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Errol Doebler portrait

Errol Doebler

Leadership consultant. Nonfiction author. First fiction novel underway.

How Former Navy SEAL & FBI Agent Errol Doebler Turned Plotdrive Into a Fiction Writing Partner

First
Fiction novel
In progress
2×
Detail and clarity
Pro-grade output
Daily
Writing habit
30-minute sessions
50%+
Draft complete
Clean skeleton plus detail
The Challenge

What Stood in the Way

After a career in the Navy SEALs and FBI, Errol had a big story to tell — a classified-adjacent, darkly humorous thriller based on real cases and frustrations.

But writing fiction posed real blocks: He and his wife (an analyst) had personal and professional stories to fictionalize — but didn't know where to begin. The detail work — scenery, pacing, POV, structure — felt overwhelming. They had limited time with a consulting business and kids. He needed a teacher, a structure, and a co-writer, not an "AI generator."

"I could write. But I didn't know the rules of fiction. The details were daunting."

The Breakthrough

How Everything Changed

Plotdrive became the third writing partner — part coach, part editor, part collaborator.

Errol didn't just get answers — he got taught craft. Plotdrive taught him: POV consistency, show vs. tell, ending chapters "up" vs. "down," trusting the reader, structural pacing, when exposition becomes lecturing.

For the detail work that had blocked him for months: He wrote his skeleton version, asked Plotdrive to "describe the room" or "tighten this," then iterated until it felt right.

The workflow let him stay in the weeds while his wife stayed at 30,000 ft — the perfect division of labor. He drafts, iterates, tightens. She reviews voice, humor, and consistency. Co-Writer acts as the unbiased third opinion.

The Workflow
Errol Doebler's Plotdrive workflow
Plotdrive's workflow lets Errol stay in the weeds while his wife Jen stays at 30,000 ft — the perfect division of labor. He drafts, iterates, tightens. She reviews voice, humor, and consistency. Co-Writer acts as the unbiased third opinion.
The Transformation

The Numbers

Writing status
BeforeStalled
AfterConsistent daily habit
Skill level
BeforeKnew nonfiction only
AfterPOV, pacing, show/tell mastered
Draft quality
BeforeSkeleton only
After2× detail, 10× clarity
Collaboration
BeforeTwo people stuck
AfterClear division of labor
"Plotdrive doesn't replace your voice. It strengthens it."
Errol Doebler
The Outcome

What Errol Achieved

The Process Transformation

✓
Went from stalled to consistent writing schedule
✓
Reached a halfway draft plus clean skeleton
✓
Created a workflow where wife acts as voice guardian, he acts as structural engine
✓
Broke through major emotional/creative blocks
✓
Learned practical fiction craft at a professional level

The Craft Transformation

✓
Added thousands of words of scenery, detail, and character insight
✓
Repaired POV breaks across chapters
✓
Strengthened pacing
✓
Rebuilt chapter endings using professional fiction principles
✓
Maintained original dark humor while leveling up structure
"Writing is fun again."
Errol Doebler, Novelist
More Transformations

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Russell Nohelty portrait

Russell Nohelty

77+ books. $400k/year business.

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"I didn't think I'd ever write a book again."
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