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August 23-September 19th | $275
Novel Incubator
What's included
4 live sessions: Sundays at 1pm ET, recorded so you can rewatch
Office hours each week: Thursdays at 12pm ET for questions, troubleshooting, and feedback
One private 1-1 coaching session: a deep dive on your specific novel concept with me + 3 action steps to take
Before you write a single page, you need to know what your story actually is.
The Novel Incubator is a 4-week group program where we do the foundational work that most writers skip and then spend years trying to fix.
You'll leave with a killer pitch, a clear genre, a compelling story outline, and a concrete plan for writing your first draft, plus tons of mindset hacks to help you keep on track to finish your novel.
WEEK THREE
What's your point?
Your story needs a destination.
This week we clarify your protagonist's arc, the forces working against them, and the internal desire driving the whole thing.
WEEK ONE
Pitch your novel
Most writers start with a character or a premise. We start with a pitch: the four-element formula that stress-tests your story concept before you've built anything on top of it.
This will make sure you don’t get stuck at 15,000 words and never finish, or write 100,000 that doesn’t “work” in the end.
WEEK TWO
Genre + master list
Genre is where you find your readers.
We'll lock in yours, then build your master list: the 10 books and films that reveal your story's DNA in terms of theme, character, tone, and emotional stakes.
We'll also work on making your pitch “high concept” which is what catches the attention of agents and publishers.
Hear what others are saying…
"I learned so much about what it takes to write a story that works.
Every session helped me get unstuck in some critical way and helped me move forward with my writing.
Maureen relates the topics in a way that is better than what I have seen with past classes and other attempts to learn online. I appreciated the awareness of mindfulness and being nice to yourself throughout this process. The mental health angle Maureen has on this is really nice."
It's a very safe space to explore creativity.
Jim Pangburn, author of Collider
The Novel Incubator helped give me more confidence that I could take on a big project like this, and that it can be broken down into different pieces.
Having a stronger belief that I can write a novel was huge. In fact, that might be the most valuable thing I gained from the Novel Incubator.
The Novel Incubator helped me build focus on my writing, build structure, and build connection with other people for whom writing is important. That community aspect was a fantastic piece that maybe I wouldn't have thought was this key going in, but I really benefited from it.
I appreciate how Maureen is pretty vulnerable with us in the sense that she models what she's asking us to do. I think that eliminates some of this element of perfectionism. It's just, hey, this is part of the process."
Karin Isakawa, Novel Incubator student, Spring 2025 cohort
“Working with Maureen Wiley of Narrative Driven was one of the best investments I made in my writing journey.
When I came to her in 2025, I had a book idea but wasn't sure how to shape it into something I could actually bring forth into the world.
Maureen helped me do exactly that, with coaching that is practical, grounded, and encouraging. She gave me tools, accountability, and the confidence to take steps forward.
If you have a book inside you, she'll help you get it out and go further than you imagined.”
- Catherine Andrews, author of Tarot for People-Pleasers and Perfectionists: How to Use the Cards to Make Better Decisions, Set Boundaries, and Finally Trust Yourself, forthcoming from Hay House in December 2027
WEEK FOUR
Narrative drive
You don't need to know every scene. You need to know the cause-and-effect chain that makes your story move.
We'll build your outline around that, so you have markers to write toward.
