You know something’s wrong with your story.
You just can’t figure out what...
Find the ONE story problem making everything else feel off—even if you’ve already revised, gotten critique feedback, can't finish, or spent years trying to make this manuscript work.
You've studied the craft.
After taking notes and watching writing videos, you've rewritten whole chunks.
You've moved scenes around. Started in more action. Ramped up your stakes and pacing. Followed ALL the advice.
You even reworked your plot and worldbuilding—and axed several darlings...
Yet your story still doesn't feel like the one you imagined.
...The one you've been living inside your head for the better part of a decade (...or two).
...The one with characters that should be just as real on the page (but they only feel hollow.)
...The one you want your readers to love as much as you do (if you could ever get it to publication...).
AND IT MAKES YOU WANT TO ROAR
You wonder if the problem is character, so you deepen character.
Then you realize your real issue must be structure. So you look at another beat sheet.
You ask beta readers, but everyone says something different. Now it feels like everything is a problem and you don't know who to believe.
But another rewrite isn't going to fix it.
Not for any lack of you trying...
That was never the issue. But because diagnosing the root of your story problems from inside your own story—your own planning documents or manuscript—is incredibly difficult.
"Too close to it" is an understatement.
You're in it so deep that you can't separate the emotion that exists for you from what's actually on the page. As well you should be as the god of your story!
You know all the worldbuilding under the surface that didn't even make it into the story (...or did it? It's hard to remember at this point...). And you're still holding onto that extra relationship-building scene in your mind even though you understand that it probably doesn't do enough for the story progress.
You're aware of how your brain fills in the gaps that readers won't be able to get. And you know you need outside perspective on your story. You've been trying to get that too.
But it's not that simple when it's hard to find knowledgeable volunteers or get any kind of consensus from them about what's actually not working when you do.
But what if you could get a read on what's not working?
Despite the stomach-dropping way it feels to contemplate it...
The hard part is NOT rewriting.
When the domino of one change starts tipping over all the other dominoes in your story, it becomes one chronic rewrite stage after the next. You're afraid of burning out on this story you had such hope for. One unclear character motivation makes your pacing feel slow, and addressing that missing foundation alters a plot event that topples into every scene afterward...
But rather than having to tediously rework drafts and fix each new "little" problem that arises because you tried to solve another one, you would know how to get to the heart of all the overwhelmingly endless issues from the start.
The hardest part is knowing what needs to be rewritten.
Your next writing session feels like progress:
You don't get that same shameful tightness in your chest just attempting to pluck up the nerve to tackle this story yet again, longing for some sense of real progress. (Or initiating the task of opening the document in the first place...) Your perpetual state of "stuck" is —r e l e a s e d—.
Breathing easier, you feel energized. Empowered, even! You're excited about your story in a way you sorely missed from the early days when it was all possibility instead of a tangle of dread and anxiety about making it work.
You're falling in love with your story all over again.
Somehow, you find you didn't get up from your desk to open the pantry cupboard a half-dozen times just in case inspiration might strike through chocolate. You didn't even end up cleaning your house instead!
Because for once, you don't have to avoid the discomfort of not knowing what to do when you sit down at your keyboard...
This time, you know what your story needs.
You finally understand if it's your structure or character. You know what scenes to keep or adjust. The chronic overhauls grind to a halt now that you're rooting out the cause of the problem instead of knocking over its many symptoms.
Your writing has direction, purpose. And you have more confidence that you're not just wasting more time with nothing to show for it.
Introducing Story Diagnosis
A 90-minute live diagnostic session for science fiction and fantasy novelists who know something feels off—but can’t identify what.
You do not need more writing advice.
You need to understand what your story is actually doing.
Story Diagnosis is designed to answer one question:
What's the most foundational, meaningful change most likely to make the biggest story improvements?
This isn't a grammar edit.
You don't need a million little surface fixes when you know that's not the thing keeping your story from feeling like the one in your head.
It's not just one more opinion.
You've had plenty of those. And they don't seem to get what you're trying to do with your story. They're all based on personal preferences—not your vision.
Nor is it generic beta feedback.
We're looking for the thing under the thing. So it's going to have to get deeper than "it was good" or "I liked it" and actually discover the pattern beneath.
So you can finally make progress on your story by moving forward intentionally.
Before Your Session
You’ll complete a focused intake designed to surface the strongest clues.
You’ll submit:
✓ Story summary
✓ Project goals
✓ Current stage (planning, drafting, revision)
✓ Where you feel stuck
✓ Previous writing experience or feedback
✓ Premise
✓ Theme
✓ Character transformation
✓ Character corrupted truth
✓ First 1,000 words
That’s enough to start identifying patterns. No full manuscript required. ...But also no waiting months for edits!
During Your Session
For 90 minutes, we’ll work together live. We’ll look for patterns across four diagnostic areas:
Story Premise Clarity
What experience is this story actually promising? Genre expectations.
Premise.
Focus.
Reader expectations.
Character Engine
What creates movement?
Desire.
Stakes.
Internal tension.
Transformation.
Emotional Connection
Why should readers care?
Interiority.
Emotional consequence.
Reader investment.
Narrative Alignment
Is everything reinforcing the same experience?
Theme.
Structure.
Opening.
Internal and external alignment.
We’re not trying to find every issue. We’re identifying the issue creating the greatest ripple effects.
You'll Leave With:
✓ A diagnosis statement
Clear language describing the root issue we identified.
✓ One example of how it’s affecting your story
So you understand the pattern—not just the symptom.
✓ Your highest revision priority
Where to focus next.
✓ A recommended next step
Whether that means self-revision, implementation support, or something else.
Plus:
✓ Session recording
✓ AI notes (lightly reviewed)
✓ Revision Depth Guide
Story Diagnosis
90-minute live session
Prep guidance
Session recording & notes
Revision Depth Guide
$197
