About me
A scribe of all trades, I started publishing in my teens, writing a bi-weekly Teen Talk column for the Ottawa Citizen, in high school, and Campus Beat columnist for the Providence Journal as a Brown University undergraduate. My first play, Mothers Have Nine Lives, premiered at Playwrights Horizons Theater, off Broadway, when I was 19 and my other scripts have been produced on four continents. I am working on a stage adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and working on a collection of 50-word stories.
Writing is a marathon
Writing is my playground, sustenance and refuge. But in the past, it was also my greatest source of frustration. For years, I balanced thrilling sprints with lapses of soul-destroying writer’s block and felt I had no control over the on-off switch of inspiration.
Everything changed during one of these "off" periods when I began training for a marathon. Since I was no natural athlete -- think, last pick in every middle school sports team -- I never expected to reach the starting line -- let alone, complete the 26.2 mile course and bag an age category medal.
Retro-engineering the experience, I realised that there were three crucial elements:
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A clear, compelling goal of raising money for an organization I loved.
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A daily incremental fitness habit.
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A supportive community of fellow runners, supporters and guides to inspire, advise and cheer me on.
Could I build a similar structure for my writing practice? I decided to give it a try.
I have since developed a creative ecosystem with all these elements and gloried in the fruits of a prolific, purposeful practice.
I share my approach through my coaching and programs because I believe that if you are called to write…
. . . when writing flows, life glows.
A writing coach is born
I stumbled on my calling as a writing coach on a fall visit to an idyllic local farm, where the owner confided that she had long dreamed of writing a picture book about her animals but didn’t know where to start.
"I'm a writing coach!" I heard myself say. "You can do this! I can help!"
By the following summer, Nicki Fisher had published Take a Look in the Nook and I had a roster of writing coaching clients.
Coaching and programs and workshops, oh my!
If you have a project that frightens and excites you in equal measure, and you are struggling to get started or build momentum, we may be a good fit.
In addition to coaching, I offer:
Through these, I challenge and support you to:
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Articulate your mission and vision for your writing.
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Gain fresh appreciation for its value and possibilities.
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Organise your ideas.
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Design a game plan for follow through.
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Write consistently.
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Overcome your resistance to writing.
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Develop your craft -- structure, character building, pacing and voice.
Want to talk further? Book a session.
