Personal Statement
I can definitely help you sell your non-fiction book, article or novel,
create business reports with style and substance or get you past your
writer's block and anxiety.
But more than that I can help you get to the heart of what you want to
say and write the project that has meaning for you. As a writer, you have
something important you want to say. As your writing coach or editor, I
can help you clarify what you know and value--and help you artfully bring to
the world the unique message you have to share. If you'd like, I can also
show you how to make Writing as Art.
The ways I will work with you as a writing coach or editor are
straightforward and simple:
- I will respect and support what you create.
- I will always read your writing in two ways. First, I'll
read for what you want to say and why. Second, I'll read as others (such as
editors, agents or publishers) might. I'll tell you what works in your
writing and what readers need to know.
- Together, we'll talk about how you can shape what you've
written into a strong and compelling manuscript.
Fundamentally, as your writing coach or editor, I will help you find a
relationship to writing that is skillful, productive and successful.
I'll show you how developing an effective writing process leads to developing
a successful writing project--and how a writing process that works for you once will work again and again.
Like many writers, you've probably gotten plenty of criticism and not
nearly enough support or praise for your work. I won't just red line, criticize
or only tell you what's wrong with your manuscript. As your writing coach
or editor, I will help you care for and nurture your writing--so it can
take root, flourish and grow. We'll work with and build on your writing'
strengths in an honest and affirming process. That way you'll feel safe
to try new things and take the important creative risks that are essential
for you to write fully, completely and with success.
Biographical Information
I have been a writer, professor, artist, writing coach, and consultant
for more than twenty years. With on-going ties to literary, academic,
business and professional writing communities, I work with all kinds of writers
and all types of writing projects. I have worked with attorneys,
psychologists, academics, medical professionals, technical writers, journalists,
engineers, documentary filmmakers, screenwriters and many literary and visual
artists. I'm a professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San
Francisco, California, where I teach writing and literature. I offer
workshops and seminars on the art and craft of fiction and non-fiction
writing. I have also developed and offer training in Writing as Art, a
process which allows writers to explore the aesthetic aspects of writing
and to create relationships between writing and the visual arts. In 2001, I
created Ten Not-So-Tangible Tools for Writers, a Writing as Art text of
word and images. I have a Doctor of Arts (D.A.) in English from the State
University of New York at Albany (1982).
Why work with me?
We write both to express ourselves and to communicate with others. This
means our writing projects need to come from the heart and convey what
we care about. They also need to be well structured and use forms and
conventions that engage readers and help them to read. As a coach or an
editor, I can help you create writing that has heart and makes wise use
of structure.
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