Welcome, Wordsmith Warrior!
Real Indie Author’s Story Stamina System is based on the premise that your personality matters. It shapes how you prepare for writing, how you manage your motivations, and how you get your story written.
All productivity books state that the best way to make money writing books is through consistency and we agree. However, after having worked with hundreds of authors, I can say with 100% surety that not all author produce the same. Finding motivation and keeping it are two different things, but outlines help with both.
Not all authors use the same type of outline. Some need a lot of detail. Others need no detail. Some love structure while others find it constricting. Some authors need a lot of help on plot. Others struggle to write compelling characters that shine through on the page. And there are some who have been reading all the books about writing and book craft and think they’re not cut out for this because they just don’t think the same way everyone else does.
We waste a lot of time and energy trying to work the same way others do.
So, stop it. Start working in a way that makes sense to you!
Why Trust Me?
My name is Frankie Jo Blooding and I've been publishing books since 2002. I've won awards and I've been on the bestsellers lists multiple times.
My greatest joy, however, is working with authors and helping them share their stories. I'm an INTJ/INFJ, an Architect and an Advocate. What that basically means is that my core, I'm the type of person who needs to build others up. I build systems to help others succeed.
In 2017, I opened up Real Indie Author to do just that. I wanted to help my fellow indie authors grow their businesses and flourish. I thought I knew a lot about outlining and story structure, and I did, but I discovered that I didn't know everything about people.
I had more than one outline that failed. Crashed. Burned. Shouted at me at 2a.m. while I was still in bed. I couldn't figure out what was wrong.
Until I was on a phone call with one of my coaching clients and we were discussing how she's just different and how she can't yell at herself for failing to do what everyone else does when that's just not how she operates in the first place.
All kinds of bells went off in my head. I'd already been studying personalities for the work force, so it only made sense to apply that here. All kinds of people want to be authors and to write that one book.
So, I invested almost a decade into focusing on how different authors work best at different aspects of the writing path. That was the birth of the Story Stamina System.
4 Story Stamina Author Types
I’ve been working with authors since 2017 and helping them create their outlines and then write from them. They’re two different skill sets, to be sure.
I’ve discovered there are four different outline approach types, and have loosely determined where everyone kind of fits. You could be like me, though, and be right in between two. I’m an INTJ/INFJ, and it’s nearly 50/50. That makes me a Mythmaker and a Heartweaver, and boy is that the truth! I even sometimes have Wildscribe tendencies when I’m out of balance, but I never delve into the Lorekeeper realm. I wish I did. Can you imagine how many more stories I’d have completed if I was a Lorekeeper?
So, what are these four groups? Let’s find out.
Lorekeepers
Lorekeepers are rule followers. Their motto is, “If isn’t broken, don’t fix it.” They’re the authors that most of the books on storycraft are made for. They thrive on clear structure, giving them a solid foundation that readers find reassuring. Readers know that their Lorekeeper author will show up with new stories regularly and that their stories will be high quality consistently.
Lorekeepers, however, don’t always like the fact that they’re rule followers. They tend to hate this about themselves, thinking that it makes them boring! I’m a Forest in the AuthorEcosystem, so I understand this sentiment. I hate being a Forest because it means I’m a slow grower.
Lorekeepers are still wildly creative! They simply know how to use what works and make it continue to work for them.
Successful Lorekeeper Authors: Sigmund Freud, Mother Teresa, Tom Clancy, Ann Coulter, Dr. Phil McGraw
Mythmakers
Mythmakers oftentimes think they’re Lorekeepers, but get frustrated when they can’t write consistently. They get super excited to download the latest book on outlining or tropes or creating their 7-figure outcome. They gather all the systems and all the parts and pieces, but no one thing ever seems to work for them.
They loose motivation when they try to do what works for others. They have poor stamina when they try to walk the roads others have paved for them, no matter how great of an idea it is.
Mythmakers do best when they pave their own path, and that’s the point to keep in mind through all stages of the publishing process. They need to be able to control what compilation of beat sheets is used, what level of detail is put into which chapters and which chapters get basic or very little detail, and what information goes into the outline. Mythmakers need to be able to pave their path as they’re writing the book in order to stay excited.
Successful Mythmaker Authors: C.S. Lewis, Lewis Carroll, Isaac Asmiov, Mark Twain
Heartweavers
If there was ever a group of writers who loved being who they were, it’s the Heartweavers. They know the power of their stories. They understand how to craft amazingly character-centric storylines.
But they’re also one of the first to get frustrated with an outline. Outlines do more than map out where the story is going to. They also help you focus on the things that are going to slow you down when writing or motivate you when things are lagging. Standard beat sheets work well for Heartweavers, but how they’re used makes all the difference.
The Heartweaver’s strength is in character interactions, and their weakness lies in the nitty-gritty of plot. They can write tens of thousands of words of riveting conversation around a coffee table where the biggest action was cleaning up the coffee beans that spilled. Ask me how I know. LOL!
Heartweavers are extraordinary storytellers of character-driven stories.
Successful Heartweaver authors: Oscar Wilde, Dr. Seuss, J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, George R.R. Martin, Edgar Allan Poe
Wildscribes
Wildscribes are the ones who struggle with beat sheets, outlines, staying motivated, completing the book, or thinking they have what it takes to be an author. They struggle with consistency because for them, it’s all about the journey. A book written by a Wildscribe often feels amazing to the reader because how the characters get from one place to the next comes naturally.
They meander because they have to feel their way through it. Each day is a new experience that the Wildscribe has no idea how to manage. Why? Are they weak in that? No. It’s simply because they know they’ll cheat themselves out of a real experience if they try to cram themselves into a box.
However, there are still some amazing Wildscribes. Volume might not be the aim for the Wildscribe, but there are ways to help you be more efficient, effective, and consistent.
Successful Wildscribe authors: Ernest Hemingway, John Grisham, the Dalai Lama, Barbara Walters
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