Description

Suitable for writers twelve and up. (Have a younger kiddo? Schedule a call and let’s chat.)

You, my friend, are a writer. 

You have stories to tell. Worlds to build. Original characters bouncing around in your head, begging to be let out on paper. And you love it — you love the clack of the keys on the keyboard, the scratch of a notebook under your pen. 

Maybe you walk into bookstores and daydream — not about the stories other people have written, but about walking through that front door and finding your book — your title — on the front table display.

You are a writer.

You have dreams and goals and a talent for transporting your readers.

But (and here’s the kicker) it can be kind of overwhelming at times.

Trust me. I know. I think I was in the fifth grade when I wrote my first story. It was a thinly-veiled rip-off of Nancy Drew. The more I wrote, the more I stuffed my words into notebooks and occasionally got brave enough to submit them for publication. But I didn’t have anyone to bounce ideas off of or guide me. It took me a long time (thirty years!) to actually find a writing community. And start that novel I’ve been dreaming of.

Fortunately for you, I spent about twenty-five of those years learning how to be a writing teacher. I studied literature inside and out. I wrote and I shared and I gave and got feedback from all sorts of writers — all ages and backgrounds. 

And now I enjoy helping young authors craft their stories (including those of my two teen daughters, who surprisingly say I’m not that bad).

If you have a story (or two, or three) to tell, but find the process a little overwhelming, I offer a variety of services tailored to your  needs:

• Full read-through and critique ($30): What’s awesome? What could use some help? Gentle, constructive feedback to get you on the right track. 
• Plot consultation and brainstorming ($40-$60): Where is your story going? How are you going to get there? What’s going on with this giant plot hole that won’t let you climb out? We’ll geek out over plot and craft a map that takes you from point A to point Z, and all the spots in between.
• Line edit ($60/10,000 words): A complete read through at the sentence level. How’s your word choice? Your sentence structure? Is the voice consistent throughout your story? Are you showing more than you tell? My goals is to offer you gentle but constructive feedback that makes your story shine.
• Developmental edit ($40-$70/10,000): A deep dive into the manuscript. What can you do to make this story AMAZING? How’s your plot structure? What about character development? Are your themes communicated? Is the pacing appropriate? What about tone? Point of view? Again, gentle but constructive feedback that will make your story shine.
• Writing coach support ($65/hour session): weekly meetings to discuss, address, and work through creative and practical struggles. Can include all of the above services (and more) throughout the process. 
• Self-publishing services (contact for pricing): manuscript formatting, account creation and publishing with Amazon’s KDP. 

Curious about what makes me qualified to do this?

• I have my MA in English with a concentration in Teaching Writing and Literature
• I have 22 years of experience teaching writing in secondary and community college settings
• I am a Teacher-Consultant for the Northern Virginia Writing Project, a chapter of the National Writing Project
• I am an independent author of over a dozen books and e-books 

Want to let more about my services and find out if we’d be a good fit? Parents, feel free to schedule a no-obligation, no-cost consultation call. I’d love to chat with you and see how I can help your young writer thrive.