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Free 4-day novel outlining challenge · July 27–30

From Ideas to Outline

Get Your Novel Out of Your Head and Onto the Page in Just 4 Days.

with April Dávila

A free challenge for fiction writers who are ready to stop thinking about writing a book and actually start planning one they’re excited to write.

👉 Join the Free Challenge Now

All sessions recorded 45 minutes a day Free coaching call when you finish

It's not your fault

You’ve got a novel idea. But getting it onto the page?
That’s where things fall apart.

You were never taught how to build a story that holds. But that’s a skill, and it’s one you can learn.

Here's how it works

Daily 45-Minute Lessons

Each day of the challenge, join me live at 5pm PT to learn different ways of outlining, and reflect on which will work best for your story.

Downloadable Worksheets

Guided exercises will help you identify your main character, define the stakes, shape your structure, and organize your thoughts.

Recordings of Each Class

Can’t make it live? No problem. Sign up now and you'll get access to the replays, available throughout the challenge week through the end of the day on August 2.

Step-by-Step Support

Clarify your story idea, map out your plot, and build momentum with help from a mindfulness-based writing coach.

Free 30-Minute Coaching Session

Everyone who completes the challenge, submits their outline, and books a call by the end of the day on Sunday, August 2 will receive a free 30-minute, one-on-one coaching session. It's a chance to talk through whatever would be most helpful for you and your story.

Step by step

Days 1–4

Each day for 4 days, we’ll meet live on Zoom for 45 minutes.

Every session

You’ll get simple prompts and exercises to guide your thinking (nothing overwhelming or overly precious). Everyone thinks differently, so we'll look at multiple methods of outlining.

After the challenge

Submit your outline, and book your call by the end of the day on Sunday, August 2 to receive a free 30-minute coaching session, where we'll talk through whatever is most useful for you and your story.

Meet your instructor

April Dávila

When I first started writing I wasted a lot of time on things that I didn't need to do, classes that didn't really help, and books that never got to the point, but you know what? Over the course of a decade, I gradually figured out a lot of things and my mission now is to share those with you.

Give me a few hours of your time and I'll save you years on your way to becoming a published author.

👉 Join the Free Challenge Now

What writers are saying

★★★★★

"April has made a real difference in my life. I used to just hope I'd write my novel someday. Now, thanks to her, I know I will. She's given me the tools, and the confidence, to move forward with purpose. April took the unprecedented step of having us write an outline within a set word count, then gave each of us 30 minutes of feedback on Zoom, completely free. That offer, and the feedback itself, blew me away. Inspired by her, I'm now writing a full chapter and scene outline."

— Tom J.

★★★★★

"April's From Ideas to Outline challenge unlocked something in me that had never happened before. I've struggled with outlining for years, but this was the first time I trusted myself enough to get a rough sketch of my story onto the page. Submitting my (very imperfect!) outline and talking it through gave me a clarity I'd never had before. The workshop was the catalyst, and it was truly a game changer."

– F. Woods

117

writers

days

minutes a day

95%

closer to a useful outline

Over four days last year, 117 writers walked through the same story structure framework, character work, and plot mapping you'll get inside this challenge. When we asked them at the end of each session whether they were closer to a useful outline, 95% said yes. They came in with a spark of an idea and left with a map — the character arcs, the scene beats, the shape of the whole book.

That's what I want for you.

This is for you if:

You're working on a nove or ready to finally start one
You've got a story idea, but haven't started writing yet
You're not sure if you even want to outline your story
You've started but lost steam
You want structure, encouragement, and expert support to get going

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I can’t attend the live sessions?

Recordings will be available for the duration of the challenge week. You can catch up anytime before August 2.

What kind of outlining do you teach?

Every writer has their own process and every project is unique. To respect that (and make this challenge as supportive as possible) we'll be exploring different methods of outlining. You can write your outline using the method that works best for you.

Can this work for memoir?

Memoirists are welcome to attend — the outlining methods we'll explore translate beautifully to memoir. That said, this challenge is built for people working on a novel, so the free coaching calls are reserved for fiction writers.

How much time will this take each day?

The live class is 45 minutes. Homework assignments take 30–60 minutes, depending on your pace and how deeply you want to go. Everything is optional.

What’s the catch—is this just a sales pitch?

No catch. This is a value-packed challenge designed to help you outline your novel. I offer it for free so that writers can get a feeling for what it's like to work with me as a coach. If it's a good fit, we can talk about working together in the future, but I'm not into sneaky sales tactics. I only want to work with perfect-fit clients.

Don't miss out!

This is a limited time offer

The challenge will run for just 4 days. Recordings will be available during the week of the challenge, but they'll only be available through the end of the day on August 2, so make the time and take advantage of this free teaching.

If you write and submit your outline before August 2nd, you get a free, 30-minute, one-on-one coaching session where we can talk about whatever is most useful for you.

Hope to see you there!