What happens on a discovery call?

A discovery call is a thirty minute chat about what you need help with. It’s very informal, and is like having coffee with a friend.

What will we discuss on a coaching call?

We will talk about anything you like to do with your writing. I use my experience as a creative writing tutor to both offer possible solutions to issues, as well as coaching you to understand why you are experiencing the issue and how we can move forward. I also set tasks outside of our time together so that you can work toward your goals. All our conversations are confidential.

Can we meet in person?

During Covid I am happy to work with your time zone and meet you on Zoom.

Storytelling – Rachel Grosvenor Author

Craft

Is Your Character Comfortable with Their Status?

Post author By Rachel Grosvenor
Post date May 4, 2025

Are You Comfortable with Your Status?

Oh, sorry, not you. Your character.

Let’s chat about it. Your character’s comfort in their status can say a lot about them. It can be a window into their mindset, confidence, and more.

Let’s explore this for just a moment (with an excellent example from How To Own The Room by Viv Groskop):

Your character is at a cocktail party. It’s a fancy, black-tie affair, and everyone is dressed up. Your character is wearing a suit, bowtie, and, it turns out, exactly the same attire as the waiting staff at the party. A peer walks into the room, looks around, and catches eye with your character. They go over, and instead of introducing themselves, they ask for a martini.

Now, pause for a moment…

What does your character do?

If your answer is that your character makes the martini, gives it to their peer, and laughs about it later with a friend, your character is happy with their status.

If your answer is that your character tells this person exactly who they are and that they should check themselves, getting irate, your character is unhappy with their status.

And so, if they’re unhappy with their status in society, in life, with their friends, what does this do to your novel? It creates a storyview* in which your character is prone to be the victim, ready to take offence, and quick to rise in temper. This, in turn, changes how you might introduce your character and what might drive your plot forward. Think of how they speak to other people (or dragons, depending on what you’re writing), how they dress, who they strive to be and where they want to go.

Could your character’s comfort level in their status be their sacred flaw? (Not sure what I’m talking about? Check out last month’s blog post!).

*Not a typo! Storyview vs Worldview is a concept explained by Jeff Vandermeer in Wonderbook – The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction, chapter 6.

Tags author advice, character, character arc, character status, characterisation, creative writing, dialogue tips, editing, fiction writing, narrative voice, plot development, prose style, Storytelling, worldbuilding, writing, writing prompts, writing tips

Craft

What Is ‘The Sacred Flaw’ In Writing?

Post author By Rachel Grosvenor
Post date April 4, 2025

Have you ever heard the term ‘the sacred flaw’ when talking about writing? It’s a common concept and one that is often discussed in writing groups. So, whether or not you have heard of it, let’s chat about what it is and what that phrase means.

‘The sacred flaw’ is a phrase coined by author Will Storr. In its simplest terms, Storr uses it to explain how to build a story as a brain builds a life. He explains that we understand reality by telling ourselves stories. (As a side note, this is the very origin of Creative Writing, the communication of narrative as a way to frame the world around us.)

Storr says: ‘We experience life in three acts, with a crisis, a struggle and resolution.’ (https://theelementsofwriting.com/storr/)

Storr goes on to explain an idea I wrote to you about weeks ago: the difference between character-driven stories and plot-driven stories. When writing a character-driven story, you begin with the character. Storr recommends doing the same to find ‘the sacred flaw’ of your story and then creating the plot around that character to ‘test’ that flaw. Essentially, we are trying to find your character’s ‘flawed idea about the world’ (Storr).

Here are some questions to help you discover a belief that your character finds ‘sacred’ (if you’re struggling to think of what this might mean, let’s use one of my favourite examples, Scrooge from A Christmas Carol. Scrooge mistakenly believes that money and wealth are sacred. The plot tests this mistaken theory throughout, ultimately giving him a different belief system by the end, where the very meaning of ‘wealth’ changes):

What experience might have given your character their belief? (For Scrooge, it was his childhood.)
How does this cause them to view the world? (Think storyview [how your character sees the world] vs worldview [how the world really is].)
How will you create a plot and series of events that challenge this belief, this ‘sacred flaw’?

At the heart of this concept is an understanding that the story is about the character’s journey and change.

So, now we know what ‘the sacred flaw’ means and how to find it. Tell me, what is your character’s ‘sacred flaw’?

Found this interesting and want to read more about this concept? Check out:

In Conversation with Will Storr

Tags author advice, characterisation, creative writing, dialogue tips, editing, fiction writing, narrative voice, plot development, prose style, sacred flaw, Storytelling, the sacred flaw, worldbuilding, writing, writing prompts, writing tips

Coaching

“Why Would I Need a Writing Coach?”

Post author By Rachel Grosvenor
Post date January 22, 2025

Have you ever asked yourself, “Why would I need a writing coach?”

If so, here are some possible reasons.

1) Having space held for you can change everything.

It’s not every day that you can expect someone to give you their full attention, and that’s fair enough. But when they do, amazing things can happen. Coaching is a wonderful experience, and it’s partly because of this. Having someone hold that space for you, listen to what you are saying without interruption, and ask the right questions can help you reveal solutions you didn’t even realise existed. A coach listens to your words without judgment in a safe space. This alone has helped me become a better, happier, and more fulfilled person.

2) Coaching can build on success, not just solve problems.

Did you know that coaching isn’t just for specific problems? Nope, coaching also builds on success. For example, you don’t have to be struggling with a writing routine or draft to hire a writing coach; you can also be having the most prolific writing period of your life and want it to continue. You could be finding yourself motivated every day to create and want to investigate the set of circumstances that led you there so that you can keep being your best self.

Coaching to build on success is a great way to invest in yourself. It’s saying, ‘Hey, things are going great, and long may they continue. In fact, I’ll make sure they do.’

I continue to invest in a coaching programme because I want to continue building on my success.

3) Having someone rooting for you can hold you accountable.

It’s not the deadlines a coach gives that hold me accountable; it’s the fact that they are rooting for me personally. Coaching is a professional relationship with a difference—you have someone on your team who believes in you and your progress. The thought of sharing my achieved tasks with my coach makes me happy because I’m excited to move forward with them in our next session, not because I’m afraid of missing a deadline.

4) Positive change starts with you.

Depending on what you opt for, you only have a coach for an hour or so a week or even a month. Outside of this time, it’s down to the client to make what has been discussed work for them. I spend a good few hours a week working on my action points and planning for my coaching sessions. Whatever it is, I make sure that I take responsibility for that positive change in my life outside of my coaching sessions. Coaching gives me the action points to work from, but the action comes from me.

5) Investing in yourself is about much more than money.

When you give yourself the opportunity of time, education, and accountability, investing in yourself becomes about more than money. It becomes about believing in yourself and setting yourself up for success. I made a private video around four years ago. It was me talking to my new coach about where I currently was in my business, life, and expectations. She was the one who told me to make it because it would be interesting to look back on later. Well, four years later, I’ve just watched it! It was amazing to see the growth of those years. I know that coaching helped me get there, and I am so grateful for that reminder of how far I have come.

Have you ever been coached, and if so, what did you learn? I would love to know, so share it with me today! And don’t forget, I open up my Discovery Calls in March!