Book Boot Camp 1:
Craft
Four days of live, hands-on training where you'll learn to think like a story architect — mastering the craft fundamentals that make readers turn pages past midnight, and learning to direct AI like a professional instead of hoping for the best.
AI can write a book in a weekend. But can it write a good one?
You've seen the promise: "Write a novel in 48 hours!" And maybe you've tried it. You fed your idea into an AI tool, got 50,000 words back, and thought — done.
Then you read it. Flat characters. Predictable plot turns. Dialogue that reads like a committee transcript. Pacing that drags through the middle third. Phrases like "hits like a physical blow" and "words tasted like ash" — the telltale signs of AI-generated prose.
Here's the uncomfortable truth: AI mirrors what you teach it. If you don't understand story structure, character arcs, and pacing at a craft level, no prompt will fix that. The authors earning real money right now aren't using fancier tools — they understand craft deeply enough to direct the AI.
That's the skill this boot camp builds.
Four days. Four pillars of craft.
This is a live, interactive boot camp — not a course you'll bookmark and never finish. Coral teaches every session in real time, demos the tools live, answers questions as they come, and works through real examples with the group.
The foundation everything else is built on. You'll work through story structure fundamentals — the 3-Act Model, scene vs. story arcs, and the mini-beats that drive commercial fiction. Then you'll map character arcs using the Desire → Wound → Change framework and learn how to prompt AI to generate conflict maps, internal vs. external tension, and emotionally layered scenes.
Coral demos the difference between "lazy" AI prompts and craft-driven ones — showing side-by-side how the same scene transforms when you know what to ask for. You'll leave Day 1 with your Story Seed: a concept that's not just interesting, but has genuine market potential in your genre.
How to write to market without selling your soul. You'll learn Coral's Trope Stacking method — layering core, situational, emotional, and market tropes to create story concepts that feel fresh while hitting genre expectations. Then you'll build the three documents that power every book: a Premise, a Codex (your book's creative bible covering voice, world rules, and character DNA), and a full 15-Beat outline.
From there, Coral shows how to prompt AI for first drafts that actually sound like you — not generic chatbot prose. You'll see how different tools (Claude for emotional nuance, ChatGPT for structure) produce very different results, and how to choose the right one for each stage of your draft.
Your first draft is never your final draft — and this is where most authors get stuck. Coral walks through the 4 layers of professional editing: developmental (structure, pacing, arcs), line editing (voice, rhythm, tone), copyediting (grammar, clarity, polish), and proofreading (final clean-up). For each layer, you'll learn exactly which AI tools to use and what prompts get real results.
A major focus: eliminating "AI-isms" — those telltale phrases and patterns that signal machine-generated prose to experienced readers (and Amazon's algorithms). Coral also covers the Reframing Editing mindset, turning editing from something you dread into the step that actually makes your book stand out from the flood of AI content.
Coral demos the entire editing pipeline live, start to finish: running a manuscript through Marlowe AI to benchmark against top sellers in your genre, using Claude for developmental edits, stripping AI-isms with targeted removal prompts, polishing in ProWritingAid, and formatting in Vellum (including a trick for listening to your manuscript read aloud to catch what your eyes miss).
You'll also build a realistic weekly writing workflow — how many words per session, when to draft vs. edit, and how to keep momentum without burning out. You leave Day 4 with a complete, repeatable system you can use on every book going forward.
"This was so helpful! I realized what was taking me so much time was that I would remove things but then write in the words I took out. I've been too concerned with hitting a certain word count."
What you'll walk away with
- A Story Seed with real commercial potential — not just "interesting" but sellable
- A complete Premise, Codex, and 15-Beat Outline for your book
- A working AI editing stack — knowing which tool to use at each editing stage
- An Editing Prompt Master Sheet with tested prompts for every layer of editing
- A Trope Stacking Cheat Sheet for writing to market in any genre
- A sustainable weekly writing workflow that fits your real life
- The confidence to direct AI with craft intelligence instead of guessing
"It was an especially amazing class! The spirit, the generosity is amazing!"
Everything that's included
Monday to Thursday, live with Coral. Interactive, practical, no-fluff training with real-time Q&A.
Day-by-day workbooks with exercises, templates, and space to build your Story Seed, Premise, and Codex during the sessions.
Tested AI prompts for developmental editing, line editing, copyediting, and voice preservation — ready to use on any manuscript.
The same frameworks Coral uses — fill-in templates for your book's premise document, creative codex, and beat-by-beat outline.
Step-by-step guide to the complete editing pipeline: Marlowe → Claude → AI-ism removal → ProWritingAid → Vellum.
Collaborate with fellow authors during sessions, share work, and get real-time feedback from Coral and the group.
This boot camp is for you if:
- You're using AI to write but your output still feels generic or "AI-ish"
- You want to understand craft well enough to direct AI — not just accept what it gives you
- You've been staring at outlines and first drafts without knowing how to make them better
- You want a repeatable system for going from idea to publish-ready manuscript
- You're tired of courses you never finish — this is live, and you do the work in the room
Frequently Asked Questions
What times are the sessions?
Sessions run Monday to Thursday. Specific times are announced when the next cohort opens. Multiple time zones are accommodated with different session slots.
Are there recordings?
No. This is a live, attend-once experience. The value is in showing up, doing the work in real time, and getting live feedback from Coral and the group. There are no recordings or replays.
Do I need to have a manuscript already?
No. You can come with an idea, a work-in-progress, or even a blank slate. Day 1 starts with finding your Story Seed — so you'll build from the ground up if needed.
What AI tools do I need?
Coral covers multiple tools including ChatGPT, Claude, and Marlowe AI. You don't need paid subscriptions to all of them before the boot camp — Coral will show you what each does best so you can choose what works for your workflow.
How is this different from Boot Camps 2 and 3?
Boot Camp 1 focuses on writing craft — story structure, characters, AI-powered drafting, and editing. Boot Camp 2 covers marketing — newsletters, ads, social media, and audience building. Boot Camp 3 is about scaling income — translations, audiobooks, product expansion, and advanced revenue models. They're designed to be taken in sequence.
What genre is this for?
All fiction genres. The craft principles apply universally — Coral uses examples from romance, thriller, fantasy, literary fiction, and more. You'll apply everything to your specific genre.
Ready to write books that actually land?
Four days. Live with Coral. Walk away with a complete craft toolkit and the confidence to direct AI like a pro.
