Coaching Services
“The fact is that blank pages inspire me with terror.
What will I put on them? Will it be good enough?
Will I have to throw it out?” ~ MARGARET ATWOOD
“Every writer I know has trouble writing.” ~ JOSEPH HELLER
ARE YOU BLOCKED?
You feel stuck, like you’re blocked or drawing a blank whenever you think about where to go next in your story. You started out writing like a house on fire and filled pages with great characters and a setting that just leaped into your mind, only to peter out after several pages or chapters and just stopped. Now you feel a little bit guilty, as if you should know what to do next, like you should be working on it. You don’t want to talk about it because you don’t really know where it’s going and you don’t want anyone to ask if you’ve finished it yet. You’re hoping that, magically, that original rush of creativity will wash over you again and that you will burst with energy and ideas that will spill out into another headlong writing experience.
How I can help: I can spark that rush and help you maintain a more manageable stream of creativity that doesn’t exhaust you, and itself, too quickly.
“I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead,” ~ MARK TWAIN
“What things there are to write, if one could only write them!
My mind is full of gleaming thought; gay moods and mysterious,
moth-like meditations hover in my imagination, fanning their
painted wings. But always the rarest, those streaked with azure
and the deepest crimson, flutter away beyond my reach.”
~ LOGAN PEARSALL SMITH
ARE YOU FARSIGHTED?
You’re so close to the story that you can’t decide what to remove and what to keep and what to add to it to make it better. You are second-guessing yourself at every turn and can no longer tell what parts to keep and which to ditch. Every sentence seems to stand on its own, and you’re just a bit fed up with the entire enterprise.
How I can help: I can provide a professional perspective that allows you to see your writing with more objectivity, and supportive coaching to help you define your purpose and goals for each piece you write. I can help you see what works and what parts can be saved for a later project. I can bring back the ‘my’ in myopia, and help you reconnect with your original concept and goals for your story.
“Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder.
Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you;
figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing
you have to offer.” ~ BARBARA KINGSOLVER
“When I am writing I am doing the thing I was meant to do.” ~ ANNE SEXTON
ARE YOU AIMING AT A MOVING TARGET?
Your busy life demands a format that flexes with you. You crave the structure of a learning environment and are looking for someone to take on the role of mentor, teacher and guide to help you get to the end of the story on time, within your self-set goals for completion. But you don’t have the time to work within someone else’s schedule. You work well with timelines, assignments and rewards; you enjoyed school because you were able to do what they asked of you, so long as you knew what they were asking you to do.
How I can help: I can recreate that structured, step-by-step experience, but with a flexible schedule that fits your life.
There’s only one person who needs a glass of water oftener than a small
child tucked in for the night, and that’s a writer sitting down to write.”
~ MIGNON MCLAUGHLIN, The Second Neurotic’s Notebook, 1966
ARE YOU PROCRASTINATING?
You are probably on a deadline. You agreed to write the story, or you told someone you would finish the story. You really like the story. But you are finding an amazing assortment of tasks to do that take up all your writing time. You say that you “work best under pressure” and look forward to late nights finishing projects because they make you feel super productive. Meanwhile, you still have a story to write, and really you would love to sleep at night instead of sweating over a deadline. It just seems like such a monumental task, and breaking it down doesn’t seem to make it easier. I know.
How I can help: I can help you take the tiniest of bites, the babiest of steps, the daintiest of swings at this project, and help you progress in measurable ways that don’t trigger your panic or push-back buttons. I can make tasks fun, exercises interesting and useful, and productive writing feel safe and inside the box, even when it isn’t.
“A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.”
~ THOMAS MANN, Essays of Three Decades, 1947
“I’m one of those people that believes you should start writing before you think you’re ready.” ~ JOSEPH ELLIS
ARE YOU READY TO TAKE THE FIRST STEP?
You have a story to tell. You are looking for someone to help you structure your time, motivate you, inspire you, keep your creativity flowing and your progress positive and measurable. You have decided that it’s time to finish your story and get it out there into the world. You have kept your story safe inside of you; now let your story be born. Your unpublished story is in its infancy and you want to nurture it and help it be the best story it can be. You are hoping to find a partner who will guide your writing without telling you what to write. You are looking for a muse who will inspire you without a sacrifice. You want another pair of eyes, and another perspective, to really see your story and tell you where it is wonderful, as well as where it is struggling.
How I can help: As your writing coach, I ask the questions no one else has, give you direction in your writing in ways that are specific and measurable and that meet the goals you set with me during our first coaching meeting, using the Writer’s Strategic Action Plan. This plan helps you set goals for yourself that are both measurable and reachable. Accountability is a big factor of productivity for many of us. Working with a coach gives you that accountability in a supportive environment tailored to your writing needs and your writing style.I can provide a professional perspective for you to bounce ideas off of and be a sounding board for you. I can help you figure out what you want to write, how you like to write, what environment supports your writing, and what you do well. I can hold your hand or kick your tuckus, whichever you need at the moment.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. ~ CONFUCIOUS