This Thursday, August 13 at 7 p.m. MDT, StoryClub will be hosting an author Q&A with Brandon Mull, New York Times-bestselling author of the Fablehaven, Beyonders, and newly released Guardians series! A kinetic thinker, Brandon enjoys bouncy balls, squeezable stress toys, and popping bubble wrap. Brandon loves meeting his readers and hearing about their experiences with his books. You can learn more about Brandon's books on his website here. What questions do you have for Brandon? You'll also be able to ask questions real-time during the Q&A, but post any advance questions in the comments below 👇 Along with answering questions and giving general writing advice, Brandon will be talking about the upcoming film adaptation of Fablehaven by Angel Studios! By attending the event, you are also entered into a book giveaway contest to receive one of Brandon Mull's books 📚🏆 See you there!

I've been trying to get better at plotting and so I'm learning about different methods authors use to plot their stories before drafting. What is your favorite plotting method?

I'm writing the climax of my novel right now and I had to share with someone what I accomplished today. I was dragging my feet a bunch this morning to get up and write something because I've been struggling with this climax. I have all of these scenes in my head and I'm terrified about getting the feelings wrong because I want it to be pretty emotional. I was kind of letting my perfectionist voice speak up a bit in my head and it made me nervous. But I sat down and got to work and a little over two hours later I have almost 3k words written. 😱 Might not be the best writing (YET) but I definitely cried so emotional scenes for the win! Now I have just a handful of thousands of words to my goal and a handful of days till the deadline. I'VE GOT THIS!!!!

"I don't know what The Algorithm wants." This is the most common phrase I hear from authors trying to grow on social media. I have a secret. I know what it wants. The algorithm just wants people to stay on social media. That means it wants content that grabs attention fast, keeps it for a minute, and encourages them to stay for more. How do you do that, though? You tell me, you're the author. How do you do it in a book? How do you hook them with a great first line, make their tummy tickle in the first chapter, and get them to read 'just one more'? Don't worry about what The Algorithm wants, just give your audience what they want. Tell good stories.

Ok, @Zachary West @Eric Anderson @Angela Griffin @Jacob Oberle (and anyone else who wants to join!), you took up the gauntlet that was thrown down a few weeks ago... and now the time has come to act on the challenge 😅 So. This is my official, public, commitment. I am almost halfway through my initial story-level edit, and I have 52 scenes left. By the end of July, I am committing to having revised all 52 of those scenes as necessary, and be at least 8 scenes into my scene-level edit. That adds up to about two scenes per day. 60 scenes in 30 days. I'll stay accountable weekly here in the community, consistent with the rules of the 30K in 30 Days challenge, and I hope y'all keep me accountable!!! Excited to be writing with you through the summer chaos!