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Writing Coaching
Do you have a story you burn to tell? Are you ready to spill blood on the page? My favorite thing to do is to help female writers connect with their impulse to create a book or essay.
I offer one-on-one coaching for your fiction or nonfiction projects, at whatever stage you’re at. Ready to get started? Fill out the form below.
Every work of literature has both a situation and a story. The situation is the context or circumstances, sometimes the plot; the story is the emotional experience that preoccupies the writer: the insight, the wisdom, the thing one has come to say.
—Vivian Gornick
Fiction Coaching
Gornick perfectly sums up my approach to fiction writing. Whether you’re working on a short story or a novel, we’ll first determine the situation and the story. Then we’ll work hard to nail the nuts and bolts of the story before you write your first or next draft.
I also love to take a finished novel and help the writer fine tune the story. For many writers, the actual writing isn't the problem. They can write elegant sentences and perfect paragraphs. But they get stuck because their story has problems. One of my favorite jobs is to untangle story knots and get the writer back on track. I also love to pitch new ideas to inspire the writer to keep going!
For links to my published short stories, please go to my Published Fiction page.
If you’d like more info about working with me, please fill out the form below.
Do you have a story you burn to tell? Are you ready to spill blood on the page?
Drawing on inspiration from Hélène Cixous, Annie Dillard, Maya Angelou and many other phenomenal writers, you will connect deeply with your desire to tell your story. Often clients come to me with an idea of the book or essay they want to create, but after a few weeks of writing exercises, they embark on a new journey to create a piece far better than the one they’d originally envisioned. My coaching perspective is different. I emphasize trusting your gut and looking around for clues in the world to aid you in the execution of your vision. Artist dates are as important a discipline as your time at the computer.
This work is exciting, but it is vigorous and challenging. I will hold your feet to the fire. And I will do it in a loving way. My favorite thing to do is to help female writers connect with their impulse to create a book or essay. The WHY informs every decision you will make in terms of structure. Writing can get monotonous and annoying. We must lay the groundwork to understand what has driven you to uncork your memories on the page. We will then craft a structure that best suits the story.
If you’d like more info about working with me, please fill out the form below.
The only book that is worth writing is the one we don’t have the courage or strength to write. The book that hurts us (we who are writing), that makes us tremble, redden, bleed. It is combat against ourselves, the author; one of us must be vanquished or die.
—Hélène Cixous
Memoir/Essay Coaching
In the past 8 years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with many writers. My favorite part of my job is helping a writer determine the story she should tell and then encouraging her along the path to executing her story well. This means you’ll be writing many drafts, whether it’s an essay, a novel, or a memoir.
My favorite clients to work with are the ones who understand that revision is how you hone your craft. A first draft is lovely, but it’s not the finished product. Your success in working with me, and ultimately, in the writing world, will depend on your acceptance that revision is 90% of what is required of you.
Please do not hire me unless you are hungry. By this I mean, don’t hire me unless you accept that you’ll have to work hard. I’ll praise your early drafts, but they won’t be what I encourage you to query.
The Brutal Truth
I think a writer/editor of Jennifer’s caliber could look at any piece of writing and be able to assist the writer in honing their vision and raising the work to the next level.
—Lisa