How to write a book using a step-by-step writing system!
Structure unstructurables and write a book readers will love.
*With your purchase, you’ll receive a year’s subscription when TYB’s Academy launches at no extra cost!
💬
“Put all those writing craft books back on the shelves! The Trellis Method is the foundation for new and even seasoned authors. Grant Ferguson breaks down the key elements of a story in easy-to-understand steps with visuals. I feel that I’m more equipped to take on my next writing project after reading and following the Trellis Method.”
— Courtney
Learn how to write a book step by step.
- Identify your chosen genre(s).
- Write and validate the story’s premise.
- Develop the story’s characters.
- Create and order the narrative’s main plot and subplots.
- Identify the external, internal, and philosophical themes.
- Create an outline and synopsis using the Story Beats.
- Write and organize the individual scenes.
- Self-edit the draft and get a professional edit to complete.
- Self-publish to expedite making your novel available.
- Reuse the worksheets to write your next book.
Write more!
Learn more!
Publish more!
💬
“Grant not only provides deeply helpful content to support and guide you through the writing journey, he’s also quick to respond to questions with on-target tips and practical assistance. He’s answered my questions and sent me many useful suggestions, and his genuine desire to help always makes me feel comfortable.”
— Kelsey
Great Authors Have Great Systems
Not finishing your novel doesn’t happen because you’re a poor writer, or lack passion, or don’t have dreams.
An unfinished manuscript happens when you lack a writing framework — a system — and that’s a tremendous problem!
I’m talking about the need for a personalized writing process — a prompt-based system that walks you through step-by-step from start to finish.
The Trellis Method’s easy-to-use worksheets will guide you through the completion of your first draft in record time and then help you self-edit your book.
You’ll learn the techniques of bestselling authors as you write, fulfilling your goal to write a book readers will love.
💬
“Everything he writes about is well researched and comes with many examples. Grant is friendly and easy to communicate with. He also uses visual illustrations to explain the concepts he writes about. Writing a book is a complex task, and as a visual learner, they are valuable to me.”
— Kristel
Learn How to Write a Book Based on Principles
Learn While You Write
There is no single right way to write a book. That’s why the Trellis Method teaches writing principles, not rules.
Exceed Readers’ Expectations
Go beyond the audience’s expectations of a familiar story structure and add in unexpected surprises designed to delight readers.
Give Readers What They Crave
The prompt-based worksheets raise awareness of what readers crave, while leaving you in control of the actual content.
💬
“Grant has been very helpful with his generously shared resources and helpful suggestions. He was able to encourage me to try Scrivener again, and with his aids, I was no longer overwhelmed. The resources range from where do I start to checklists for once you imagine you are done. I highly recommend checking out his offerings.”
— Susan
📖 The Trellis Method Book
The 105-page book breaks down why you need the story structure familiar to readers, and it include includes a step-by-step approach to completing your first draft, plus two valuable bonuses.
📔 Bonus: Glossary
The comprehensive glossary demystifies the jargon.
👁️ Bonus: Visual Aids
Those who benefit from infographics that break down but don’t dumb down a topic will love the many visual aids.
🧰 Story Genres Development Workbook
It’s your toolbox used to produce the details tied to a genre, fulfilling the expectations that transport readers to your story world. Includes the 48 page step-by-step guide. The worksheet prompts identify your genre’s conventions, key scenes, readers’ expectations, chief Protagonist’s goal, plot, subplots, and theme.
🧭 Story Premise Development Workbook
Generates a strategic guide for producing the story. Includes the 23 page step-by-step guide. The worksheet prompts turn an idea into a premise, recording your killer concept, storytelling approach, best lead character, and chief opposition. These steps evaluate your premise’s appeal to readers while you explore your passions and dreams.
⚙️ Story Characters Development Workbook
Shows how to create dynamic characters who react to plot events with realistic emotions. Includes the 59 page hands-on guide, detailed character example, reusable character template, 9 character type descriptions, character type identification, 130+ character flaws glossary, and visual aids.
🔩 Bonus: 1,100 Character Traits List
Populate your novel with fictional people who leap from the pages. I scoured the cyber universe and compiled 1,100 interesting traits and sorted into categories:
– Positive
– Negative
– Personality
– Physical
– Value, Moral, or Belief
⚗️ Story Plots Development Workbook
Creates the main and subsidiary plot events that take place within the story. Includes the 28 page development guide, weaves plot with subplots, and prompts for events, story problem, emotions, stakes, character details (e.g., focus, goal, issues), plot’s fulfillment of genre-established expectations, settings, secrets, and twists.
⚖️ Story Themes Development Workbook
Defines why the external, internal, and philosophical themes matter to readers. Includes the 11 page explanation of themes, amplifies how themes resonate with readers, and prompts for the genre-related external theme, character’s internal theme (i.e., the lesson learned and emotions craved by the audience), and the philosophical theme showing how the world really works.
🛠️ Story Spine, Body, & Beats Development Workbook
Use the 67 page guide and worksheet to outline and validate the entire narrative. For example, the Story Spine creates a snapshot of the basic story, the Story Body develops a synopsis of the overall story, and the Story Beats organize the plot events into familiar patterns expected by readers.
🎬 Story Scenes Development Workbook
The details collected in Phase I and II and used in III will help you make sure the plot events, scene flow, and actual content intersect to please your readers. Create your first draft of the entire novel using the 40 page guide and visual aids, creating scenes that connect one to the next, showcasing content that exceeds readers’ expectations, and flowing text in logical and engaging patterns.
🧮 Bonus: Scene Number Calculator
This spreadsheet enables you to estimate quickly the number of scenes for each Story Beat based on your chosen average scene size. This digital tool is handy for envisioning how you’ll organize plot/subplot events and genre-based key scenes within the Story Beat framework. The download includes both Microsoft Excel and Apple Numbers versions.
📚 Self-publishing Workbook
Self-publish your books using this 40 page ebook that includes infographics and a worksheet (RTF file) to gather the essential details.
💬
“A fabulous post, as always! The amount of depth and information you provide is so appreciated. I’m definitely taking notes! Even though I’ve managed to find some novel-worthy ideas, there are still those which I’m a little on the fence about. So thank you for the much-needed advice!”
— Damyanti
🏆 100% Guarantee
A 30-day-no-questions-asked refund guarantee. We suggest you complete the Phases I and II course materials. Then, if you find the course isn’t for you, let us know by email within 30 days of the purchase date, and we will promptly submit your refund request.
Note: The worksheets are in an RTF file format, readable and editable by most word-processing apps (e.g., MS Word, Apple Pages, Google Docs, Scrivener, etc.). The Story Characters Development Workbook module includes a Scrivener template (SCRIV file format).
💬
“If you have a dream of completing your first novel but struggle with structure, embark on your pathway to novel success with Grant Ferguson’s Trellis Method writing system. Its well-crafted manuals and comprehensive workbooks are the essential companions to guide you through every step, from nurturing your plot seed to confidently self-publishing your masterpiece. Grant’s easy-to-use approach takes the guesswork and frustration out of writing your crowd-pleasing novel and is therefore a must-have if you are serious about your writing journey.”
— Julian
Frequently Ask Questions
How much does this cost?
The introductory price is $36, and the bundle includes all the workbooks, worksheets, bonus materials you’ll need to structure unstructurables to harness the raw power of your passions and dreams.
☞ Our goal with the Trellis Method is to keep the price accessible while still charging enough to keep you accountable.
What is the Refund Policy?
The Trellis method comes with a 30-day no questions asked refund guarantee.
We want your Trellis Method investment to be 100% risk free. We encourage you to complete Phases I and II of the course materials. If you find the course isn’t for you within 30 days of purchase, we will refund 100% of your investment.
However, part of what makes the Trellis Method work is the financial accountability. If you do not engage with the course materials and complete Phases I and II, that would be like the farmer who plowed and planted a field, but walked away before the harvest.
☞ Email us within the 30-day of purchase date and we will promptly process your refund.
Why do I need the Trellis Method bundle?
When people write a full-length novel, they focus on one thing at a time at the cost of losing a sense for how everything will come together.
The Trellis Method helps you write a book readers will love by focusing on exceeding your audience’s expectations. You’ll use the prompt-based worksheets that clearly outline what matters to readers.
☞ And the process focuses on bring all the moving parts together to write a great story.
What if I’ve never written a novel before?
Then Trellis Method is the approach for you.
We tailored the system for writers new to our craft. In fact, many have never completed their novel’s first draft. And by the end, they’ve gone from never completing the draft to finishing a manuscript ready for polishing and publishing.
However, it’s not just for beginners. Several accomplished novelists shared how the Trellis Method served as their detailed checklist, giving them valuable insights and techniques on how they could add depth to their stories, especially during the editing phase.
☞ You will learn in weeks what takes most writers to learn in months, if not years.
Who is the Trellis Method for?
The Trellis Method is for you if your goal is to write a book readers will love based on your passions and dreams.
☞ It’s a writing system designed to teach you writing techniques as you write.
What’s the time commitment?
Life is busy and probably limits your time to write.
But by writing answers to the worksheet prompts, you will spend a handful of hours daily gathering details.
Then, after finishing the outline, the time to complete the first draft varies based on the length of the novel and your typing speed.
For example, writing an average of 510 words per day would complete a 50,000-word first draft in about 14 weeks. If you doubled your average word count to 1,020 words per day, you could finish that first draft in 7 weeks.
☞ Learning and writing daily is the highest leverage habit you can adopt!
Couldn’t I do this myself with the free content out there?
Well… you could. And I encourage you to try it! Because if it works for you, great!
But chances are, you’ve tried writing on your own before. And between the hours it would take you to aggregate and organize all the free stuff, the headaches you would have trying to write every day on your own, and the difficulty of figuring out how to apply the knowledge.
☞ Well, we think the Trellis Method will save you time while you learn and actually write, and it’s well worth the price.
Can this really work for me?
You might think… sure, this works for other people. But my situation is unique.
I can assure you, over the past year, writers of all stripes have written using the Trellis Method.
☞ No matter your background, experience, goals, competing commitments, interests, or special circumstances, the Trellis Method will help you finally create the first draft of your novel in record time.
What if I’m not tech savvy?
Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
We have students of every age, background, and experience level — everyone from tech whizzes to those who are just learning how to use computers. That’s the beauty of having workbooks and worksheets as guides, so you learn by doing (not just reading about writing).
☞ Each workbook makes sure you’re comfortable by explaining the terms, including why the narrative elements are actually story essentials.
How will you hold me accountable?
It’s our goal for every student to finish the Trellis Method successfully — which includes working through Phases I and II rapidly.
However, it’s your life and your time frame based on your priorities.
That’s why we send you emails of encouragement during Phases I through III. But we also recognize life sometimes impedes your plans. That’s why all the modules are on your computer, and you control the pace at which you work through each one.
Throughout the course, the worksheets serve as accountability mechanisms, and you’re invited to ask questions. Just hit reply to any of the emails.
☞ We believe goals serve writers, but never at the cost of losing the joy of writing.
Will this course help if I’ve already started writing my novel?
Yes, and in fact, you might be at an advantage.
The Trellis Method presents a new way of thinking about creating your first draft based on a proven story structure while using prompt-based worksheets to first gather the details before writing scenes. It’s a thought process about a story’s framework you’re likely not familiar with.
☞ Once you adopt this framework, you can apply it to your current writing, increasing your creativity and productivity.
What file formats are the workbooks and worksheets?
The workbooks are in the Adobe PDF file format.
All worksheets are in the RTF file format.
Also, the Story Character Development Workbook includes an additional copy of the Character Template in the SCRIV file (Scrivener app) format.
Reflect on this…
Now, wouldn’t it be magical to look back after a year has flown by, pointing to this exact moment, this exact decision, as the thing that led to an incredible, life-changing choice?
The Power of Passions and Dreams…
Imagine having outlined an entire novel, completed a first draft, polished that manuscript, and now you’re ready to hit the publish button.
Feels good, right? You’ve moved your writing from dream mode to a reality. A completely new personal trajectory, all possible by your decision to structure unstructurables and write a book readers will love.
And it can start right here, right now.
💬
“Using the Trellis Method to plot my lit fiction novel. I love how you’ve thought of everything writers need to consider!”
— Priscilla
Ready to start right now?
*With your purchase, you’ll receive a year’s subscription when TYB’s Academy launches at no extra cost!
Structure unstructurables and write a book readers will love.