Writing Coaching
In addition to teaching group workshops, Samantha delivers individual classes specializing in poetry, memoir, fiction, and children’s literature. If you are struggling to start or finish writing your dream project, or if you just want to stay motivated to write regularly, consider hiring Samantha as your writing coach. Tailored to fit the unique needs of her clients, her writing prompts, deadlines and feedback on written work via Zoom provide her students with a healthy level of guidance and accountability.
Brainstorming- You wish to write something, but you don’t know where to start, or what to write about. From the ground up, Samantha can talk you through your thought process and give you exercises in order to help you to mine and develop a story that excites you.
Writing Prompts- Writing is a muscle. Samantha’s arsenal of exercises, appropriate for your skill level and genre of choice, are designed to help you explore new terrain while giving your writing more nuance and definition.
Assigned Readings- As a creative writing educator, Samantha has collected a diverse repertoire of poems, short stories, novels, memoirs and essays that will inform and inspire you on your own creative process.
Accountability- With her “iron fist and sunny glove” approach, you will hear from Samantha if you miss the deadlines that you set with her. She also sends friendly emails prior to due dates to hear how your writings are progressing.
Critical Feedback– Once you turn in your writings, Samantha will generate line edits. Using the ‘comments’ feature, she provides detailed critical feedback with a balance of the work’s merits and challenges, including suggestions for revision.
Creative Sessions– Based on your availability, need, and budget you are welcome to schedule between one and four conversations per month, during which you can discuss your newest writings, the creative process, assigned readings, and relevant craft elements.
Manuscript Diagnostic- You want a kind, honest, informed and thorough opinion on a completed writing project, as well as suggestions on ways to move forward with it. Samantha will give your manuscript at least two reads and then offer critical feedback during a two-hour creative consultation.
Testimonials
“In 2018, I participated in Samantha’s six week online coaching class and her readings, prompts, and critiques gave me immense grounding in my writing process. The work was accepted with scholarship to the Arteles Residency in Finland. I still carry Samantha’s words- the lessons, the critique, the support- in my writing. If you’re seeking a teacher, one who holds the space to dig deeper, to review with intention, and to fall in love with your stories again, you’ve found her.”
– Keelin O’Donoghue, Maryland
“Working with Samantha is a blessing and a very transformative and healing journey. I hired her as my poetry editor for a poetry collection I wanted to publish. I couldn’t have loved it more. She not only edits your poems with the utmost professionalism, but she also ensures you have example poems of published poets that are similar in theme or style so you know how to uplevel your poems. On top, and most importantly, she holds space for you while you dare to heal, to become more visible with your work, and dare to say the things that need to be expressed. I couldn’t recommend her more.”
– Lais Stephan, Switzerland