FAQ

What does a writing coach do?

By way of answering this question I'll describe the differences between a writing coach and an editor, as I see them.

1. An editor provides structural or line-edits on a revised draft. Editors might go at a manuscript with a chisel or with a hammer - either way the thing's taking some whacks. It behooves both your ego and your work, therefore, for the latter to be of load-bearing shape before this stage commences. The closer you get the piece to its intended form, the better outside editors are able to do their job. They can then spend their time fine-tuning and polishing, instead of having to re-string the whole instrument.

2. Editors are on the side of the work. Their job is to see the piece even better than you can, or at least from a different angle. My job is to be on your side. The work does not exist until you pull it out of your head, guts and all. Until that time, poking and prodding at it too much is both dangerous and unfair. A half-born thing deserves curiosity and encouragement. Sandpaper and a scalpel are the wrong tools.

3. This does not mean our work is all flattery and gold stars! Writers often find themselves curtailed by despair on the long road to a completed manuscript. My job, therefore, is to bring a landscape view. To launch search and rescue when you've spent weeks trapped in one boggy corner of one boggy chapter. My job is to see what is already there in the work and reflect it back to you. Your job is to follow this - the work's endemic inner sense - towards its most noble aspirations. This is an emotional task as much as a technical one; it means braving the dark woods of doubt when the project (inevitably) deviates from your original intentions towards something more strange and unruly. And it means addressing the new craft questions you encounter as you follow its trail. You might have thought you were writing a book of straight nonfiction - but then elements of memoir creep in. Help! What does this mean! Do these belong? What is memoir, anyways? These are the kinds of questions I field, so you are free to stay with the writing. 

What will we talk about in these calls?

Our conversations will be wide-ranging, depending on your needs, but here are some possible subjects:

• narrative structure

• overcoming writer's block (hint: it's not real!)

• selection of detail

• tone and atmosphere

• time (compression and expansion) 

• theme

• characterization

• POV and narrative perch

• logical consistency (or making the lack thereof feel purposeful)

• clichés and strategies for avoiding them

• pacing and maintaining readers' investment

• language and style

• rhythm and prosody

• dialogue

• genre

• setting

• interiority

• stakes

• emotional arc vs plot (and making sure the two feel connected)

• opportunities for call-backs, expansion, etc. 

• query letters

• nonfiction book proposals

• finding an agent

• MFAs and workshops

• grants and residencies

• building sustainable writing habits

What does your written feedback contain?

My written feedback will be a high-level assessment of what I find in your work. I will 1) describe the work back to you, detailing what I find (some of which will be obvious, some of which will surprise you), 2) outline its strengths and weaknesses, and 3) suggest strategies for revision.

Writing is a series of countless tiny decisions. When you are drafting these are largely unconscious. You write a certain way because writing that way feels right. This is good! This is where the magic enters. But when revising, it is wise to go over what you've written and ask yourself: why this way and not that? What would be possible if I made a different decision here? What am I gaining from writing this as a flashback/scene/summary? Etc.

When we talk over my feedback together I will ask you to explain certain craft decisions to me, prompting you to think more deeply about the opportunities and constraints of the decisions you've made. 

Am I ready for this?

YES! I think so. But if you're really nervous, here are some questions to ask yourself:

1. Am I ready to receive honest feedback?
Part of my personal teaching philosophy, and commitment to you, is to be honest about what I find in your work. In order for this process to be fruitful and generative, it is so important to be actively working on disentangling your ego from your writing (I say actively working on because I'm not sure this process is ever complete). I myself am an extremely sensitive person, so I will never be intentionally cruel or harsh - I will treat you and your work with the same care I demand for my own, etc. But it is in your best interest to remind yourself that feedback is good for your writing! Even if you think I am dead wrong, that feeling in your gut is valuable information about your inner aesthetic compass. And/or, sometimes, you might realize you are resisting the hardest against critiques you know to be true... either way, the process is beautifully illuminating, as long as you don't hear critique (of the work) as criticism (of your Self). If you're not there yet - if you still feel almost unbearably tender towards, and protective of, your writing - tell me this! That's a great place to begin building a robust writing life.  

2. Do I really care about this project? Do I really care about writing?
I don't mean that you have to think of yourself as a professional author in order to warrant help. People have teachers and coaches and mentors for their side passions all the time, and they should! Throwing yourself into a craft or practice is deeply enriching, even and especially when the vocation is not your profession. But if you really just don't care much about the project at hand - if you're trying to finish it for some other reason, like getting rich quick (this would be a terrible motivation for a few different reasons), then I am not going to be able to help very much. Coaches can help fan the flames of your inner motivation, but the sparks have to be there. If they're not, that's fine! While I feel almost religiously reverent about the craft of writing, it's not everyone's bag. And there are so many other good bags!

3. Can I afford this right now?
A simple but important question. While I believe in the value of my services, they're not worth going broke for. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying :)

4. Do I have a good idea of my writing goals?
Again, this is not a requirement - we can start here if you don't. But it's helpful if you have a general idea of the direction you're trying to go with writing in your life. Do you want to go the traditional publishing, indie press, university press, or self-publishing route? Are you thinking of getting an MFA? If so, why? Are you just trying to get a story published, or to get it in a magazine with significant readership and weight? Why do you want to be published at all? Are you trying to support yourself with writing, or just in it for the love/pleasure/pain? Knowing the answers to these questions will make our collaboration maximally beneficial to you. 

What happens if I can't show up for a session?

Writers will receive a reminder email a few days before each session. You can reschedule up to 48 hours before our set time. I cannot provide refunds or credit for no-shows or late cancellations.

What happens if I miss a deadline?

I kill you! With love, support, etc. 

Who are your favorite authors?

My lodestars include Virginia Woolf and Lucia Berlin - writers I love for very different reasons. Otherwise my favorites change by the month.

Books I've recently read and enjoyed:

Lives of the Saints - Nancy Lemann
The Hill - Harriet Clark
Down Below - Leonora Carrington
Sing Like Fish - Amorina Kingdon
Where The Light Falls: Selected Stories - Nancy Hale
The Golden Notebook - Doris Lessing
Maud Martha - Gwendolyn Brooks
A Long Game - Elizabeth McCracken
My Private Property - Mary Ruefle
A River Lost: The Life and Death of the Columbia - Blaine Harden