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John Malnor
About This Coach
John Malnor recently added an MFA in Creative Writing to his credentials, and has a lifetime of experiences as a global business leader, startup mentor, leadership coach, award winning writer, builder, motorcyclist and musician. He is the founder of Guided Mastery LLC and Stony Lake Press LLC, author of Killers Keepers, Scars of Justice and Forced Freedom (to be published) – all crime fiction. John helps clients to design their life, their way. As a Write Practice Certified Book Coach, John partners with writers to improve their process and build the habits which lead to beginning – and finishing – great stories. He has spoken at corporate, community and university events on topics including business innovation, leading high-performance teams, designing your life, a graduate school commencement and a recent panel discussion on how design thinking impacts healthcare.
Services
One-Off Coaching Call - 30 min
Book Plan Critique
Weekly/Monthly Book Coaching
Manuscript Critique
Portfolio

Killers Keepers by John S Malnor
Crime Fiction

Scars of Justice by John S Malnor
Crime Fiction

Ghost Tears (to be published) by John S Malnor
Middle Grade Fantasy
Reviews
I have years of technical writing experience as a software developer, but no fiction writing experience. As a new fiction writer, I am on a large learning curve – story structure, scene structure, plot development, character arc development, how to write dialog, etc. Not to mention establishing the writing habits needed to complete a long project. Most of my technical writing tasks would only take part of a day. Writing a fiction story will take months (years?). John was patient and understanding about my place in this journey. He helped me see and understand the parts of the whole and gave me a great start on putting it all together.
John Malnor is wonderful. I have a lot of book things I want to do, and John is helping me to do them faster and better than I otherwise would have. Thanks for getting us together.
I found John made lots of suggestions for me to consider and think about but while being respectfully mindful that it was my choice as to whether to implement those suggestions. He had also researched comparable titles and showed places where I needed to research a bit more ie about seals ability breathing so I could decide the way I wanted to use the information in the story. He had looked into websites that published authors work and he had done a lot of preparation for the session.
Invaluable!! Words cannot express my gratitude. I went into the conversation at a total loss as to where my book was heading and was it even worth continuing.
I left the conversation excited and enthusiastic about proceeding with my book. Most importantly his guidance led me in the direction I needed to focus on.
How do you thank someone for the knowledge and guidance John provided.
I was thrilled when I discovered I would have the opportunity to speak with a coach as part of the course. Having never spoken to a professional about my writing before, it was an amazing experience to connect face-to-face over Zoom. This personalized interaction added immense value to the course, far beyond what could be achieved through text and email. My coach, John Malnor, tailored our sessions to make them incredibly relevant and personal. I truly appreciated his effort in reviewing my posted stories beforehand. This allowed him to offer specific feedback on my work and create an engaging discussion about my experience with the course. His probing questions and insightful guidance, combined with personal experiences and relevant literary practices, made the coaching both practical and inspiring. This experience has been transformative, and I couldn’t be more grateful for John’s expertise. I highly recommend him to anyone looking to refine their craft and grow as a writer!
John is the best!
John is friendly, knowledgeable, understanding and compassionate. I did not except this, so I am super pleasantly surprised. More importantly, John inspired me. I have not felt inspired in a long time. Writing is so challenging and John's understanding and acknowledgment of this fact soothed my anxious self. His advice is spot-on what I needed to hear. I feel that I have overcome a big obstacle because of our phone conversation. I highly recommend The Write Practice for help with the writing process, and I especially recommend John as a coach/mentor. Thank You!
I found John very helpful. He was knowledgeable about the different sites that you could go to in order to find agents. He promised to email the sites addresses after the session and he was as good as his word, fulfilling his promise with reasonable promptness. He included sites and advice on finding comps and an article on how to hook an agent. The session was comfortable and conversation flowed easily. I would happily recommend John to any one looking for help and advice on the different aspects of writing.
John Malnor is a godsend. Kind, knowledgeable, flexible and an all around nice guy. His joy in what he's doing is always visible. Some of the many important things about writing that I didn't realize I was learning. The sessions are a lot of fun and I look forward impatiently to each one. With his help the finished book is going to be way better than it would have been without him. My only regret is that I didn't get together with John years ago.
John provided firsthand knowledge about the 100 Day book program and shared what worked for him. Doing so really helped me to focus on what I needed to do to begin the program on the right foot. A plus is John's easygoing style. John is a pleasure to work with.
It was very enjoyable and uplifting to work with John Malnor. He always made sure I understood the things I was working on, and that at the end of the day this was my idea/book and that I had the final say. He was very encouraging! I would definitely work with him again.
John is such a boundless resource of helpful information and feedback. I truly felt so reassured in the process after having a meeting with him over my book. He brought insights to my writing I hadn't noticed and offered very effective actionable notes to help me progress to the next steps in the process. Aside from all of that, he's a very warm and lovely human who is easy to connect with and encouraging to boot.
John's a legend!
John Malnor played an important role in helping me develop my book manuscript during the Fall 2024 session of the 100 Day Book program. He's provided helpful feedback on several chapters and has been an encouraging, supportive presence throughout the course. I highly recommend his services to anyone who needs a book coach. Thanks, John!
John has been a big help so far, and I look forward to working with him for the next few weeks as I sort out the difficulties I’m facing in my project. I appreciate his encouragement and support.
So far in the 100 Day Book program, John has provided plenty of encouragement and support and has helped me stay motivated to keep working on my project. His suggestions and feedback have been very helpful, and I'm looking forward to our continued work over the next couple of months.
John and I had a few technology problems this morning but over the past few meetings that I have had with him I have found him to be both very encouraging as well as very, very helpful in the ideas he gives me and how to fix problems in my writing that I struggle with. So overall it has been wonderful to work with John and I really appreciate everything he is doing to help me with my writing.
John Malnor has been a pleasure to work with. His expertise, professionalism, and support has been pivotal in helping me meet my goals. He provides respectful, knowledgeable reviews and suggestions. His guidance is invaluable and I would highly recommend John as a mentor and book coach.
John Malnor has been a pleasure to work with. His expertise, professionalism, and support has been pivotal in helping me meet my goals. He provides respectful, knowledgeable reviews and suggestions. His guidance is invaluable and I would highly recommend John as a mentor and book coach.
John Malnor is a pleasure to work with and brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to TWP. He provided an in-depth, comprehensive review of my manuscript, and his support and guidance throughout the last two rounds of 100 Day Book helped me set and meet my goals.

Preferred Genres
Action | Adventure | Coming of Age | Crime | Crime Fiction | Fantasy | Middle Grade | Mystery | New Adult | Nonfiction | Romance | Science Fiction | Speculative Fiction | Thriller | Upmarket | Young Adult | Young Adult Fantasy
Become an Author with the Write Coach
All of our coaches are trained and certified using our unique Write Practice methodology to give aspiring writers the knowledge, feedback, and encouragement they need to become published authors and accomplish their writing goals.
We all need a coach, someone who can point out the next step in our literary journey, and we want to help you find the right coach for you. If you’re ready to get started with John Malnor click the button below to request a quote to get started. Or if you’d like us to help you find the right coach (the write coach?) send us a note at admin [at] thewritepractice [dot] come and we’ll recommend someone.
Good luck, and happy writing.