the 90-day novel®
FALL SESSION | SEPT. 14TH- DEC. 14TH, 2026
(14 live weekly classes)
suggested donation – $1,500
minimum donation – $750 until Aug. 27th
The 90-Day Novel® is a Live-on-Zoom workshop with Alan Watt that will take you from initial idea to the completion of your novel’s first draft in 90 days.
“What was impossible to accomplish in ten years becomes possible in 90 days, by accessing your subconscious.”
unlock the story within
Do you have a story you’ve always wanted to tell? Maybe it’s something you’ve been circling for years — starting, stalling, starting again. Or maybe it’s a fresh idea that lit up out of nowhere, and you’ve heard about how I help writers marry wild imagination to structure.
Either way, if you’re a writer you know this feeling: the wavering between excitement and something akin to quiet despair. You know you have a story. You can feel it. But when the words land on the page, they feel, somehow, earthbound.
Maybe you’ve tried other workshops and amassed pages with little shape to them, or sat in a critique group that was a little too “critique.” If you’re just starting, maybe the blank page itself feels like the obstacle — too many directions, not enough structure.
The 90-Day Novel® is about making a contract between you and your subconscious, the true seat of your genius. Your deep subconscious only stays fully engaged in a creative task for a limited window before distraction, fatigue, or your inner critic steps in.
The 90-Day Novel® marries the wildness of your imagination to the rigor of a process designed to protect that window. Your left brain is logical — it loves tasks. So I keep it busy with exercises it enjoys, freeing your right brain to move past your idea of your story and reach the bedrock questions driving your narrative. The 90-Day Novel is not about writing a polished manuscript. It is about getting to the end of your first draft. There is no pressure to perform. Just a safe, structured space to birth the story you have always wanted to tell.
“You’re not the author, you’re the channel.”
about the workshop
live on Zoom
We meet once a week in a LIVE Zoom call on Mondays from 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. (Pacific Time), for 14 consecutive weeks. (I’m always on fifteen minutes early to hang out and answer questions.) The lab is a safe and supportive environment for your imagination to soar. The workshops are a combination of craft lessons and stream-of-consciousness writing exercises. Each workshop ends with clear instructions on your homework for the week. If you can devote two hours a day, you will have a first draft of your novel completed by the end of 90 days.
watch the class anytime
You are not required to take the workshop live. Many writers have day jobs or commitments during class hours, or sometimes life just gets in the way, therefore all of our sessions are recorded and are available until three weeks after the end of class.
Q & A
Every workshop ends with a review of your homework, followed by a Q&A where I answer all of your questions. This is a time to gain clarity on the principles discussed. The goal is leave each session with a basic confidence in where you are heading for that week.
daily letters
Every morning a daily letter lands in your inbox. The letters were developed over the course of several years, and are a day-by-day guide through the process. Writers often comment on the synchronicity of the letters — on how they seem to meet you right where you are. While the letters focus on craft, they are also a response to the uncanny uniformity of experience shared by the many writers who have taken the 90-day journey before you.
community
The group forum is where you connect with your fellow classmates to share your experiences, hold yourself accountable, and take part in the daily discussion topics. Over the course of 90 days we discover that we’re not alone – that our private struggles are universal and often provide clues into the world of our story.
one-on-one story consults
Over the course of the 90-day workshop I offer one-on-one story consults to current students where you can send me your three-page outline and I review it, make notes, and help you explore the most dynamic and compelling way to tell your story. There are a limited number of spots for this service. One-on-one consults are available at a special discount to writers paying the suggested workshop donation price. Consults are normally $650 (or $325 with the special discount — 50% off the regular price).
want a breakthrough right now?
In this free 90-minute video, I’ll lead you to a deeper understanding of your novel by guiding you through the process of marrying the wildness of your imagination to the rigor of story structure.
“Over 80,000 writers have taken the 90-day journey.”
why writers love 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 alanwatt.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 has changed more than my view of writing, he 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.”
“When I’d only recently had the seed of the idea for what would become my speculative, humorous novel The Distractions, a friend told me about The 90-Day Novel. As a writer who had spent years slogging through drafts of previous books, writing hundreds of pages only to throw it all away, having a draft down in three months sounded so refreshing. On starting, I noticed immediately how the character exercises, deep thinking, and daily work the 90-Day Novel asks of us writers helps streamline a messy, challenging process into inquisitive fun, allowing for a perfect balance of structure and flexibility. While my finished book has come a long way from that first 90-day draft, it could not have become the story it evolved into without it. The method stretched my imagination to no limit and helped me evolve my craft. Thank you!”
“Al Watt’s help, guidance and direction is the reason I was able to write, finish and publish my first book, The Three Mantras. His workshop covered everything I needed to become a first time author. His encouragement and support helped me overcome my insecurities of not being a writer by nature and he laid out a simple plan for how I could compose and write my novel. I can’t recommend Al enough to anyone who is interested in writing a novel, screenplay or short story. “
the 90-day novel®
suggested donation – $1,500
minimum donation – $750 until Aug. 27th
on a budget? audit The 90-Day Novel®
who is the 90-day novel® for?
- Anyone who has ever wanted to write a novel
- Anyone who is midway through a first draft and feeling stuck
- Anyone who loves to write but thinks long-form fiction is something other people do
- Anyone who gets excited about a story idea but struggles to get it onto the page
- Anyone who has been published but has lost confidence and is seeking some creative rehab
- Anyone who has been criticized or discouraged and has lost faith in their ability
- Anyone who gets distracted and is seeking accountability, guidance and support
- Anyone who is looking for a safe place to explore without fear of criticism
- Anyone who is looking for a place to go deep, go wild, and allow their imagination to soar
the 90-day novel® schedule
weeks 1 through 4
The first four weeks is where we allow an outline to emerge. Since the purpose of story is to reveal a transformation, your job as a storyteller is to track the essential beats of your protagonist’s inner journey in a compelling and truthful way that leads to their transformed state. The workshops begin with a brief lecture and are followed by stream-of-consciousness writing exercises designed to take you to the heart of your story. I work one-on-one with writers to illustrate the story principles and over the course of the first four weeks an outline emerges as you begin to discover that by investigating your characters’ experiences, plot naturally emerges to support those experiences. As I always say, story is alchemy – it is only through the pressure of your antagonists that your protagonist can be transformed.
weeks 5 through 12
Over the next nine weeks you will write the first draft of your novel in a modular fashion. There is nothing formulaic in this approach. It is organic and freeing. It’s important to remember that there are no rules in creating a story – only principles – and that everything you imagine belongs in your story when you distill it to its nature. Armed with an outline, you’re now free to trust your characters. An outline is not something to be strictly adhered to, but rather a roadmap that allows you to stay connected to your deepest impulses without veering so far afield that you forget why your characters set out on this journey to begin with.
transformation/integration
The final two sessions focus on integration and transformation as we explore and track your protagonist’s journey to their transformed state. This journey is often surprising, sometimes scary, and ultimately liberating as you discover and dramatize the truth of your protagonist’s experience.
In the final session we celebrate the marathon you have just completed, followed by an in-depth conversation about next steps. If you have not quite completed your first draft (it happens – sometimes life gets in the way), we discuss a realistic timeline, plus accountability measures and supports to ensure your success. Whether it is the 90-day novel or the 97-day novel, the goal is to get to the end before going back and rewriting.
