Writing Services
My writing expertise has taken many shapes: communications and marketing for state and national nonprofits; publishing poetry; writer and communications team lead for white people organizing for racial justice; facilitating writing groups; and editing for colleagues and clients. I studied Creative Writing at UNC-Chapel Hill and continuously learn from and enjoy the power of writing.
topics
Stress relief
Social change, justice, and changemakers
Healing and resilience
Living with illness, caregiving, grief
Embracing joy and humor
And more! Reach out to discuss.
Writing Services
Editing nonfiction essays, blog posts, communications, poetry, and more
Developmental, content, and copy editing
Writing project management
1:1 Writing coaching and support
60-120 minute writing workshops
Weekly writing groups (usually 5-8 weeks)
Staff development and group building workshops
Sessions for retreats and conferences
Writing commissions
RECENT WORK
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I work with Mike Gast to develop and edit first-person pieces and interviews for his Organize the Rich Substack, examining the lineage of and lessons learned for moving wealthy people and wealth toward social justice. This includes transforming transcripts of long and layered conversations into powerful, digestible Substack posts. I provide project management support to keep the project organized and moving forward with purpose.
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I provide content and copyediting for a collection of essays written as blog posts and transformed to printed book, Justice for All God’s Creation. I executed the layout and setup needed to self-publish the book on Kindle Direct Press. My project management kept editors and contributors on track for an ambitious timeline.
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This five week restorative writing group encouraged participants to start the year fresh by writing down what they carried and making room for new ideas. Prompts included art, essay, poetry, music, and more. Each week, participants met online to learn and practice a new technique to generate writing. Take-home prompts stoked inspiration between sessions.
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I currently work with a writer in Arlington, VA. I am reading through hundreds of her old drafts and snippets to help her identify essays and topics for inclusion in a memoir book of essays.
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I supported a client who wanted writing prompts, coaching, and editing to help him reflect and write about family and aging. Our check-ins motivated him to keep writing. His writing helped him connect childhood memories to current experiences with his child and grandchild as well as the many forms of prejudice and hatred he has witnessed across time and culture.
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For two years in a row, I was delighted to co-lead this 8-week group in Chapel Hill, NC with Carol Henderson, a writer, teacher, editor, and coach (www.carolhenderson.com). Participants included people coping with illness and grief as patients and caregivers—or both. Carol and I guided participants through a series of writing exercises designed to help group members turn inward for wisdom, draw on existing literature as inspiration, and gain fortitude. The 2015 group gave a reading at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, on Sunday, March 16, 2015 and were met with a standing ovation.
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I worked with Carol Henderson to facilitate a prompt-based, weekly writing workshop at UNC Hospitals. The workshop was open to hospital staff, patients and their families, and members of the surrounding community looking for a writing respite.
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In this session at a weekend retreat, I helped women with rare bleeding disorders use approachable group exercises and individual prompts to put on paper to capture the feelings and experiences they explored during their retreat.
Why writing? is it for me?
Writing about what matters can lead to a transformative shift in perspective that we can’t get just by talking and thinking. Research by James Pennebaker, MD and others shows that restorative writing can promote physical, mental, and emotional healing. Structured writing workshops or coaching are not about the product (though we can produce awesome writing), but the process. When you give yourself the time and permission to put words to paper, you release stress, discover new insights, and even experience physical and physiological benefits.
My workshops and coaching services are designed to be welcoming, safe, and approachable. Writing to specific prompts provides a helpful distance from and container for your thoughts, feelings, and experiences. And the prompts are playful, helpful, and flexible. Postcards, songs, questions, pictures, and props are curated to become prompts to spark the voice within. And while I’ll encourage you to write toward the edges of your comfort and imagination, you can write whatever comes—just keep the pencil moving.