching have been life-changing for me. I did indeed finish a draft of a novel in 90-days. I NEVER thought it possible. If I can do it, anyone—with Al’s help—can do it too. When I have finished my current project, I will apply what I have learned, and this process to the two unfinished manuscripts I have buried in my computer files. I thought they were dead and now I’m already looking forward to working on them and actually creating a body of work. I’m so grateful to Al—he is a kind, smart, thoughtful, generous teacher.”

“The 90-Day Novel was absolutely instrumental in writing Ghost Girl, Banana because of its founding premise: that we relegate emotional truth at our peril. The stories that endure are both familiar and different, marrying the universal inevitability of structure with unique authenticity. If you have something to say, Al Watt will help you articulate it. I’ve yet to find a more intuitive, nurturing and forgiving text to guide you through the creative journey.”

“The idea of bringing a first draft of a novel to fruition seemed too daunting and overwhelming to even consider until I was introduced to Al’s 90-Day Novel® Workshop. His methodology is deep and precise, and helps unearth unconscious themes and characters in you that let the story almost tell itself.”

“The 90-Day Novel® is the most fun and exhilarating feeling I have ever experienced, like falling in love. Really, I never had this feeling before, not at Harvard, not getting my book published, I don’t even know how to put it into words. Al Watt is the best teacher I have ever had. Al, thank you so much for sharing what you know and your experience with me.”

“I went out and bought a book called The 90-Day Novel®, by Alan Watt. It’s ridiculous, claiming that anybody can write a great book, and quickly too. [. . .] But it ended up as a Oulipian thing, [. . .] it was actually interesting to conform to the rules.”

“I feared it would be a gung-ho course where I would be bullied into adopting certain rules — it was quite the opposite — a place where I could go and learn to trust my deepest subconscious to come up with the goods. I delivered [my] book on time, it’s selling well, CAA has picked it up — none of this would have happened with such speed and ease without Al. Take the course!”

“Al Watt provides writers at every level with a safe place to engage their creativity. Through a combination of in-class writing, queries into structure, and repeated one-on-one dialogues, writers gain access to the subconscious, where the emotional truth of story abides. Al gives his all, while allowing writers to discover for themselves the strongest possible path to a completed work. I couldn’t be more grateful.”

“Al Watt’s 90-Day Novel® is the ultimate gift to writers—an incubator for the stories you want to bring to the page from a place of emotional truth and from your heart. I wish I’d known about Al when I wrote my first novel. His mastery of story fills in the missing pieces and he guides you to your best work.”

“I resisted my story for five years, with “good reasons” to dodge the work. Al’s 90-Day Novel® class changed that. The daily letters, stream-of-conscious writing exercises and tales of the other writers kept me focused, honest and committed. It was liberating to write without reflexive rewriting – a huge change for me! I surprised myself every day. Especially the day I finished.”

“I couldn’t have completed The Count of the Sahara without the help of Al and the 90-Day Novel® program. The questions I had to answer before even starting Day 1 were incredibly useful in breaking down the structure, helping me envision the story, and creating the characters that are the heart of the novel.”

“Al’s 90-Day Novel® is the best writing workshop I have ever taken. The supportive nature of the class inspires and motivates you to write every day and to get to the true heart of your story. By the end of the 90th day, I had completed my rough draft (300 pages long) and developed a writing ritual that I have adopted for the rest of my life.”

“My first book, Reclaiming Konia, took me a total of 8 years from start to finish. In 2014, I made the best decision ever to take the 90 Day Novel ®workshop and what I couldn’t finish in 7 years I did in 90 days. Al’s class helped create a template that allowed me to pursue my writing in a way that was never possible before The 90 Day Novel®.”

“Al Watt’s marvelous courses have helped me in every aspect of writing. When you’re thoroughly confused by plot advice and character how-to’s, drop it all and run fast to lawriterslab.com. From in-person to telecourses, you’ll find something to clear the way to your novel, screenplay, play, memoir . . . whatever is your path, you’ll have a guide.”

“I couldn’t have written any of my books without The 90-Day Novel® and The 90-Day Rewrite™. Thank you Al for writing such invaluable tools. They keep me disciplined and in focus. I have recommended your books to anyone who has shown an interest in writing.”

“I discovered Alan via YouTube. His insights were so helpful I went in search of more from him and discovered this book. Wow! So different than other writing books and the most helpful I’ve read to date. The 90-Day Novel® has made a huge improvement in my writing in a very short time. And not only that; it has made the creative journey of writing so much more enjoyable. Try it. DO the exercises. Listen to Alan. Let your creative self go and inquire. You won’t be disappointed.”

“I never let myself dream of writing a novel. It felt too big, too intimidating, too impossible. I’d taken courses on craft, and everything I’d seen on novel writing felt like trying to stuff something creative and beautiful into a bunch of pre-set boxes. What I love most about free-writing was I can let my imagination go, but how could I turn that into a book? No one seemed to be able to tell me how, and even if they had, I don’t know that I would have had the confidence to do it. All that changed when I took the 90-Day Novel® workshop. It gave me a way to create structure and permission to trust myself, my writerly imagination. Al’s gentle guidance and repeated assurances to trust the process kept me going. I wrote every day, and by the end, I had a first draft of my novel! I’m delighted and eternally grateful!”

“Alan is a master archer. His Socratic questions are like arrows aimed at a bullseye. He has an intuitive sense for where a given piece of writing is asking for deeper attention and curiosity. I have an MFA and have taught creative writing for many years. I find his approach unlike any I have previously encountered. His teaching goes directly to the soul of a story. What is it yearning to express? How can it best do so? In every workshop he asks illuminating questions born of insight and compassion. Working with him for over a year has sharpened my clarity and given new shape and momentum to my work.”

“Alan Watt’s L. A. Writers’ Lab has changed more than my view of writing, it has changed my experience of writing. I now expect my body, soul, and spirit to participate in the daily habit of pen to page. And oh the wonders I have seen! As a result of Alan’s class, my own writing reverberates with a life source not there before. I have walked through a door into a more magical writerly life and my writing showcases the results. Thank you Alan.”