I had a genius idea, but I knew Pace wouldn’t like it. I said, “Pace, my love, I have a genius idea. But I know you won’t like it.”

With a conversation starter like that, we were off. Fortunately, Pace is a good listener (even when suchly forewarned), so she heard me out. But she didn’t like my genius idea. And I wasn’t surprised.

My genius idea? To help every NaNoWriMo participant gets their hands on a copy of the World-Changing Writing Workshop – basically, to have a sale and make the WCWW insanely cheap so anyone doing NaNo can snag a copy.

Yeah. That idea didn’t go over so well.

But here’s the thing: writing has changed my life. I’ve been writing for years, but only recently (like, a few weeks ago) did I start calling myself a writer. Only recently did I open up and allow myself to be a writer. Going through the process of creating the World-Changing Writing Workshop sparked the slow internal shift, joining 750 Words provided a handy kick in the writing-pants, and committing to NaNoWriMo is really bringing it into focus.

NaNoWriMo is an incredible force; community is springing up all over the place, writing is taking center-stage. People are coming together to support each other. Connections are being made. People are talking about their writing, people are listening to each others’ ideas. There’s a frenzy of activity around writing and community – two of my dearest passions!

So I set out to change her mind.

We talked and talked. I begged and pleaded. The Writing Workshop, I argued, is such a powerful toolbox to help writers get their shit together! It’s full of incredible ideas! It’s motivating and inspiring and educational!

She didn’t disagree with me there.

And, I continued, the NaNoWriMo people need help getting their shit together (myself included). We need incredible ideas! We need motivation and inspiration and education!

She didn’t disagree there, either.

But there are times when finances are tight, and the price of the Workshop doesn’t resonate with everyone for one reason or another, and what if we could just drop it? Really insanely low? For just a few days?

And that’s where we stuck.

We argued. We discussed finances. We went back and forth. Pace has a greater understanding of marketing and business, and there were solid logical reasons for her resistance – and I felt deeply about it and got emotional, and we went round and round without reaching understanding.

We called Marissa for help. I asked her to help Pace see reason. Then Pace asked her to help me see reason. I cried. A lot. My integrity was called into question, and I took a dim view of the world for several hours. One might say, I got into a funk.

Then Marissa, in her gentle, loving, big sister kind of way, offered a compromise, and Pace and I both jumped on it.

I am breathlessly excited to bring you the Pay What You Can (Yes, We Really Mean It) sale!

From right now til Saturday, October 23rd, at midnight, you can get the World-Changing Writing Workshop in its entirety for whatever price you can pay. We really mean it – whatever cost you resonate with, whatever you can pay, that’s the cost for the next three days.

I worked hard to be able to bring this to you. I am so passionately excited – I believe with all my heart that the Workshop will help you take your writing even further. I believe with all my heart that the Workshop can help you get through NaNoWriMo and come out the other side with a novel you’re proud to have written. I believe that, even if you’re not doing NaNo this year, the Workshop will help you be a better, more polished, more functional writer.

And for the next three days, you can jump in on it for whatever you can pay – and you get it all. All seven featured sessions, all nine bonuses, and the Workbook.

We opened our hearts to bring this to you, even through fears and resistance. We hope it brings goodness and better writing to you.

But wait – there’s more! (I love saying that. It cracks me up.) If you can pay full price for the Workshop ($297), you will sponsor a new writer for the 2011 World-Changing Writing Workshop. That means, if you pay $297 for the WCWW before the sale ends on Saturday night, we will give a full scholarship to someone in your name (or anonymously, if you prefer) for the next WCWW in 2011.

If you can’t do full price, no worries – that’s why we’re doing it this way in the first place.

The technical bits: The Pay What You Can (Yes, We Really Mean It) sale starts now. It ends Saturday night, the 23rd, at midnight. All you have to do is click “buy now” and input the amount you can pay into PayPal, and we’ll hook you up with the Workshop – all the recordings, the Workbook (which includes all of the beginning and ending exercises from all the speakers), and all the bonus materials. Full price is $297, and you can pay us what you can, whatever that may be.

We trust you. We’re opening this to you; all we ask is that you open your heart and heed the call.