Write With Me

Frustrated by writer’s block? No matter how much we want to do something, it can be very difficult to do it alone. And if we want to get started on our writing again, finding the discipline to sit down each day for even a few minutes can be daunting.

I work privately with students and professionals to help them discover their ideas and articulate their thoughts in clear and straightforward English. For those who are finding it difficult to complete those writing projects that just won’t go away, I offer an introductory 30-minute private session that combines 10 minutes of writing with 20 minutes of immediate review. This writing-and-review format helps you carve out the time you need to begin to get the writing done—right there in our working session. You compose a paragraph, and we then revise it together, looking at the grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure to make sure your language says what you mean to say. You’ll leave the session having learned something new about writing well and motivated to continue your work.

If you need to write more knowledgeably for a degree, for your profession, or just for yourself, this short introductory session of writing and review will help you begin in the right way what you’ve long wanted—and maybe even need—to do. Tuition is $50. Email me at ultimo@writingsmartly.com to schedule your private session.

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Reading Closely to Write

Wednesdays, September 27 through October 18
6:00 to 7:00 p.m. CT

It’s an open secret that we learn to write better and better by reading more and more closely. On Wednesday, September 27, Writing Smartly will begin another short course of four one-hour sessions called Reading Closely to Write. Each week we will examine the structure and stylistic design of sentences from one or two very short stories (each averaging about 16 pages) written by celebrated authors. We will analyze the grammar and composition of certain significant sentences, and consider how other designs the author could have chosen would have produced different effects. Our emphasis will be on the language of the readings, so that we can begin to develop an eye and ear for discovering our own written voice.

New selections this fall term will again be taken from The Ecco Anthology of Contemporary American Short Fiction, edited by Joyce Carol Oates (Ecco Publishers, 2008), readily available at Amazon and elsewhere. Tuition for this four-session online short course is $300 paid through Zelle (ultimo@writingsmartly.com), or $310 paid through PayPal.

If you have any questions, please email me directly. I hope you can join us.

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