What people say about April & Deep Story Design
“April is such a gifted writing teacher and guide! She has incredible insight into the mind of the writer and the habits, practices and attitude that further our creative work or hinder it. There’s no way I would be as far along with my book without April’s incisive suggestions, superb sense of plotting, and constant encouragement.”
“April’s coaching, gave me the tools, all the ‘superpowers’ a writer needs, but isn’t necessarily born with, to tell a story. I felt as though my work was being deeply read and understood, as though out of the blue I now had a mentor, Homer style, who would appear at the right moments and see into my mind and heart.”
“Every day-long writing retreat with April is an awesome day! An incorrigible procrastinator, I am always astonished at what I am able to produce by the end of the day thanks to her guidance, gentle prodding, and little nuggets of writing wisdom. Her measured but reassuring presence just inspires me to keep going— so much so, I now refer to her as my writing mentor.”
“I had avoided writer’s workshops because I found most of them to be “upside down,” essentially selling the idea that cramming technique and trickery into a story would somehow make it work. I discovered that April’s workshop was exactly the opposite, and exactly what I needed. April knows, from her many years of study and through her own extensive experience, that the truth of the story is already in the story. And it is already in the writer. Through a combination of intuition, wisdom, and soul-tapping exercises, April helped me find the truth of the story I was struggling to write, and to find the truth of the struggles I was experiencing as a writer. The result is an 80,000-word first draft, completed in three months, that is considerably better than the novel I wrote, and re-wrote, and re-wrote for two years.”
“April is a devoted and naturally gifted story midwife. Before I participated in the drafting circle, I knew I had a story to tell, but I was full of doubts whether I had what it takes for it to finally manifest on paper. With April’s profound knowledge on everything that concerns story, combined with her psychological insights plus the encouragement and the ongoing support the drafting circle provides, my story finally came to life.”
“April is a writer’s gift. She inspires from a known place in her own journey. Her advice is generous and specific and infused with the wisdom of her lived experience and knowledge as a story teller. I feel blessed to be working with April. She is a coach who offers more than good ideas and strategies. She brings a presence that targets the right comments that realigns you to what you need next. She is a magnificent group leader who steers the group so each one of us stays on track as she orients us to be faithful to our own writing journey. There is accountability, support, and inspiration. She is a class A delivery service.”
“April is the deep of Deep Story Design. She is a gentle Story Whisperer, so talented at what she does, with a remarkably deep understanding of story and a way of embracing the whole room with her generous spirit.”
“I’ve attended quite a few writing classes and workshops over the past four decades, but none has taught me as much or helped me more than Deep Story Design Online.”
“April has an exceptional ability to make the concepts of story design clear and practical. She is a passionate instructor with a firm grounding in the complex aspects of building strong stories.”
“I had the pleasure of taking April’s class in Paris. With each story aspect she discussed, huge light bulbs went off for me. I came away with a new appreciation for story, and particularly, for her take on story. She is very intuitive, and always pointed me toward deeper questions: Why do I want to tell this story? How can telling this story bring meaning to my life? How can that same meaning be conveyed to readers or audiences? She is one of the best writing teachers I’ve ever had.”
“April was sympathetic and empathetic to all the participants. Her enthusiasm was infectious in encouraging any form of good writing as a cathartic experience. Good writing, authentic writing, requires us to peel back the layers to something more believable and engaging. I can thoroughly recommend the workshop to fellow writers whether published or not.”
“After participating in her workshop on story, I was inspired, informed, and anxious to return to my writing to implement all I had learned. If you have an opportunity to take one of her classes, do so!”
“April has a wonderful gift for giving thoughtful, specific, very useful notes on writing projects. I recently had her read a draft of a feature script and she had a great idea for a new scene that ended up addressing several character and story issues all at once and it was a breeze for me to write it. She is intuitive, intelligent, articulate, kind, good-humored, very well-educated and experienced in the art of workshopping material.”
“I was fortunate enough to spend a week in Paris participating in April’s story workshop. She made the learning process accessible with a clear structure, fantastic notes and was completely inspiring. So much so that later in the year I had several hours of one to one coaching with April. Her knowledge, gentle strength and utter belief in my creative potential continues to carry me through a challenging process that I have struggled for years to extract on my own but which, under her purposeful guidance, is unfolding.”
“Last year, I published my debut novel, Grant of Immunity. The Publisher’s Weekly review of my novel referred to it as a “gripping read.” However, were it not for April’s instruction, guidance and insight, this novel would not exist. I met April after I’d written the first draft of my novel. I was at an impasse, realizing my story wasn’t working, but not knowing what to do to improve it. April read my manuscript. Her comments and analysis helped me craft my words into a credible and cohesive story. She has an extraordinary ability to spot structural flaws and suggest ways to correct and improve plot points. Through April’s guidance and examples, I learned much about adding emotional depth to my scenes, deepening character development and avoiding back-story pitfalls.”
“April’s Deep Story Design workshop exceeded my expectations. I have been struggling with my story and its characters. April’s devotion to clarity and deeper pursuit of writing gave me invaluable insights into improving my writing and making the characters come alive. She has a gentle and relaxed style in presenting her inspiring knowledge. I highly recommend her workshops.”
“April’s workshop in Paris was a delight. She takes a complex subject and breaks it down into more manageable parts. We had a clear programme at the outset and each session topic was covered thoroughly. Her content is immediately useable. April has a very nice easy, relaxed style when it comes to presenting her material. I can highly recommend April’s workshops whatever your level of interest in telling a story.”
“It was pure chance that I stumbled on April’s Deep Story Design workshop, and I’m so glad I did. She reawakened my belief in myself as a writer, and left me full of ideas on how to approach both structure and character design for a novel I’ve been struggling with for some time. Highly recommended!”
“Deep Story Design Online helped me to get clear about my story. The process, tools, and tricks helped me to free myself from writer’s block and dead-end journeys that waste time. April provides writers with an action plan to streamline and plot out their story matrix. She is a story wrangler.”
“There’s something slightly alchemical about the Deep Story Design Online process. Week by week, the lessons offered me new insights, or sometimes helpful reminders, surrounding the craft of structuring a story. I started having these breakthroughs with my project. As a result of this 8-week course, I’m raring to get down to creating the draft of that screenplay I’ve been tiptoeing around for so long.”
“Working with April on my travel memoir was an absolute pleasure. I took her class at the San Miguel de Allende Writer’s Conference, followed up with participating in her online class and then worked with her one-on-one on my story arc. April is a creative, sensitive reader, and gives very specific but gracious feedback. She is a pro when it comes to building an engaging story and I totally trust her advice. I’m not sure I ever would have finished by manuscript without her counsel.”
“April Bosshard is a wise Story Whisperer who has helped me finally shape my novel manuscript into a coherent A-Z draft, finally ready for revision. After almost two decades of wrangling with my manuscript and never able to move past the middle to the end, I was able to use April’s expertise on designing a story to feel confident enough to plow through a draft I feel good enough. She’s like a therapist who understands the human condition, not only with the characters within your story, but with you as a writer as well. Combining both April’s online Deep Story Design class with 1:1 coaching was exactly what I needed! I wish the MFA fiction program I graduated from years ago had someone like April. Her lessons, plus her thoughtful and insightful responses to students, are a gift that keeps giving long after the course is over. Highly recommended!”
“There’s something slightly alchemical about the Deep Story Design Online process. As I toddled along week by week, the lessons would offer me new insights, or sometimes helpful reminders, surrounding the craft of structuring a story; and the homework never felt onerous… but then, I started having these breakthroughs with my project. The lessons and exercises felt like I was merely chipping away, but suddenly a form started to emerge. As a result of this 8-week course, I’m raring to get down to creating the draft of that screenplay I’ve been tiptoeing around for so long. My deepest thanks!”
“Deep Story Design has given me an actionable tool kit to make a great story with. Though the course was a deep dive into the ways of writing a story that will resonate with the readers’ unconscious dreams and conflicts, as good story should. April is an intuitive, skilled and extremely generous story coach. Her wisdom shines though in the content and particularly in the ‘face to face’ mentoring online. She has given me exactly what I needed to take my writing seriously and evolve to the next phase. I wholeheartedly recommend this course.”
Are you using Scrivener yet? I've used this writing program for more than ten years and love it for drafting and revising my own manuscripts. Try it out with my affiliate link.
Newsletter
Monthly Inspiration Delivered to Your In Box