[Before I dive in, a quick content warning: the podcast does include some strong language.]
What is Couch-to-80K?
Couch-to-80K is a FREE online writing course by Tim Clare, who presents a regular writing podcast called Death of 1000 Cuts. (Disclaimer: I haven't listened to any actual Death of 1000 Cuts.) It takes you from the barest minimum all the way through to writing scenes for an actual novel.
This is what the Couch-to-80K page says about who it's aimed at:
Would you like to write a novel? Do you have ideas for stories but low motivation or self-confidence? Have you been writing for years but lately you’ve been feeling burnt out, and the fun has gone? Would you like to write more but you can’t find the time or energy? Would you like to do a writing course but you don’t have the money?
The course is entirely in podcast form. It is 8 weeks long, with 6 episodes each week (allowing for one day off a week), although you don't have to actually spend 8 consecutive weeks on the course - it's fine to have more days off, or leave gaps, or skip the days off. Each episode is around 20-30 minutes long, and includes a 10 minute section where Tim shuts up and you... WRITE! This means you can't wriggle out of doing the exercises - the time for writing is built right into every episode!
My Experience
Eight weeks ago, I was pretty squarely in one of Couch-to-80K's target demographics: I've been writing since I was, like, seven, but in the last couple of years, I've been feeling really down about my writing, and that's been getting in the way of my actually doing any. I'd just finished writing a second draft of a novel, which I felt was actually worse than the first draft, and I had zero ideas for what to work on next, so I was about as down in the dumps about writing as could be!
A guy in a writing group I go to had mentioned Couch-to-80K, so I looked it up. And I thought, Well Why Not?
The result? The last eight weeks or so have been some of the best I've felt about writing in literally years.
The host, Tim Clare, is wonderfully friendly and chatty, and comes out with some off-the-wall ideas and comments that make me laugh, which helped me feel at ease listening to the podcast. The fact it was a podcast, with someone talking to me, meant I was much more likely to keep it up than if it had just been blog posts - I actually got up a little early every day to fit it in! The exercises are short and sweet, which makes them feel really manageable, and Tim's attitude is a caring, accepting one: he doesn't want you to guilt yourself into writing, and that feels good.
Overall, I absolutely loved this course. I've been recommending it to all my offline writing friends since Week 1, and now I'm recommending it to you, too!
Week-By-Week Breakdown
The Couch-to-80K page doesn't go into a lot of detail about what to expect each week. I thought that was great - I just dived in with no expectations, and had a great time! But, if you'd like to know a little more before you start, I've written up a brief summary of what each week covers. Under a spoiler so you don't have to read it if you'd like the surprise!
Spoiler! :
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